Ocean Springs, Mississippi - A new interview with the parents of Nolan Wells, whose body was found days after he went missing during a Fourth of july outing to a barrier island, is causing a stir on social media as the public sounds off on what they think happened to the 18-year-old.

A story published in New York Magazine on Tuesday, November 3, recounts Wells' friendship with what the writer calls the "boat boys," the backlash they've faced, and the various accounts of what happened on July 4, the day Wells went to Horn Island with a large group and did not return.

In the days that have passed since the story dropped, the family's attorney Ben Crump has urged the public to read the story, which received an array of responses from positive to negative.

In the piece, Wells' parents stressed that they have not, to this day, made any accusations against the "boat boys," referencing Wells' friends Warren Hudson, Wyatt Pyron, Bart Edmiston, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour, among others who were there that day.

“It was never our intent to make this a racist thing,” Wells-Wonsley said. “We are just parents who want to know. But at the end of the day, unfortunately, you can’t erase Mississippi’s history. You can’t erase America’s history when we talk about racism.”

But still, social media users have their opinions.

Replies to Crump's X post about the interview, which also features Nolan's friend Skylan Hunter, highlight the apparent divide in public opinion.

"Despite their grief, they refuse to stop fighting for answers about their 18-year-old son's death," Crump wrote, which triggered a sea of responses.

"They got their answers and so did you. No f***ing crime," one X user wrote.

"They have received their answers. Nolan Wells died of accidental drowning," another X user replied. "Whether or not they choose to accept that is of no interest to me - they have my sympathy for the loss of their son; they will receive no support from me to continue the tiresome crusade you and Al Sharpton have set them on."

Some accused Crump and Nolan's family of being grifters who are seeking GoFundMe money, but others defended the mourning family and their pursuit of answers.

"No one will convince me their son wasn't murdered," one X user said, replying to Crump's post, while someone else wrote, "something dodgy going on with the local police and judiciary.

Nolan's family and the attorneys representing them do not believe that Nolan died of an accidental drowning, seeing as no water was found in his lungs or stomach. Crump and other members of the family's legal team have pointed out strange bruising on the back of Wells' head that autopsies have not explained.

“I feel like Ocean Springs as a whole wants this to just go away.” Nolan's mom, Christine Wells-Wonsley, said in the story.

Though the family says they have never made any accusations against the friends Wells was with on the day of the Fourth of July outing, Nolan's parents did note inconsistencies among accounts of those who were at Horn Island that day.

They also do not have any specific theories about what may have happened, other than believing someone harmed their son.

While the "boat boys" have been on the defensive since that day, appearing in countless interviews, declaring their innocence, Hunter, however, feels slightly differently than the chorus of social media sleuths and those who have taken interest in the case.

“Even if they didn’t do anything and just left him, that’s wrong. I feel like, as a friend group, they didn’t take care of the situation or they didn’t handle the situation the best they could, which resulted in the outcome we got," Hunter said.