Teen found ᴅᴇᴀᴅ after vanishing from boat had ‘heavy alcohol intake’

A student athlete who vanished during a Fourth of July boating trip had allegedly been drinking heavily before he disappeared. 

Investigators were told Nolan Wells spent hours boozing with friends on Mississippi’s Horn Island on the day he went missing, according to a preliminary report document obtained by ABC News. 

The 18-year-old was last seen around 3pm near the northwest tip of Horn Island off the coast of Mississippi and his lifeless body was discovered two days later on July 6.

The document, sent by the Marine Patrol on July 5 as crews searched for Wells, included his basic information and physical description to help locate him.

Wells’s official cause of death remains pending as authorities await autopsy and toxicology results. 

Officials suspect Wells drowned, but a private coroner, commissioned by his family, listed his cause and manner of death as ‘undetermined pending investigation.’

Well’s mother, Christine Wonsley, confirmed her son’s death in a Facebook post.

Nolan Wells, 18, played for his high school’s team and represented Southwest Mississippi Community College’s team

Wells’s body was found on July 6, two days after he vanished on a boat trip with friends

‘My heart [is] broken for my sweet son who was always willing to cheer and uplift others. 

‘Nolan was a special soul, God took his time creating our son.’ 

EXCLUSIVE Mystery woman Nolan Wells’ friends say he was chatting to when they left island is identified

Christine reported her son missing and a large-scale search followed for the next two days.

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said investigators found no initial evidence of foul play but are ‘working diligently to determine exactly what occurred.’

Questions are looming over the events leading up to his death as his family desperately searches for answers, hiring famous civil rights attorney Ben Crump to advocate for full transparency in their son’s death investigation. 

Sheriff Ledbetter said the sheriff’s office welcomes the family’s independent investigation. 

A Mississippi Department of Marine Resources report obtained by the outlet said several friends who traveled to the island with Wells told authorities he was with an unknown woman when they left and chose to stay there.

Wells’s mother, Christine Wonsley, said she is ‘heartbroken’ and that ‘Nolan was a special soul’

Wells, 18, on vacation with friends in Mississippi, just hours before he went missing on July 4

From left: Reverend Al Sharpton, Wells’s parents, Elmore and Christine, and their attorney Ben Crump at Wells’s funeral in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, on July 20

The friends have denied abandoning Wells, saying they had to return to shore after their boat began to flood with water.

Wells was a budding college footballer who played for Southwest Mississippi Community College’s team. He had previously played for Ocean Springs High School’s team. 

Jake Bramlett, Ocean Springs’ head football coach, told WLOX: ‘We are devastated by Nolan’s pᴀssing. He was the kind of son, teammate, friend and student that every coach hopes to have in a program.