NASHVILE − Nolan Wells' family and their attorney pleaded with the public for more information about his death and addressed the attacks they've faced at the National Urban League conference on July 30.
Wells, 18, went missing after a July 4th boat trip to the isolated barrier island Horn Island. His body was found days later but what happened to him largely remains a mystery.
Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said investigators did not initially suspect foul play, but are continuing to investigate. Wells' family launched an independent investigation into his death, citing a lack of confidence in Mississippi law enforcement.
As the parallel investigations continue, false claims, AI-generated content and conspiracy theories have spread alongside
real developments in the case. Family attorney Ben Crump said July 30 that "sick people" have been targeting Wells' mother, a nurse, with negative reviews online.
"They are just sick, evil people who would attack this mother and this father for simply saying we want to know what happened to our child," Crump said.
What's happening with the Nolan Wells investigation?
Crump announced that the family has obtained the full audio recording of a distress call made by the boat Wells reportedly traveled to Horn Island on to Sea Tow and has retained audio engineering experts to review the call. He said the family is also consulting with "oceanic engineering experts" to get a greater understanding of how the tides and weather could have affected where Wells' body was found.
Crump said the team is also hoping to get more information to Dr. Roger Mitchell, the independent medical examiner who conducted a second autopsy on Wells. Mitchell was unable to determine a cause or manner of death, in part because he could not inspect some parts of Wells' body, including the throat and larynx, which may have been kept for additional investigation.
Crump spoke alongside family members of two other Black teenagers who died this year, Daniel Erving and Tyler Smith. Erving, 18, died after he drowned at a north Texas lake in April, and Smith, also 18, died of a gunshot wound on July 4 in Lexington, Kentucky.
Attorney Liza Park said the team has been getting over 100 calls each a day and encouraged anyone with information to reach out. Attorney Eric Hertz said the legal team is also working to reach an agreement with district attorney Angel Myers McIlrath to allow them to jointly investigate cellphone evidence in the case.
In previous interviews, Wells' mother, Christine Wonsley, has said she believed it was suspicious that her son's phone appeared to have no Snapchat history from the day he disappeared and that there were discrepancies in the location data she observed while searching for Wells.
Subpoenas were recently issued to Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Life360, Snapchat and TikTok for data from Wells' accounts, according to the Sun Herald. The subpoenas come after letters were sent to Wells' friends, their families and local officials instructing them not to delete any records and notifying them litigation is “reasonably anticipated," the outlet reported.
USA TODAY has reached out to Wonsley's attorney for more information about the letters and subpoenas.
Nolan Wells' family, friends detail online threats
Wells' parents also addressed that attacks they've faced as the family searches for answers. Wonsley has been targeted by a harassment campaign that has left bad reviews for her and her workplace. She's also received threatening messages and harassing mail.
"A parent can’t grieve when you have people attacking them, attacking their jobs, attacking their character, just attacking them period," said Wells' father, Elmore Wonsley. "Like, where’s the empathy?"
Several of Nolan Wells' friends have also said they've received threats. Ashlee Cole, a chancery court judge whose son was on the boat trip, said she deactivated her social media account due to threats were directed toward her whole family, including her young children. Cole's son Warren Hudson, also said in an interview that the family had gotten "thousands of death threats," prompting him to skip Wells' memorial service.
The distress call Crump is probing has also stirred up further speculation and threats. The caller said the boat was sinking due to a bilge pump problem. The dispatcher then called a captain who said he had spoken to the caller's grandfather and that the problem appeared to have been resolved.
Bart Edmiston Jr., a friend of Wells who took his own boat to Horn Island that day, helped the distressed vessel and towed it for a short distance, according to a statement released by family attorney Russell Latino, who is also CEO of the Magnolia Tribune. As a result, Edmiston became the latest person in Wells' orbit to face intense online scrutiny, doxxing and death threats, the statement said.
Edmiston's family said they plan to "pursue all available legal remedies" and sent a cease and desist letter to one social media user who "shared pictures of our home, our residential address, land plats, and information about our work, while simultaneously falsely asserting through various videos and posts, that Bart, Jr. is a suspect, that he caused or contributed to Nolan’s death, or that he is involved in a cover up of Nolan’s death."
"None of these things are true," the family said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nolan Wells' family target of 'sick' attacks, attorney says in update
