Exclusive: Ben Crump and Nolan Wells’ parents open up about his death and their fight for answers
TheGrio...
“We have not heard from our local authorities since last Tuesday,” Christine Wonsley said regarding any new updates in her son’s case.
The parents of Nolan Wells say they have not heard from local investigators in nearly a week as they continue searching for answers about what happened to their 18-year-old son after he disappeared during a July 4 outing on Mississippi’s Horn Island.
In an exclusive interview with theGrio’s Natasha S. Alford, Christine and Elmore Wonsley said they remain frustrated by what they describe as a lack of communication from investigators, while civil rights attorney Ben Crump addressed why he joined the case and what his legal team is doing to help the family.
As theGrio previously reported, Wells disappeared after traveling to Horn Island with a group of friends on July 4. Search crews later found his body on the Mississippi barrier island. Authorities have not publicly released a cause or manner of death, and the investigation remains ongoing.
“So, I’m going to be honest, we have not heard from our local authorities since last Tuesday,” Christine said. “And that was because I sent a text. I was like, ‘Hey, this is Christine, Nolan’s mom. Just wanted to get an update.’ We received a phone call. Basically, really no updates. And that was it. We’ve heard from no one else.”
Crump called the lack of communication unusual and said the family deserves the same level of urgency that investigators would give any other family.
“If the roles were reversed, this investigation would be handled totally different … We want a zealous investigation for our son too. We want you to do for our son what you would do for anybody’s son and get to the bottom of this because it’s not adding up,” Crump said.
The family also continues to reject the explanation that Nolan voluntarily stayed behind on the island.
“When they said that, that automatically turned me off, but it turned on a question like I know he wouldn’t do that. I preach that to him every day. He would not do that … You’re lying to me. I can’t believe it, and I won’t believe it,” Elmore said.
Christine echoed those concerns, saying she does not believe her son would have willingly left without his cellphone.
“I just cannot fathom Nolan leaving his phone,” Christine said, noting that even his best friends would say that was unlike him. “To sit there and say that, ‘Oh, you know, he just left his phone,’ that’s hard for me to believe. I just don’t see any teenager without their phone.”
Christine also addressed conflicting accounts from people who were on Horn Island that day. She said the family had never met Tristan Shepard, who has publicly described himself as one of Nolan’s best friends, but appreciated that he reached out to offer his condolences. She also said a young woman named Katie has been identified, though the family does not know whether investigators have interviewed her.
“We just have not heard much from our local authorities,” she said. “We just want transparency and a very thorough investigation, just like they would do for anyone else.” She also urged anyone with information to share it with both investigators and the family’s legal team.
Crump said his team is conducting its own investigation by interviewing dozens of witnesses, seeking deleted text messages and social media communications and awaiting preliminary findings from an independent autopsy.
“Nobody believes that Nolan either fell off a boat or jumped in the water without people seeing it. That would make no sense,” he added.
Later in the interview, Alford asked Crump to explain his role in the case after public criticism over his involvement. Crump said he is representing the family as a civil rights trial lawyer and explained that only prosecutors and government officials have the authority to bring criminal charges, while his role is to pursue accountability through the civil justice system.
“We understand we can’t put nobody in jail. Only the prosecutor, only the elected government officials can do that,” Crump said. “But I’d be damned if we’re not going to fight to say that our people can get some measure of justice.”
Christine also responded to those who have criticized the family’s efforts to seek answers about Nolan’s death.
“I would hope anyone, if their loved one, if this type of tragedy or if they, you know, whatever, I would hope they would fight. I would hope they would fight like hell to find out what happened. And if something did happen, who did it? You know, for justice purposes. I don’t get why a lot of people are so upset with us asking the questions, because God forbid if you were in the situation. I would hope that, you know, you would too,” Christine explained.
She also made one final appeal to the parents of the children who may know what happened to Nolan on Horn Island.
“I would say put yourself in our position,” Christine said. “If your child has seen something, if they took a picture and he’s in it, send it in its original form so we can look at the timestamps. But don’t be scared to speak up.”
Watch the full interview below: