The family of Nolan Xavier Wells – the 18-year-old football player who vanished after a Fourth of July boating trip with pals – will demand an urgent investigation into the teen’s death Friday, calling for the release of all records involving his disappearance.
Top civil rights attorney Ben Crump and civil rights activist Al Sharpton will join Wells’ family for a press conference in Harlem, New York, starting at midday, Crump’s office revealed.
“They will demand a full, transparent, and urgent investigation into the death of the 18-year-old, along with the timely release of all investigative records, witness accounts, and findings,” Crump’s office said.
Ocean Springs High graduate Wells was last seen on Horn Island, located off the coast of Mississippi, at around 3 p.m. Saturday – and was reported missing that night by his mom, Christine Wonsley, after failing to return to the mainland.
His body was recovered Monday following a two-day search – but his cause of death has not yet been revealed.
“They [Wells’ family] have serious, unanswered questions about the circumstances that left Nolan alone on the island and about how he died,” his office wrote.
Earlier this week, Crump told ABC News Live that Wells’ body will be flown to Washington DC – around 800 miles from Mississippi – for an independent autopsy.
The Mississippi state medical examiner performed an autopsy on Tuesday, but it could take weeks to receive the results, which include a toxicology report.
Authorities suspect he drowned, but investigations are ongoing, ABC News reported. Investigators are not currently suspecting foul play.
“There’s no information that we have right now that would lead us to believe that a crime has occurred,” John Ledbetter, the Jackson County Sheriff, said.
However, cops are probing a now-viral clip, which appears to show several people arguing on the shoreline before Wells, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound teen, went missing.
Officers are looking to speak with anyone who “observed or heard an argument, disturbance, or other unusual activity while on the island that day,” Ledbetter said.
Wells was reportedly left on the island, while his pals returned to the mainland.
“From what we understand, he chose to stay there,” Ledbetter said.
The United Cajun Navy, local law enforcement, first responders, and the US Coast Guard were all involved in the search for Wells.