FAMILY OF NOLAN XAVIER WELLS AND ATTORNEY BEN CRUMP TO BE JOINED BY REVEREND AL SHARPTON, DEMANDING A FULL AND TRANSPARENT INVESTIGATION INTO HIS DEAT

—

Jul 09, 2026

Rev. Al Sharpton, Attorney Ben Crump, and the Family of the 18-Year-Old to Address the Media

at NAN’s New Harlem Headquarters on Friday, July 10th

New York, NY (July 9, 2026) – The family of Nolan Xavier Wells and their attorney Ben Crump
will be joined by Reverend Al Sharpton, Founder and President of The National Action Network
(NAN), for a press conference on Friday, July 10, 2026, at 12:00 PM at the New House of
Justice, NAN’s headquarters in Harlem, to call for a full, transparent, and urgent investigation
into the death of 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells.

WHO
Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder & President, National Action Network, and Attorney Ben Crump, Civil
Rights Attorney
The Family of Nolan Xavier Wells

WHAT
Press conference calling for a full, transparent, and urgent investigation into the death of Nolan
Xavier Wells, and for the timely release of all investigative records and findings.

WHERE
National Action Network — House of Justice Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Workshop (New
headquarters location)

6 Hancock Place — Off 125 th and Morningside
Harlem, NY 10027

WHEN
Friday, July 10, 2026 | 12:00 PM
Together, they will call for a full and transparent investigation and the timely release of all
investigative records and findings, and will demand the answers his family deserves about how
their son was left behind on a remote island and never made it home.

Nolan Xavier Wells, 18, of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, was a graduate of Ocean Springs High
School and a football player at Southwest Mississippi Community College. On July 4, 2026, he traveled by boat with a group of friends to Horn Island, off the Mississippi Gulf Coast, to celebrate the holiday. He was last seen on the island at approximately 3:00 p.m. and did not return to the mainland with the group. His mother, Christine Wonsley, reported him missing that
night.

Following a multi-agency search involving the U.S. Coast Guard, the Mississippi Department of
Marine Resources, the National Park Service, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, and the
United Cajun Navy, Nolan’s body was recovered near Horn Island on Monday, July 6. His
identity was confirmed through dental records by the Jackson County coroner. The Jackson
County Sheriff’s Office has stated that the investigation remains active and that the cause of
death is undetermined.

The family has retained Attorney Ben Crump, whose team is conducting an independent review
and pressing for the release of all records, witness accounts, and investigative findings. The
family has serious, unanswered questions about how Nolan came to be left behind on Horn
Island, and they are traveling to New York to demand those answers publicly. U.S.
Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS) has also called for a full, transparent, and timely
investigation into Nolan’s death.

The National Action Network is standing with the Wells family as part of its longstanding mission
to ensure that the deaths of young Black men receive rigorous investigation, and that grieving
families never have to stand alone in their search for the truth.

“A young man left his home to celebrate the Fourth of July with friends, and he never came
back. His mother deserves answers, and his family deserves the truth,” said Rev. Al Sharpton,
Founder and President of the National Action Network. “We are not here to jump ahead of the
facts. We are here to demand that the facts come to light, fully, honestly, and without delay.
That means a complete and transparent investigation. That means releasing every record.
Nolan Xavier Wells was eighteen years old with his whole life in front of him, and this family will
not be left in the dark. We stand with them, and we will not stop until every question is answered.”

About National Action Network (NAN)
National Action Network is one of the leading civil rights organizations in the Nation with
chapters throughout the entire United States. Founded in 1991 by Reverend Al Sharpton, NAN
works within the spirit and tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to promote a modern civil rights
agenda that includes the fight for one standard of justice, decency, and equal opportunities for
all people regardless of race, religion, nationality, or gender.
For more information, visit www.nationalactionnetwork.net

About Ben Crump Law
Through his work, nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump has
spearheaded a legal movement to better protect the rights of marginalized citizens. He has led
landscape-changing civil rights cases and represented clients in a wide range of areas including
civil rights, personal injury, labor and employment, class actions, and more. Ben Crump Law is
dedicated to holding the powerful accountable. For more information, visit www.bencrump.com

###