Nolan Wells’ Parents Heard Two Versions of His Final Hours: One Where He Stayed for a Girl Named Katie, the Other Where He Returned to the Boat
A friend who was with Nolan Wells on Horn Island says the 18-year-old stayed behind after meeting a young woman, but Wells’ family and attorneys say conflicting accounts of what happened next have raised serious questions about the timeline surrounding his death.
Nolan Xavier Wells disappeared during a Fourth of July outing with friends on Mississippi’s Horn Island. His body was discovered July 6, two days after his mother received a call saying he had not returned with the group.
Since then, Wells’ parents have challenged the initial account of their son’s final hours, citing discrepancies involving a young woman identified only as Katie, his cellphone, his clothing and the circumstances surrounding the recovery of his belongings.
“We’re still grieving—like it hasn’t even been that long—four days since he’s been found,” Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, said during an interview with Roland Martin. “I’m in a mindset right now where I’m trying to protect my family. I’m trying to protect my peace.”
Friend Says Wells Chose to Remain on Horn Island
Tracestin Shepherd, one of the friends who was with Wells before he disappeared, shared his account publicly during a phone interview with “Good Morning America.”
Shepherd declined to appear on camera, saying he and others involved in the outing have received threats online since Wells’ body was recovered.
“We did no wrong here, and we don’t understand how we’re getting so much hate behind it,” Shepherd said. “We all cared about and loved Nolan, and nobody wanted to see him die.”
Shepherd said he returned from Horn Island by boat during the late afternoon of July 4 while Wells remained on the island after meeting a young woman that day.
“They met that day, and it was kind of … he did come off that day like he really did like her,” Shepherd said. “But that was the only time they’d ever hung out—it was at Horn Island on July 4th.”
Shepherd also addressed a video that Wells’ family believed might show their son involved in a confrontation. He said the person heard yelling in the footage was him, not Wells.
“That’s the video I’m referring to,” Shepherd said. “That’s me yelling.”
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department has said Wells’ friends have cooperated with investigators. Authorities have also said they believe Wells drowned and reported finding no immediate evidence of foul play, though the investigation remains ongoing.
Family Says Accounts About Young Woman Do Not Match
Wells’ family says Shepherd’s account reflects the same version they initially received from the group—that Wells decided to stay behind with a young woman named Katie.
“They said that he wanted to stay and hang out with this girl named Katie,” Wonsley recalled. “It was, ‘Oh, well, Katie’s also missing, but we don’t know who she is.’ That was our first time kind of seeing her type of thing.”
Though someone related to Katie took to Facebook to dispel rumors that she was missing, the family’s attorney, Ben Crump, notes that one of the largest discrepancies lies in what happened after Wells spoke to Katie.
According to Crump, the young woman said Wells told her he was returning to the boat with his friends. Wells’ friends, meanwhile, have maintained that he told them he planned to remain behind with her.
Also Read: Nolan Wells Family Calls for Transparency at Press Conference
“The fact that you have the young lady who said that Nolan said he was going to get back on the boat with the boys, and then the boys said no, Nolan told them that he was going to stay with the girl—which one is it?” Crump said. “Somebody must not be telling the truth.”
Wells’ best friend, Jayvon Williams, previously told the Biloxi Sun Herald that he last saw Wells sometime after 4 p.m. Williams said Wells was spending time with a girl and other friends and that both he and Wells had left their phones on the boat used to travel to the island.
Crump questioned why Wells would remain alone on an island without retrieving his cellphone.
“What 18-year-old teenager says, ‘I’m going to stay behind on the island,’ and doesn’t ask for their cell phone?” Crump said.
Wells’ father, Elmore Wonsley, also rejected the suggestion that his son would abandon his plans to remain with someone he had just met.
“He had too much at stake. He had a plan for his life,” he said. “So, for someone to tell me that Nolan decided to stay on the island to chase a girl—no one is going to get me to believe that.”
Cellphone and Personal Belongings Raise More Questions
Wells’ parents have also raised concerns about how his cellphone and car keys were recovered.
The family said they had to track the phone using a monitoring application and assistance from a family friend. They also said Wells’ car was parked at a friend’s home and that they experienced difficulty retrieving its keys.
Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton highlighted those concerns during a press conference supporting the family.
“They didn’t voluntarily tell her they had his phone. They didn’t voluntarily say they had the keys,” Sharpton said. “So, if they had not been tracked down, we don’t know if they ever would have known where it was. Some of this doesn’t make sense.”
The family also said tracking data appeared to show Wells’ phone returning to the mainland after he disappeared. Investigators have requested access to the device, and Crump has said it will be provided as part of the investigation.
A family friend also reportedly noticed that Wells’ Snapchat account showed no activity for approximately 24 hours before his disappearance, despite his habit of regularly posting updates. The account’s displayed location also allegedly did not match the location where the cellphone was found.
Another discrepancy involved Wells’ clothing. An early police report described him as wearing black shorts, but his mother said a woman who was on Horn Island provided photographs showing him wearing blue shorts.
Shepherd urged the public to stop speculating and allow investigators to establish what happened.
“I want everybody to just relax and let everybody mourn the loss of Nolan, and let us remember him as the sweet guy,” Shepherd said. “I think everybody needs to let the investigation continue and let the facts be shown.”
For Wells’ parents, the central question remains unchanged.
“We just want to know what happened and why our baby didn’t come home,” Wonsley said.
