Ocean Springs, Mississippi - The parents of Nolan Wells, the student athlete who was found dead after going missing on the Fourth of July, are asking for "a thorough investigation" as they seek answers surrounding their son's mysterious disappearance.
In an emotional interview that aired Friday on Good Morning America, Nolan's parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley — joined by their attorney Ben Crump — made several pleas to those investigating their 18-year-old son's death. Meanwhile, Crump pointed out what he described as witness inconsistencies and alluded to a viral video in which Nolan can allegedly be heard.
"At the end of the day, I would hope any parent would fight for their kids to find out if anything happened, what did happen," Christine told GMA host Michael Strahan. "We just want honesty and transparency. We want a thorough investigation. We want that same respect that would be given to anybody else."
Nolan's family breaking their silence on GMA — and later at a Friday afternoon press conference in Manhattan — comes after the teen's body was found by a US park ranger Monday morning on Horn Island off the coast of Mississippi. The Jackson County Coroner positively identified the body as Nolan on Tuesday, per reports by NPR. Though the county did an autopsy report, Crump said he ordered an independent autopsy to be done, which has not yet been completed.
The 18-year-old football player disappeared on July 4 after traveling with a group of friends to the barrier island off the Mississippi Coast. His mom, Christine, filed a missing persons report with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department that night, according to a press release posted on Crump's website. She also posted about it on Facebook after midnight.
On Tuesday, Ashley Cole, a local chancery judge and the mother of one of Nolan's friends, Warren, said in a social media post that he had been interviewed by the local police and claimed no one in their family "is trying in any way to impede with the investigation by law enforcement or to otherwise hamper the family and law enforcement’s quest for answers."
According to Cole's Facebook post, her son saw Nolan around 3 PM on July 4: "They left around 4:30 PM when the boat was taking on water and they had an issue with the bilge pump. Nolan made a decision to stay on the island and return inland later with another group of friends."
When asked on GMA why they thought their son would stay behind on the island, Nolan's mother said, "That we cannot answer,” while his father added, "We always taught him that if you go with a group, you stay with a group ... If you go with five, you come back with five. Do not separate from the group. Because I always said, 'Safety is in numbers.' So he knew to stay with this group, so why would he split from the group? I don’t know."
But when Nolan's parents got his phone back, it raised more questions than answers.
Nolan Wells death: Family speaks out for first time
In their Friday appearance on GMA to discuss the independent investigation, Christine, Elmore, and Crump brought up oddities relating to the location of the phone and possibly missing information from the phone, which was tracked down by Christine's friend using Life360.
Christine claims the phone's location history differed from what friends were seeing on Snapchat, and she also said that when she and her sister reviewed Nolan's Snapchat accounts, they found no photos or videos from the boat outing.
"I've seen Nolan whenever he Snap[chats]. When he goes, and he's having fun, he does videos. There was absolutely nothing," she explained.
On GMA and at a Manhattan press conference on Friday, Crump said the family is seeking a forensic analysis of Nolan's phone and alluded to inconsistencies in witness accounts, also noting the viral video where Nolan can allegedly be heard asking for his phone before it went missing.
Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter also told GMA that investigators are reviewing the video, noting they have yet to determine where it originated.
On Wednesday, the Jackson County Sheriff's Department issued a press release acknowledging the "significant amount of information, speculation, and commentary" being shared on social media about Nolan's death.
In the release, Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter stressed that investigators are still awaiting the state medical examiner’s autopsy report and continuing "to establish the facts through eyewitness accounts, physical evidence, and other reliable information."
Authorities are asking anyone who was on or near Horn Island on July 4 to contact the Jackson County Sheriff's Office if they had any interactions with, sightings of, or statements regarding Nolan. They are also looking for original, unedited photos and videos taken on the northwest tip of Horn Island, "particularly those depicting alleged altercations or containing images of, or believed to include Nolan Wells."
Witnesses or those with any information should contact the sheriff's department's criminal investigations division at 228-769-3065 or at 228-769-3063 after hours.
Investigations into Nolan Wells' disappearance, death
A native of the coastal Mississippi town of Ocean Springs, Nolan was a wide receiver for Southwest Mississippi Community College. The 18-year-old's father, Elmore, stressed that Nolan's July 4 boat outing with friends was his "last hurray" before he was set to return to training for football camp.
"The entire summer, he is training,” Elmore said. “He got more serious. He started to understand what I was trying to tell him about football, not just being fun, but if you get farther in it, it becomes a business."
"He was very loving," Nolan's father said on GMA, while his mother, Christine, called him a "bright light." She recounted telling him, "'You have to be careful when you have such a big heart like that. I love that God blessed you with that, but you have to be careful ... because it's not always returned.'"
Jackson County Sheriff Ledbetter said his office is working toward the same goal as the family: "We want a thorough investigation. That’s what we’re going to continue to do until we arrive at the answers that the family deserves."