By Alexia McKay
Florida Courier
ALEXIA MCKAY/FLORIDA COURIER
The parents of 18-year-old Nolan Wells want a fair, full and thorough review of their son’s case.
At a press conference on Wednesday morning at the National Association of Black Journalists’ (NABJ) convention in Atlanta, Elmore and Christine Wells Wonsley were joined by attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family; Rev. Al Sharpton; and U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia.
During the NABJ conference, they called for a federal review of the investigation into the teen’s disappearance and death. Wells went missing during a July trip to Horn Island in Mississippi with friends. His body was recovered from the water on July 6.
“We have two parents, lovely parents, I’ve gotten to know them, that really don’t have an answer to the question. Is it a civil rights violation or not? And we do not know,” said Sharpton during the press conference. “How do you trust the words of people that say immediately there was no foul play when you haven’t even investigated whether there was foul play? How do you trust people that come back from something that happened and never really give you a straight story?”
Bonded by tragedy
McBath noted that the Nolan Wells tragedy reminded her of her own. Her son, Jordan Davis, 17, was shot and killed in 2012 by Michael Dunn over an argument about the teen playing music too loud in his car while stopped at a gas station in Jacksonville. Dunn was found guilty of first-degree and attempted second-degree murder and is currently serving a life sentence without parole.
“This family deserves answers,” said McBath. “I myself sought the same justice for my son, Jordan, that they’re seeking for theirs and they deserve answers, and they deserve justice.”
She called on FBI Director Kash Patel for a federal investigation.
“We want to make sure that every stone is unturned because his life matters. All of our children’s and our families’ lives matter and we must fight back. We must stand up, and we must demand accountability for this family’s loss,” McBath noted.
“We cannot turn a blind eye to what continues to happen again and again and again. That’s the reason why I ran for Congress, to make sure that we continue to put a face on what’s happening to our families and our communities every single day.”
Christine Wonsley tearfully expressed to the media, “Only thing we want to know is what happened. That’s all we want to know is what happened to our son, because many parents out there, you still have your children. You still can hug them. You still can call them. You still can celebrate their life with them. And we do not have that anymore.”
‘A bright light’
Earlier Wednesday, the Wonsleys, Crump and Sharpton participated in a discussion moderated by journalist and author Tiffany Cross.
Mrs. Wonsley took that time to speak about her son not as a victim, but as her child.
“Nolan is – and was – an incredible soul,” she said, slightly choking up while reflecting on her son. “He was the person that no matter where you are in life, what was going on, he was going to be your biggest cheerleader.”
She shared that it was Nolan who encouraged her to start creating social media content. “He was God-fearing, God-loving; that boy had faith beyond measure. He was just a bright light, and he was our bright light.”
The mom added, “He wanted everyone around him to smile, be happy, be comfortable and accepted and that is the kind of person God made him…Nolan was naturally a peacemaker.”
His mother said his focus was on school, football, and going on with the next stage of his life.
July 4-6
Mrs. Wonsley went on to discuss the chain of events that happened on their end from the time Nolan vanished to when his remains were found. She said Nolan was staying at his friend Jax’s house the night before July 4. Mrs. Wonsley said she had previously met Jax only in passing.
On July 4, she and her sister were cleaning up after dinner when they realized they had not heard from Nolan and tried to call him several times, but there was no answer.
At 11:07 p.m., she picked up a call from Warren Hudson, one of Nolan’s friends, who asked if she had spoken to him. Warren told her they went to Horn Island and Nolan decided to stay back with a girl named Katie.
“We know our child,” Mrs. Wonsley said. “Nolan isn’t the one to be like, ‘Oh, I am just going to throw caution to the wind, and I am going to stay here with this girl I just met.”
According to her, Warren also told her not to worry, that they were going to find him. She checked Nolan’s GPS herself, which showed the phone was on land.
“Don’t tell me not to worry, this is my child, my flesh and blood that I brought into this world and you’re telling me not to worry. Absolutely not,’’ she told NABJ members at the conference.
Mrs. Wonsley went through a timeline of her actions once she discovered her son was missing.
No urgency, inconsistencies
Panicked, she called the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR), which told her they were not sure Nolan’s case was in their jurisdiction. From there, MDMR directed her to the Ocean Springs Police Department, who told her to come down to give a report in person. But once she got there, the police department told her Nolan’s case was not in their jurisdiction.
Then she called the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. She says one officer met her and her husband in a McDonald’s parking lot, took their information and left. The lack of urgency frustrated and concerned her.
The Wonsleys went on a friend’s boat to the island to look for Nolan. Mr. Wonsley said they were the first ones out there looking for him.
He also pointed to what he described as inconsistencies surrounding his son’s disappearance, including the circumstances involving Nolan’s phone.
“First inconsistency is that you call me and tell me my son stayed on the island to talk to a girl,” he said. “That’s not in his character. I didn’t raise any of my kids to do that. The second thing is you say he doesn’t have his phone. He never leaves his phone… To me, that’s two lies you done told me.”
Crump said Nolan’s parents were concerned if they were going to get a fair and impartial investigation.
“They [Nolan’s parents] said we want a thorough investigation because when they found Nolan they expressed to me that the sheriff had already said no foul play. And they were like ‘No, my son – he knows how to swim, our son is a college athlete, our son is in great shape. We don’t believe that he just drowned, and nobody knows nothing.’”
Memorial birthday on Aug. 19
Nolan Wells would have celebrated his 19th birthday on Aug. 19. On that day, there will be a national prayer rally in his memory at the Greater St. John AME Church in Biloxi, Mississippi.
“It is going to be extremely difficult for his mother, his father, his family because this August 19th will be like no other that they’ve ever had for the last 19 years,” Crump said during the press conference. He made a call to action for unity and prayer for the truth.
Crump said, “Can we try to give them grace and give them love and pray for their humanity, for their son who was lost on the Fourth of July and is never coming back. Is that so much to ask?”
Mr. Wonsley added, “August 19th is going to bring a lot of hurt, some laughter as we think about memories. But as far as our family, a very big piece would no longer be there. We just want the truth. We just want to know what any other parent would want to know. We are asking questions any parent would ask.’’
