WATCH LIVE: Nolan Wells' family calls for probe into teen's death with attorney Ben Crump

By — Michael R. Sisak, Associated Press Michael R. Sisak, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/watch-live-nolan-wells-family-calls-for-probe-into-teens-death-with-attorney-ben-crump Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH LIVE: Nolan Wells' family calls for probe into teen's death with attorney Ben Crump Nation Jul 10, 2026 11:52 AM EDT NEW YORK (AP) — The family of a Mississippi 18-year-old who was found dead after a July 4 boat trip with friends to an island off the Gulf Coast is expected to call for greater transparency at a news conference Friday with the Rev. Al Sharpton and noted civil rights attorney Ben Crump. The news conference is scheduled for 12 p.m. EDT. Watch live in our video player above. Crump, who was retained by the family of Nolan Xavier Wells earlier this week, has said the family has concerns about the investigation and planned to conduct an independent autopsy. Wells travelled by boat to Horn Island, Mississippi on July 4 with a group of friends, but did not make the return trip with them that afternoon. His body was found early Monday morning, more than a day later. While Jackson County Sheriff's Office officials said investigators don't suspect foul play in the Black college student's death, the sheriff has asked for any witnesses or people with video from the popular beach island about 10 miles off the coast of Mississippi to come forward to help shed light on the moments before Wells' disappearance and death. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Family members have raised concerns, saying they've seen video of a fight allegedly involving their son, and saying as an elite athlete he was able to swim. Wells, who would have turned 19 next month, attended Southwest Mississippi Community College, where he played wide receiver on the football team. A photo posted to social media, allegedly from the boat ride to the island, shows Wells with his arms around three white, male friends. Speculation and suspicion about the teen's death have been rampant online, as people grapple with the state's history of racial tension and what it means to be a Black person in a majority white space. "We will not rest until every fact about what happened to Nolan on Horn Island is brought into the light, and we call on investigators to pursue this case with the urgency and transparency this family deserves," Crump wrote in an emailed statement earlier this week. It's the second case the noted civil rights attorney has taken on in the state in recent months. He also was recently retained by the family of a Mississippi 1-year-old who was killed when police fired into a moving car. Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said earlier this week that Wells' mother had called to report him missing around midnight into the morning of July 5. Crews from multiple local and state a