Grand jury declines to indict anyone in death of Black teen Nolan Wells in Mississippi

PASCAGOULA, Miss. — A grand jury has unanimously declined to indict anyone in the death of Nolan Wells, ​an 18-year-old Black man whose body was found on a Mississippi barrier island after a Fourth of July trip with friends, Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said ‌late on Monday.

"The grand jury finds no credible evidence to support the public allegations that any persons who rode to or ⁠from Horn Island on July 4, 2026 ​on the Triton, the Palm Beach, or the ⁠Tideline engaged in any criminal conduct related to the death of Mr. Wells," said the grand ‌jury report released late on ‌Monday by McIlrath's office.

Civil rights advocates and prominent civil rights attorney Ben ⁠Crump had sought a comprehensive investigation and transparency from authorities ⁠on Wells' death.

Crump, who is representing the Wells family, said on X after the grand jury report was released that Wells' death still demanded answers and that the grand jury's decision to not indict anyone does not resolve how Wells died.

Wells' body was found on July 6 on the northwest end of Horn Island, a barrier island off the Mississippi Gulf ‌Coast, after he went missing during a Fourth of July weekend ​trip there with friends from nearby Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

Wells' death had evolved from a local investigation into a case drawing national scrutiny. Although authorities had not alleged foul play, questions were raised in the weeks after his death by family members, civil rights leaders and others about transparency, accountability and disparities in attention to cases involving Black victims.

The grand jury found that "the position of, the condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr. Wells' body is ​consistent with drowning," its report added.

"Both the State of Mississippi Chief Medical Examiner and Dr. (name redacted) opined that ‌the cause and ‌manner of Mr. ⁠Wells' death is undetermined and that drowning is a diagnosis of exclusion," the report said.

The report said the grand jury understood that neither forensic expert had ruled out accidental drowning as a cause of death.

"Jackson County, after a thorough and exhaustive investigation, your grand jury met last week concerning the death ‌investigation of Nolan Wells and ​unanimously returned a no true bill," McIlrath said in ‌a Facebook video.

McIlrath said there ⁠was no evidence ​to support the allegations that Wells' disappearance and death were racially motivated.

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