{"id":6502,"date":"2026-07-20T07:03:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T07:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6502"},"modified":"2026-07-20T07:03:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T07:03:56","slug":"black-teen-found-dead-after-july-4-boat-trip-to-be-remembered-at-funeral-led-by-the-rev-al-sharpton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6502","title":{"rendered":"Black teen found dead after July 4 boat trip to be remembered at funeral led by the Rev. Al Sharpton"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Nolan Xavier Wells, an 18-year-old found dead after taking a July 4 boat trip with friends to a Gulf Coast island, will be remembered Monday by his family and civil rights leaders at a church in his hometown of Ocean Springs, Mississippi. <\/p>\n

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The funeral will be officiated by the Rev. Al Sharpton, with a call to justice delivered by the family\u2019s lawyer, Ben Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney. Wells\u2019 mother, Christine Wonsley, said they would use the occasion to celebrate the life of their son, who she described as a \u201cbright light\u201d and a \u201csensitive soul.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cHe would not want us to be sitting around crying and eating, and so what we\u2019re gonna do is kind of have a party to celebrate him,\u201d she said last week.<\/p>\n

Wells\u2019 death has captured national attention, galvanizing Black leaders and touching off fraught discussions of racial tension and mistrust of law enforcement in the Deep South. <\/p>\n

The teenager, who was Black, had traveled by boat to Horn Island, a popular Fourth of July destination, with a group of friends from high school, all of whom were white. He did not return with his friends to the mainland that evening, officials said. His body was found two days later off the island\u2019s coast. <\/p>\n

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter has said Wells\u2019 friends are cooperating with the investigation, which remains ongoing. He said that initial interviews suggested Wells chose to stay on the island and that his friends believed he would get a ride with someone else. <\/p>\n

But the still-unknown circumstances leading to Wells\u2019 disappearance have fueled rampant online speculation, along with questions from his parents about why he was left behind.<\/p>\n

Crump has said that another witness reported Wells planned to leave on the boat with his friends, contradicting the sheriff\u2019s statement. He also alleged that messages appeared to have been deleted from the phone, which was found with Wells\u2019 friends, along with his keys. <\/p>\n

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The attorney, who is leading his own investigation into the death, said he would work alongside the local prosecutor to inspect the device. The prosecutor agreed last week to present the results of the investigation to a grand jury once it is completed, Crump said. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur lived experiences tell us that we must question everything, everybody\u2019s role, law enforcement\u2019s role,\u201d Crump said. \u201cThat is the lived experience as Black people in America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wells, who would have turned 19 next month, played wide receiver on the football team at Southwest Mississippi Community College in Summit, Mississippi, and had aspirations of playing at a high-level Division I program.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was very sociable with everyone, didn\u2019t meet a stranger,\u201d his coach, Les George, told WAPT-TV. \u201cHe would pop up at my office and come sit on the couch just to hang out and talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

His death has drawn support from high-profile members of the Black community. Actor and producer Tyler Perry is helping pay for Wells\u2019 funeral. Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is helping pay for his independent autopsy, and filmmaker Spike Lee attended a news conference last week in support of Wells\u2019 family.<\/p>\n

In a joint statement last week, members of the Congressional Black Caucus called for an independent and transparent investigation into Wells\u2019 death, adding that \u201ctoo many questions remain unanswered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope the outpouring of concern and support from people across the country in recent days brings them some comfort in the days ahead,\u201d they added. <\/p>\n

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