A Mother Spent Days Pleading With Strangers Not To Give Up Searching For Her Son — But The Message She Shared After The Devastating Discovery Is Breaking Hearts Across The Country

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Hours after a park ranger found a body on Horn Island while searching for missing college student Nolan Xavier Wells, the 18-year-old’s mother confirmed his death on Monday afternoon.

“His father, our family, friends and I are absolutely devastated,” Christine Wonsley wrote in a Facebook post. “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.”

The Jackson County sheriff and coroner both confirmed that the body matches the description of Wells, who went missing Saturday, July 4, while visiting Horn Island with a group of friends. The cause of death is unknown.

Authorities are awaiting the results of DNA testing, but Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd said that “there is no reason to believe it is not him,” WLOX reported.

Wells would have turned 19 next month, when he was also set to return to Southwest Mississippi Community College to practice for the football season. Wells was a wide receiver for the SMCC Bears.

“The entire Southwest family is heartbroken as we mourn the tragic loss of Nolan Wells,” the school’s president, J. Steven Bishop, wrote in a statement. “Nolan was an exemplary student, athlete, friend, and teammate. We remember Nolan as a well-respected young man who was very popular among friends, faculty, and staff. We loved Nolan, and he will be greatly missed in many ways.”

Four young men in swim trunks, three white and one black, pose together on the back of a small boat on the water. They are holding beer cans.
Nolan Xavier Wells, second from right, disappeared while on a trip with friends to Horn Island, just south of Jackson County off of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, on Saturday, July 4, 2026. Photo courtesy Christine Wonsley / Facebook

Wells was last seen around 3 p.m. on Saturday on Horn Island, a barrier island 10 miles south of Pascagoula, Mississippi. He had gone out with several friends on a boat earlier that day, and Wonsley posted photos of the group on Facebook.

State, federal and local agencies—including the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, the Gulf Islands National Seashore authority and the volunteer United Cajun Navy—participated in the search for Wells.

A family friend has launched a GoFundMe campaign for the family of Nolan Wells. As of Monday at 6:30 p.m., it had raised over $14,000.