Nolan Wells’ family bid a final, teary goodbye to their beloved son at his funeral on Monday, July 20, 2026.
Wells, an 18-year-old Mississippi teen, vanished on Fourth of July while on a boat trip to Horn Island.
It’s been over two weeks now; his cause of death remains a mystery.
There are two parallel probes undergoing, one at the state level and one sought by Wells’ family out of state.
In a latest update to the case, the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office is performing the official autopsy probe.
Bruce Lynd, the chief medical examiner of Jackson County, spoke with CNN and offered new details.
“There were no immediate, obvious signs of foul play or trauma on Wells’ body,” the outlet has reported.
Lynd also pointed out that he recommended an autopsy at the state level to rule out any signs of foul play.
“We asked for an autopsy (at) the state medical examiner’s office so that they could do the full autopsy and be able to tell if there was any foul play or trauma,” Lynd added.
The state medical examiners’ office conducted an autopsy on July 7, a day after Wells’ body was found near Horn Island, with toxicology tests pending.
On the other hand, Nolan Wells’ family attorney Ben Crump said he will reveal the autopsy findings today, Wednesday, July 22.
For context, Wells family had sent their son’s body out of state to seek an independent autopsy, fearing foul play.
“We had his body flown from Mississippi to Washington, DC, because his family wanted to make sure that they had a doctor who had no ties Mississippi law enforcement to do an independent examination of their son’s body,” said Crump.
2026-07-22 12:32:00
