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Nolan Wells would have been 19 today. Read the birthday letter his family never imagined writing
Nolan Wells should have turned 19 surrounded by a birthday cake, candles and laughter. Instead, the day has become one of remembrance for his family, who shared a heartfelt message with CNN to their “Nono” in heaven.
As the family faces the day without Nolan, grief, sorrow and uncertainty loom as loved ones wrestle with the teen’s unexplained death last month during a July 4 boating trip with a group of friends to Mississippi’s Horn Island.
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More than six weeks later, authorities are still investigating and have given no public indication that a crime occurred. The unanswered questions have divided communities, left loved ones heartbroken and fueled speculation, harassment and threats directed at both Nolan’s family and the friends who were with him on the holiday trip.
With his birthday approaching, the unanswered questions compounded his mother Christine Wonsley’s grief as she prepared to celebrate without him.
The “only thing we wanna know is what happened,” she said during a news conference last week. “That’s all we want to know is what happened to our son.”
Video in the player at the top: Nolan Wells’ parents spoke on Wednesday at an online vigil to mark what would have been their son’s 19th birthday
Nolan Xavier Wells in an undated photo released by the family attorney Ben Crump on July 10.
The community came together on Wednesday to honor the teen.
Video below: Family of Nolan Wells calls for federal investigation into Nolan Wells’ death
A birthday marked by prayer and reflection
In a moving letter, Nolan’s family thanked their “sonshine” for the love and legacy he left behind:
Today you are 19 Nono! There are so many things we want to say but we will keep it simple. As we sit here and reflect on what an amazing kiddo you grew up to be, we can’t help but to feel blessed, honored, proud, but most of all thankful. Thankful we were able to experience a glimpse of God’s love in human form. Although you are no longer physically here with us, we will always celebrate you and the legacy you have left for us to protect. You have taught us so much about life and how everyday is a blessing and how we have to do better at just living in the moment. Thank you for being the best son, brother, grandson, nephew, and friend anyone could ever ask for. Thank you for bringing joy, laughter and real happiness to us each and every day. You are truly our angel. You will be missed every second of everyday and you will never be forgotten our sweet sonshine 🩵. Happy Heavenly 19th Birthday Nono. Remember don’t eat too much Oreo cake and hug Grandma for us. Mahal na mahal ka namin, aming pinakamamahal na anak at kapatid. (Taglog to English translation: We love you our beloved son and brother) Love, Mom, Dad, Siblings, and Family
Loved ones were holding an evening national prayer rally in Nolan’s memory at Greater St. John AME Church in Biloxi, about five miles from his hometown of Ocean Springs.
Dr. Jamal Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia, was to deliver a keynote at the rally, where he encouraged supporters from near and far to join Nolan’s family and friends.
“Prayer is a weapon that never runs out of ammunition,” Bryant wrote on Instagram about the event. “Let’s stand with this family and before GOD! This is not over!!”
Civil rights and Wells family attorney Ben Crump echoed the call for solidarity, especially on Nolan’s birthday.
“Can we pray together in unity to say, let’s get to the truth of what happened to Nolan Wells,” Crump said during a news conference last week. “Can we do that, America? Can we at least come together in unity on his birthday?”
The Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network organized a nationwide virtual prayer vigil Wednesday afternoon.
More than 550 attendees joined Sharpton and Crump online to pray for and reflect with the Wells family while calling for answers about the teen’s death.
Nolan’s father, Elmore Wonsley, said his son would have been in school Wednesday and likely would have called to tell him about his day. Hearing his son’s voice, he said, is one of the things he’ll miss most.
“Just keep us in your prayers, keep us in your thoughts, and we thank every one of you guys for everything that you guys have been doing,” Christine Wonsley, Nolan’s mother, said emotionally during the prayer vigil, urging attendees to keep sharing her son’s story.
An attorney for three of Nolan’s friends who were with him on that boating trip – Warren Hudson, 19; Jax Pitalo, 20; and Morgan Seymour, 19 – posted a tribute for the teen’s birthday on behalf of his clients, saying “just like every day, we honor and remember our dear friend, Nolan Wells.”
“He was the brightest of lights who touched many lives, including ours,” the statement continued. “His memory will shine on in our hearts. Always.”
