Local leaders in Nolan Wells’ home region are standing firmly behind their sheriff after the handling of the 18-year-old’s death investigation drew sharp criticism Wednesday morning.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson said Mississippi authorities failed the family and community during a news conference in which civil rights attorney Ben Crump revealed findings from an independent autopsy.
“We’re not accusing anyone of anything other than the state of Mississippi and local officials. We’re accusing them of being derelict in their duties,” Johnson said. “To follow up and to ensure that regardless of what happened, that there was the proper investigation so that this family and that community could be assured that if anyone was involved, they would be held accountable.”
Nolan Wells is seen smiling on the field while playing wide receiver for Southwest Mississippi Community College. (Christine Wonsley/Facebook)
Wells disappeared on July 4 after joining friends for a boating trip to Horn Island, a barrier island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Authorities and search teams spent two days looking for him before a National Park Service ranger discovered his remains July 6 near the island’s northwestern tip.
Mississippi State Senator Jeremy England, whose district includes part of Jackson County where the incident occurred, told INC News that Johnson’s allegation was “completely unfair.”
“Our sheriff and our district attorney here in Jackson County, our DPS commissioner over the state of Mississippi law enforcement, our crime lab, the offices they put together, I know many of them personally and professionally, and they have the utmost integrity and they want to get the facts correct and get out there. You know, they understand they’re under a microscope at this point in time, but they’re being unfairly attacked,” England said. “For no reason other than people trying to make shocking claims and get people to think something nefarious has happened or is going on.”
Nolan Xavier Wells vanished on the Fourth of July while boating with friends, authorities said. (Jackson County Sheriff’s Department via Facebook)
“But these are very good people, and it’s really disheartening to see their name and their reputation being dragged through the mud,” England said.
The state senator said Mississippi investigators won’t be swayed by public pressure, even as expectations build around the case.
“There’s not always someone to blame,” he said. “And here in Mississippi, we don’t have and we don’t follow what you see in some other states and some other communities where you have activist district attorneys and activist sheriffs, and they’re listening to the public and they’re wanting to respond to the public.”
“Our leaders, the people in that office, they don’t do that. They take their time, they make sure they get it right, and they’re doing that out of respect for the family and for the entire community at this point,” England said.
Congressman Mike Ezell, R-Miss., told INC News he has complete confidence in the current Jackson County sheriff, John Ledbetter, who is running the investigation.
“I have full confidence in Sheriff Ledbetter and all of our law enforcement officials as they are working hard to do a thorough investigation. As a former sheriff and police officer, I know firsthand the demands and pressure of their job, and I know they will handle this matter with integrity.”
During Wednesday’s news conference, Crump revealed that an area of “red discoloration” was found on Wells’ head, but said Dr. Roger Mitchell, who performed the autopsy, couldn’t come to a conclusion on a cause or manner of death “pending further investigation.” An official autopsy into Wells’ death hasn’t been completed.
When asked by INC News about the case, forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden said the head injury doesn’t point to foul play.
Attorney Ben Crump, center, speaks next to Elmore and Christine Wonsley, at left, and Rev. Al Sharpton during a memorial service for Nolan Xavier Wells, an 18-year-old found dead after taking a July 4 boat trip with friends, Monday, July 20, 2026, in Ocean Springs, Miss. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
“So that could be from bumping into something in the water. There’s a lot of debris in the water, for example. It depends how deep it is, but it’s describing a really superficial impact that could have happened before death or after death,” Baden said. “What he’s describing is a minor injury that could be… totally innocent.”
Without having additional information, Mitchell wrote in his report that he couldn’t rule out the possibility that “non-accidental factors contributed to or caused the death.”
The independent autopsy’s release comes as Rev. Al Sharpton said he’s offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the death of Wells. Authorities previously told the Associated Press that foul play isn’t suspected.
Wells’ friends returned to the mainland that afternoon without him. Ledbetter has said investigators believe Wells chose to stay on the island. It wasn’t until later that night that his mother learned he was missing from one of Wells’ friends and reported it to authorities.
