Mississippi D.A. Plans to Meet with Nolan Wells’ Parents as Investigation Continues: Report

The parents of Mississippi teen Nolan Wells are reportedly expected to meet with the district attorney this week as authorities continue investigating the 18-year-old’s death, a day after his mother said she had gone a week without hearing from investigators.

Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath told NBC News that she plans to meet with Nolan’s parents on Wednesday, July 15, while continuing to work alongside the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, which is leading the investigation. McIlrath also told ABC News she plans to meet with Nolan’s parents on Wednesday.

“We’re able to share with victims a little bit more than we can share with outsiders,” McIlrath told the outlet. “They’d probably get to know a little bit more if there is more to know, but it’s very limited again in what we can say.”

McIlrath also cautioned against drawing conclusions from the scheduled meeting, telling NBC News that authorities continue to examine the circumstances surrounding Nolan’s death and have not indicated that the case is being treated as a criminal investigation.

“We don’t want to rush to judgment or speculate,” McIlrath told the outlet. “I can tell you that this is a priority for everybody involved, and so we’re working very hard to understand what happened.”

Officials are still waiting for toxicology testing before Nolan’s autopsy report can be finalized. McIlrath told NBC News that information from the investigation, including the autopsy findings, will remain confidential until it has been presented to a grand jury.

“Until the grand jury hears everything, those kinds of things can’t be released,” McIlrath told the outlet. “[That’s to] protect the integrity of the investigation.”

As public interest in the case continues to grow, McIlrath acknowledged that the attention has created additional challenges but said it has not changed how investigators are approaching their work.

“But as far as how we investigate, how we support the investigators and how the investigators do their job, there’s no outside influence that influences that,” she told NBC News. “They are going to do their job. They’re going to do it very well.”

The update follows comments from Nolan’s mother, Christine Wells-Wonsley, who told CNN on Monday, July 13, that she had not heard from investigators since July 7.

Nolan disappeared during a Fourth of July outing to Horn Island, a barrier island off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, after spending the holiday there with a group of friends. He was reported missing later that night, and his body was discovered two days later on the island’s northwestern tip.

Authorities have said friends who were with Nolan told investigators that he chose to remain on the island and planned to return to the mainland with another group. However, his parents have publicly questioned that account, saying they struggle to believe their son would have willingly separated from his friends.

“We always taught him that if you go with a group, you stay with a group,” Nolan’s father, Elmore Wonsley, previously told Good Morning America. “If you go with five, you come back with five. Do not separate from the group. Because I always said, ‘Safety is in numbers.’ So he knew to stay with this group, so why would he split from the group? I don’t know.”

The family has since launched its own independent investigation into Nolan’s death and commissioned a separate autopsy, saying they believe several aspects of the case remain unanswered.

Nolan’s mother has also previously questioned what happened to her son’s cellphone, telling Good Morning America that its location history appeared to conflict with what some of Nolan’s friends had reported.

The family’s lawyer, Benjamin Crump, announced at a news conference that Nolan’s funeral is scheduled for Monday, according to NBC News.