The devastated mother of Nolan Wells has shared the last words her son said to her before he was discovered dead on a Mississippi island this week.
Wells was reported missing Sunday morning when he did not make it back to the mainland after celebrating the Fourth of July with friends. His body was recovered the following day on the northwestern end of Horn Island.
Speaking at a press conference in New York City on Friday, his mother, Christine Wonsley, described the tender final exchange she had with her son before he left to spend the evening with friends.
He told her: “Hey, mom, I’m about to go, love you.”
Wells then hugged and kissed his mother before heading out to stay overnight at a friend’s home, ahead of their planned trip to the island the next morning.
Earlier that night, Wonsley said, she and her 18-year-old son had shared a dinner of baked salmon that he had cooked himself.
The family has retained prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump to represent them as authorities continue looking into Wells’ death.
Police in Mississippi have said they do not currently suspect foul play and believe the teenager may have drowned.
Christine Wonsley heartbreakingly revealed that she and her son, Nolan Wells, shared a salmon dinner together that the teen made before he went to spend the night at his friend’s
Before he left, he hugged and kissed her, telling her: ‘Hey, mom, I’m about to go, love you,’ the mother recalled
However, the family is demanding a more thorough investigation, as they do not trust Mississippi authorities to properly investigate the teen’s death due to his race.
Crump said the family had a ‘distrust of law enforcement officials giving them a fair investigation where their black son ended up dead after going out on a boat with three white young men.’
The mother has become more suspicious after getting her son’s phone back, where she checked Snapchat and saw that her son had not taken any photos of his day out, which she said was unusual for the football player.
‘When we opened it up, there was nothing. There were no saved pictures. There were no snaps from that day, and we did open it before the 24-hour expiration,’ she said at a press conference.
‘So we found that very concerning, only because anyone who’s ever been around Nolan will tell you at social gatherings, he’s taking videos, he’s taking pictures, he’s even come up to me when I’m getting ready to go to bed: “Hey, Ma, come on, take a picture of me.”
‘You know, that was Nolan, so that’s why we feel that things may have been deleted, because of the fact that there was nothing in either one of his accounts.’
Crump also pointed out that the girl Wells was allegedly talking to had said he was going back to the boat, while his friends said he had decided to stay on the island while they left as their boat was experiencing a mechanical issue, one of the other boy’s mother said.
Police are also investigating a video that allegedly shows a heated argument on the beach, where Wells can allegedly be heard saying: ‘Give me my freaking phone, what are you freaking doing?’
Wells (second right) would be found dead days later on Horn Island, where he went with friends to celebrate the Fourth of July
The family is calling for a thorough investigation into his death, as they do not trust Mississippi authorities to do it justice. ‘We just want to know what happened and why our baby didn’t come home,’ Wonsley said
Wells was last seen around 3pm on Saturday before his body was found days later.
His body is being flown 800 miles to Washington, DC, for an independent autopsy. The family also plans on hiring experts to recover messages from Wells’ phone before turning it over to authorities.
‘We just want to know what happened and why our baby didn’t come home,’ Wonsley said at the press conference.
A GoFundMe was launched for the teen’s family for funeral expenses and additional support.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Crump’s office for comment.
