4 July 2026
Nolan Xavier Wells, 18, visited Horn Island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast with a group of friends, according to Reuters reporting published by The Guardian.
Reuters via The Guardian
4 July 2026
Wells was last seen on Horn Island after taking a boat trip with friends to celebrate the holiday, according to officials cited by CBS News and AP.
CBS News/AP
4 July 2026
Reuters reported that the group of three friends who traveled with Wells said he told them he wanted to stay on the island with a young woman when they left that afternoon.
Reuters via The Guardian
4 July 2026
Reuters reported that the young woman has said Wells got on the boat with the boys; this creates a reported conflict with the account attributed to the three friends.
Reuters via The Guardian
4 July 2026
GPS data from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources obtained by CBS News indicated that the vessel carrying Wells left a dock at about 9:56 a.m. and arrived at Horn Island at 11:14 a.m.
CBS News
4 July 2026
GPS data from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources obtained by CBS News indicated that the boat left Horn Island at 4:31 p.m. and returned to its original departure dock.
CBS News
4 July 2026
GPS data from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources obtained by CBS News indicated that the boat traveled into Fort Bayou around 5:52 p.m. and returned to the dock at 6:06 p.m.
CBS News
4 July 2026
GPS data from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources obtained by CBS News indicated that the boat went to the Fort Bayou boat launch at 7:19 p.m. and then traveled over land to the Biloxi residence of the boat’s owners.
CBS News
4 July 2026
Family members retrieved Wells’s phone from the home of one of his friends on the evening of 4 July after using a locator app, according to AP.
AP
4 July 2026
Wells’s family said there were no Snapchat posts or messages from the roughly 24 hours before they retrieved the phone, according to AP.
AP
4 July 2026
Christine Wells-Wonsley said she called the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Ocean Springs police and the Jackson County sheriff's department, and that each initially told her Wells's case was outside its jurisdiction.
The Guardian · added 31 Aug 2026
4 July 2026
Forensic examiner Andrew Garrett said phone data showed Wells opened his phone with his face at about 2:17 p.m. while it was on the boat, according to AP.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
4 July 2026
Garrett said Wells's phone then locked and continued receiving messages as it traveled on the boat, then by car, before it was picked up by his family, according to AP.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
4 July 2026
A witness testified to the grand jury that he saw Wells slip awkwardly off the side of a boat around 3:30 p.m. and that Wells continued to socialize afterward and did not appear injured, according to AP.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
5 July 2026
The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources report ended after notification that the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office would take over as lead investigative agency, according to CBS News.
CBS News
5 July 2026
Wells's family said they went to Horn Island with Wells's high school football coach, who offered his boat, to search for Wells themselves.
The Guardian · added 31 Aug 2026
6 July 2026
Wells’s body was found on the northwestern tip of Horn Island, according to Reuters reporting published by The Guardian.
Reuters via The Guardian
7 July 2026
Wells’s mother, Christine Wonsley, identified the body as belonging to Wells, according to The Guardian.
The Guardian
8 July 2026
Jackson County coroner Bruce Lynd told CBS News that dental records confirmed the body was Wells.
CBS News/AP
8 July 2026
CBS News reported that an autopsy had taken place, and coroner Bruce Lynd said the results were not immediately made public.
CBS News/AP
10 July 2026
At a New York news conference, Wells’s parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, called for a thorough and transparent investigation, according to AP reporting published by The Washington Post.
AP via The Washington Post
10 July 2026
An independent autopsy commissioned by Wells's family was conducted by Dr. Roger Mitchell after the Mississippi state autopsy, according to CBS News reporting that cited attorney Ben Crump and members of Crump's firm.
CBS News · added 30 Jul 2026
11 July 2026
The Jackson County, Mississippi, sheriff’s office told Reuters that the agency’s investigation into Wells’s death was ongoing and active, and provided no other details.
Reuters via The Guardian
15 July 2026
Attorneys for Wells’s family said they would work with the local prosecutor’s office to inspect the contents of Wells’s cellphone, according to AP.
AP
15 July 2026
Wells’s family attorneys met with District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath largely to discuss the inquiry process, according to AP.
AP
15 July 2026
Attorney Ben Crump said District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath committed to presenting the investigation to a grand jury once it was completed; AP reported that messages seeking comment from McIlrath’s office were not returned.
AP
15 July 2026
Crump said the process of trying to determine whether data could be recovered from Wells’s phone or social media would move forward in cooperation with investigators in the prosecutor’s office, according to AP.
AP
15 July 2026
Authorities with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and other agencies said they did not suspect foul play, and officials said official autopsy results were still pending and the investigation was continuing, according to AP.
AP
20 July 2026
Family members and supporters gathered for Wells's funeral in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and the Rev. Al Sharpton officiated, according to AP.
AP · added 30 Jul 2026
20 July 2026
At the funeral, Sharpton promised a $100,000 reward for new information about the circumstances around Wells's death, and said Tyler Perry would cover half of that sum and had paid for the funeral, according to AP.
AP · added 30 Jul 2026
22 July 2026
Attorney Ben Crump announced preliminary independent autopsy findings at the NAACP National Convention in Chicago, according to AP.
AP · added 30 Jul 2026
22 July 2026
The independent autopsy commissioned by Wells's family found the cause and manner of death to be undetermined pending further investigation, according to AP.
AP · added 30 Jul 2026
22 July 2026
The independent autopsy report showed no evidence of fractures or deep tissue injuries and described a finding on the back of Wells's skull as inconclusive and needing further investigation, according to AP.
