Grand Jury Finds No Evidence of Wrongdoing in Nolan Wells Death

A Jackson County grand jury has unanimously declined to indict anyone in the death of Nolan Wells, an 18-year-old Black man whose body was found off Mississippi's Horn Island following a Fourth of July trip with friends. The grand jury found no credible evidence of criminal wrongdoing or racial motivation in his death, according to a report released Monday by District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath. The investigation, which included 132 subpoenas and testimony from 43 witnesses, concluded that Wells' body was consistent with drowning. However, both the Mississippi State Medical Examiner and an independent autopsy commissioned by the family ruled his cause and manner of death undetermined, leaving the precise circumstances unresolved. Wells, an Ocean Springs resident and football player at Southwest Mississippi Community College, traveled to the uninhabited barrier island with a group of friends on July 4, 2026. He was last seen on the island that afternoon. His body was discovered in the water off the island's northwestern tip on the morning of July 6. The grand jury report states that Wells chose to remain on Horn Island after his boat departed, a common occurrence on holidays.