What the investigation has revealed so far
On July 4, Nolan and a group of friends boarded boats and set out from Ocean Springs to celebrate America’s Independence Day on nearby Horn Island. Nolan’s friends returned after the outing, but he didn’t.
Nearly an hour after Nolan was last seen, friends on one of the boats noticed its bilge pump had failed and water was rapidly filling the hull, Tyler Cox and Edward Paltzik, attorneys for the friends, told CNN. The young men made an emergency call for towing assistance and were focused on dealing with the sinking boat and leaving the island.
Cox disputed claims that Wells was left stranded when his clients, Warren Hudson, 19; Jax Pitalo, 20; and Morgan Seymour, 19, left the area.
“That’s just how it is here. You can always find another ride off the island, and again, there were 2,000 other people there, so he wasn’t left alone by any means,” Cox said.
“They left the island at 4:30 pm … So, we don’t know what happened to Nolan after 4:30,” he said. “We want to know just as much as anybody.”
In the days immediately after the holiday, a frantic search for Nolan ensued, with authorities, friends and family deploying resources to find the missing teen. On July 6, the search ended in heartbreak with the news Nolan’s loved ones had feared the most: a body matching his physical description was recovered from the water near the shoreline, officials said.
Questions have surfaced about why Nolan’s friends had his phone. But Cox told CNN it’s common practice to drop anchor 50 feet offshore and swim to the island, leaving cell phones behind rather than risking saltwater damage to their electronic devices.
Two autopsies have been conducted, but neither have yielded a definitive public explanation for Nolan’s manner of death. An autopsy commissioned by the Wells family was ruled inconclusive, citing a lack of evidence, while the state’s autopsy report is sealed pending review by a grand jury.
The results of the state’s toxicology tests – which are standard in death investigations and can take weeks – are also completed, but those findings have not been made public.
Public updates from authorities have been sparse, with investigators referring questions to the district attorney, who said evidence is being reviewed before presenting the case to a grand jury, who will ultimately decide if any crime may have taken place.
In a new statement shared Tuesday with CNN affiliate WLOX, Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said she doesn’t have “the same freedom to share information publicly that private individuals may have.”
Wells, she said, deserves better than “stepping outside the bounds of the law” to share information that remains key to the case.
“There is nothing more to be shared at this time. I caution the public about assigning trustworthiness to things they read and see online,” said McIlrath, WLOX reported.
While currents around Horn Island can be dangerous even for experienced swimmers, Crump has disputed the theory that Nolan accidentally drowned, saying he was a strong athlete and swimmer.
Last week, the Congressional Black Caucus called on the FBI to launch an independent investigation into Nolan’s death, arguing that federal involvement could give additional scrutiny as key questions about the case loom.
Searching for answers in a single photograph
In the weeks since Nolan’s unexplained death, a photo of the Black teen smiling wide, surrounded by white friends, with his arm casually slung around their shoulders while on the holiday boating excursion to Horn Island, has turned a memory among friends into a subject of great conjecture.
Nolan Wells is seen in this image provided by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.
In the absence of clear answers from the investigation, strangers across the country have filled the void with competing narratives, particularly about whether race played a role in his death against the backdrop of Mississippi’s fraught racial history.
Some of Wells’ friends who were with him that day and local officials have said they received threats against their lives. Some of the alleged threats were deemed serious enough that three people were charged with crimes, The Associated Press reported. The suspects, who live in three states outside Mississippi, do not appear to have any connection to the families there.
Hudson, Pitalo, and Seymour have effectively become pariahs in their hometown and have been subjected to death threats and defamation, their attorneys said – some haven’t been able to return to school, and others have been refused service in their town. All three have been questioned by authorities in the case, Cox said.
Meanwhile, Nolan’s father, Elmore Wonsley, said his grieving family has also received online attacks — including a sudden barrage of negative reviews against his wife, a nurse practitioner, and vitriol from strangers.
“The disrespect that’s been coming toward my wife and my family — for any parent, no matter what race you are, they need time to grieve,” Elmore Wonsley said at a news conference last month. “A parent can’t grieve when you have people attacking them, attacking their jobs, attacking their character.”
The investigation could move forward with a forensic review of Nolan’s cell phone. The family’s attorneys said their experts are prepared to conduct a joint examination with law enforcement as early as this week.