AP · added 30 Jul 2026
22 July 2026
Dr. Roger Mitchell wrote in the independent autopsy report that he could not rule out the possibility that non-accidental factors contributed to or caused the death, according to AP.
AP · added 30 Jul 2026
22 July 2026
The independent autopsy report cited decomposition and the earlier state autopsy as limiting factors, including limits on determining whether Wells had a neck injury or whether water had entered his lungs, according to AP.
AP · added 30 Jul 2026
22 July 2026
AP reported that the Mississippi medical examiner had not released the state autopsy results and that toxicology results had also not been released.
AP · added 30 Jul 2026
22 July 2026
The Mississippi State Medical Examiner said its autopsy followed standard procedures, declined to comment on the independent autopsy, and urged the public to avoid assumptions before the investigation is complete, according to CBS News.
CBS News · added 30 Jul 2026
22 July 2026
AP reported that a $125,000 reward funded by Sharpton, Tyler Perry and Terrell Owens was being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in connection with Wells's death.
AP · added 30 Jul 2026
6 August 2026
Preliminary information reported by ABC News said witnesses told authorities that Nolan Wells had heavy alcohol intake.
ABC News · added 6 Aug 2026
7 August 2026
CNN reported that the three friends who traveled with Wells had not been accused of anything by police at that point.
CNN · added 31 Aug 2026
7 August 2026
Attorneys for the three friends told CNN the friends planned to return to Horn Island to conduct their own investigation.
CNN · added 31 Aug 2026
13 August 2026
Wells's parents, Ben Crump, Al Sharpton and Rep. Lucy McBath called for a federal review of the investigation during National Association of Black Journalists events in Atlanta.
The Guardian · added 31 Aug 2026
14 August 2026
The Jackson County district attorney said the state autopsy would not be released until a grand jury was convened.
The Guardian · added 31 Aug 2026
14 August 2026
Congressional Black Caucus chair Yvette D. Clarke and other caucus members sent a letter to Todd Blanche and Kash Patel urging an independent review of the case.
The Guardian · added 31 Aug 2026
14 August 2026
No suspects had been named and no one had been taken into custody regarding Wells's disappearance and death.
The Guardian · added 31 Aug 2026
18 September 2026
The Guardian reported that the Jackson County grand jury's review included 132 subpoenas, evidence from 43 witnesses and investigators, and an independent investigation by Wells's family.
The Guardian · added 7 Oct 2026
18 September 2026
The Guardian reported that the grand jury also considered physical and digital evidence, including mobile phone data, forensic reports, photographs, videos and GPS data.
The Guardian · added 7 Oct 2026
21 September 2026
A Jackson County grand jury declined to recommend charges in Wells's death, according to AP.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
21 September 2026
The grand jury report said there was no credible evidence that people who rode to or from Horn Island on the Triton, Palm Beach or Tideline engaged in criminal conduct related to Wells's death, according to CBS News.
CBS News · added 7 Oct 2026
21 September 2026
The grand jury report said the position, condition, time of discovery and location of Wells's body were consistent with drowning, according to CBS News.
CBS News · added 7 Oct 2026
21 September 2026
The grand jury report said Wells had not been in a fight or altercation while on Horn Island, according to AP.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
21 September 2026
The grand jury noted that the state autopsy report and the independent autopsy commissioned by Wells's family both could not determine the cause of death, according to AP.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
21 September 2026
The grand jury stated that the state autopsy and the independent autopsy both found bruising on the back of Wells's head, according to CBS News.
CBS News · added 7 Oct 2026
21 September 2026
The grand jury said it could not definitively state what caused the injuries noted by the autopsies, according to CBS News.
CBS News · added 7 Oct 2026
21 September 2026
The grand jury report said alcohol found in Wells's body was highly unreliable because the testing involved decompositional fluid, according to AP.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
21 September 2026
The grand jury found that it was not unusual or suspicious for people to return from Horn Island on boats they did not take there, according to AP.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
21 September 2026
The grand jury report noted that Wells's phone was not the only phone to travel back to the mainland without its owner that day, according to AP.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
22 September 2026
Wells's family pushed back on the grand jury findings and said they still did not have answers about what happened, according to AP.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
22 September 2026
Crump and others renewed a request for the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct an independent investigation and called for the investigation file and state medical examiner's full autopsy report to be released, according to AP.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
23 September 2026
Crump's team received the state's official autopsy report late Wednesday, according to AP.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
24 September 2026
Crump released information from a forensic examination of Wells's cellphone and details of the official autopsy, but AP reported that his team did not release a full report of all messages sent and received.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
24 September 2026
The grand jury had access to cellphone information that included 282 pages of Snapchat conversations, according to the panel's report and Crump as reported by AP.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
24 September 2026
Garrett said some Snap messages had been deleted but did not specify whether senders deleted them on their own phones and said he could not ascribe intent to the deletions, according to AP.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
24 September 2026
AP reported that no evidence was presented suggesting someone unlocked Wells's phone after it left the island and before his family got it back.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
24 September 2026
Crump's team said the official autopsy report stated Wells's airways and stomach were empty, according to AP.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
5 October 2026
The fathers of three friends of Wells filed a federal defamation lawsuit against Terrell Owens on the friends' behalf, according to AP.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026
5 October 2026
The lawsuit alleges Owens defamed the three friends through an X post and a linked Instagram video; the lawsuit's claims are civil allegations, according to AP.
AP · added 7 Oct 2026