‘Let’s Not Call Him a Man…’: Nolan Wells’ Mom Speaks Out Amid Plans to Release Cellphone Report

Jackson, Mississippi: The family of Nolan Wells, the 18-year-old Mississippi college student whose body was found on Horn Island in July, is continuing to seek answers after a grand jury declined to recommend criminal charges in his death.

Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, has also objected to descriptions of her son as a “man”, stressing that he was still a teenager when he died.

“Let’s not call him a man because 18, you’re still a teenager,” Wonsley said in an interview with NBC News. “Nolan was a boy. He was a child. He was our child.”

Family plans to release cellphone report

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Wells’ family, has scheduled the release of an independent forensic examination of the teenager’s cellphone.

The report is part of the family’s separate investigation into Wells’ death. Crump has also called for greater transparency and for federal authorities to examine the circumstances surrounding the case.

The planned cellphone report comes days after the Mississippi grand jury concluded its review without recommending criminal charges.

The family has said the phone could contain information relevant to understanding Wells’ movements and communications before his death.

What happened to Nolan Wells?

Wells disappeared on July 4, 2026, while spending the holiday with friends on Horn Island, an undeveloped barrier island off the Mississippi coast.

His family reported him missing after he failed to return from the island. His body was discovered on July 6 on the island’s northwestern end.

The circumstances surrounding how Wells ended up alone on the island have remained a major focus of questions from his family.

Grand jury finds no basis for charges

A Jackson County grand jury recently reviewed the case and declined to recommend criminal charges.

According to the grand jury report, jurors heard evidence from 43 witnesses and reviewed cellphone and GPS data, videos, forensic reports and other investigative material. The panel concluded that Wells’ death was consistent with drowning and found no evidence establishing criminal conduct or a racially motivated crime.

The decision does not mean that every question surrounding the death has been resolved.

The grand jury report noted that Wells had bruising and other injuries, but concluded that the injuries were not fatal. It also said the panel could not determine whether a fall from a boat earlier that day was responsible for the bruising.

Cause of death remains disputed

One of the central issues raised by Wells’ family is the medical determination surrounding his death.

The state medical examiner and an independent forensic pathologist hired by the family both listed the cause and manner of death as undetermined, according to the Associated Press. The grand jury nevertheless described the death as consistent with drowning.

The family has questioned how drowning could be treated as the explanation when the medical examinations did not definitively establish the cause of death.

Crump and Wonsley have also pointed to unexplained blunt-force trauma to the back of Wells’ head and body as an issue requiring further examination.

Why is the cellphone important?

Wells’ cellphone has been a point of contention throughout the investigation.

His family previously sought information from technology companies including Meta, Snapchat, TikTok and Life360, looking for messages, photographs, videos, location information and timestamps that could help reconstruct his movements.

The family and local authorities had also disagreed over how the phone should be examined. Earlier reports said the device had not been analyzed by authorities while the two sides worked out a protocol for examination and control of the process.

The forthcoming independent forensic report is therefore expected to be closely watched by the family and others following the case.

Family continues to seek federal investigation

Despite the grand jury's decision, Wonsley and Crump have continued to call for an independent investigation by the US Department of Justice.

Wonsley said the grand jury findings left the family without answers and argued that her son had not received what she considered a thorough and transparent investigation.

The district attorney's office, meanwhile, has defended the investigation. The grand jury report also indicated that the case could be revisited if credible new evidence emerges suggesting that Wells’ death was not accidental.

What happens next?

The release of the cellphone examination could provide additional information about Wells’ communications, location data or activities before his death.

However, until the report is independently assessed and any new evidence is investigated by authorities, its findings will remain part of the family's independent investigation rather than a new official determination.

For now, the grand jury has declined to recommend charges, while Wells’ family continues to seek further answers about what happened to the 18-year-old on Horn Island.