Friends of Nolan Wells, the Mississippi teenager who disappeared and died during a July 4 boat trip to Horn Island, say the months since his death have pushed them toward their Christian faith even as they continue to grieve.
Wells, 18, vanished after a trip with friends to the barrier island off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. Search crews looked for him for two days before a National Park Service ranger found his body at the island’s northwestern tip on July 6.
In October, a Jackson County grand jury returned a “no true bill” in the case, declining to indict anyone after finding insufficient evidence of criminal wrongdoing. The grand jury concluded that his death was consistent with drowning.
Three of Wells’ friends — Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour — spoke with Fox News’ Kayleigh McEnany about how the loss has shaped them in the months since.
“I learned to lean on the Lord,” Hudson said. “I know my friends did as well. And I know that’s what Nolan would want me to do.”
Pitalo said the days immediately after Wells’ death changed the group.
“Right after the first three days or so, I was like, if this did anything, it got us all closer to God,” Pitalo said.
Seymour said the group began attending church more regularly. “Everything from that moment on was like for God, for Jesus,” he said, to which Hudson added, “For Nolan.”
Scrutiny Online
McEnany said the friends have faced intense scrutiny and accusations online since Wells’ death, even as they tried to process the loss. One of the friends had known Wells since elementary school.
“These young men, unfortunately, were demonized and dragged through a lot, and they loved Nolan,” McEnany said on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
Theories spread online in the aftermath of Wells’ disappearance, including unsubstantiated claims that his friends were responsible for his death and that the incident was racially motivated.
Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said the grand jury found “absolutely no evidence” to support claims that race played a role in Wells’ death.
“Nolan’s friends loved Nolan and Nolan loved them,” McIlrath said following the grand jury’s decision. “Nolan chose to stay on the island that day, and there is not a scintilla of evidence to contradict that.”
Wells’ family and civil rights attorney Ben Crump have challenged the grand jury’s findings, citing bruising and blunt-force injuries described by an independent pathologist hired by the family. They have called for further investigation, including a federal review by the Justice Department.
