Nolan Wells’ parents recount ordeal of son’s death at Atlanta convention

Ben Crump and Rev Al Sharpton, also present at National Association of Black Journalists, demanded ‘truth’ and ‘transparency’ in Wells’ case

On Thursday morning, the parents of Nolan Wells, Christine Wells-Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley, along with Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney, and Rev Al Sharpton, the famed civil rights activist, spoke at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Atlanta. Wells was an 18-year-old college student who was found dead on 6 July after a boating trip with friends, and his death captured national attention .

Wells went missing on 4 July and a photo of the teen, who was Black, and his three friends on the trip, who were white, went viral. Social media users have speculated that Wells’s disappearance, death and the perceived lack of urgency in the county’s investigation into what happened to the teen are because of his race.

During Thursday’s talk, moderated by Tiffany Cross, a journalist, Wells-Wonsley and Wonsley narrated the days during which Wells was still missing, leading up to the day their son’s body was found. They described a harrowing string of events, including a lack of urgency by law enforcement and what they called “inconsistencies” in narratives and information provided by some of Wells’ friends. Wells-Wonsley also described the numerous professional and personal attacks she has received since her son’s death.

On Saturday, 3 July, the last day she saw her son alive, Wells-Wonsley said he made dinner for the family, hugged his mom and left home. The next day, she said, she and her sister realized that it was late and they hadn’t heard from Wells. She called his phone repeatedly, but he never answered. Later that night, she received a call from one of his friends asking if she had heard from Wells. Confused, Wells-Wonsley said that she thought her son was with the friends. After Wells-Wonsley mentioned that Life360, a tracking app, showed that Wells’ phone was back in the Ocean Spring area, where he lived, the friend then told her that Wells remained on the island with a girl he met that day, she said.

“I said, ‘What?’ Because we know our children. Nolan isn’t one to [say]: ‘Oh, I’m going to throw caution to the wind and I’m going to stay here with this girl that I just met,’” Wells-Wonsley told a packed audience.

Wells-Wonsley said she called several different agencies – the Mississippi department of marine resources, which called the Coast Guard; the Ocean Springs police department; the Jackson county sheriff’s department – which all told her that Wells’ case was outside of their jurisdiction. She said she even visited a local hospital to see if the teen was there.

Eventually, the Jackson county sheriff’s department said it would take the case. After midnight, Wells’ parents met with an officer at a McDonald’s parking lot that night to provide information about Nolan. “He was just like, ‘OK, thanks.’ I was like: ‘Where is the urgency?’” Wells-Wonsley said.