Hundreds of demonstrators gathered along Biloxi’s southeastern waterfront on a Sunday morning, walking across the Biloxi-Ocean Springs Bridge to demand answers and accountability in the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells. The mass march, held on November 1, 2026, drew participants from across the Mississippi Coast and cities as far away as New Orleans, Atlanta, and Chicago.
The teenager went missing during a July 4 trip to Horn Island with a group of friends who traveled to the barrier island on three boats. When the group returned to the mainland, the friends returned without Wells, saying he stayed behind to talk to a girl. Two days later, authorities recovered his body in the water off the island, located about 10 miles from the mainland.
Family Retains Attorney After Grand Jury Finds No Wrongdoing
In the months following the recovery, a Jackson County grand jury found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by the friends who accompanied Wells to Horn Island. The official cause of his death remains undetermined.
Dissatisfied with the initial findings, Wells’ parents, Elmore and Christine Wonsley, retained attorney Ben Crump to conduct an independent investigation. The family and supporting civil rights activists have formally called on the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI to conduct a thorough and impartial review of the circumstances surrounding the teenager’s death.
Thousands marched on the Biloxi Bay Bridge in Mississippi today to demand justice for Nolan Wells and a thorough investigation into his death.The movement has grown in the wake of a Mississippi grand jury ruling claiming that the conditions of Wells’ death were “consistent with… pic.twitter.com/eVrSZpo8Pj”
“We are so outraged by this. We are both mothers. This could be our child. This could be anybody’s child. All across America, people are aware of this and they’re not going to let it die. End of story. It is not dying. We want justice,” Audrey Cover, who traveled from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, told WLOX.
Demonstrators Demand Broader Accountability
The Sunday demonstration was billed as part of a 50-state march, bringing together supporters who linked Wells’ case to broader questions about investigations into young Black individuals who died under questionable circumstances. Protesters carried signs and chanted slogans including “Justice for Nolan Wells” and “Nolan did not drown” as they crossed the bridge.
Jennifer Matthews drove from New Orleans to take part in the mass protest, emphasizing that the turnout reflected widespread concern. “This didn’t just happen to Nolan Wells. It’s been going on with three or four other Black kids, and we need to get to the bottom of it,” Matthews said.
Speakers at the event also referenced other cases involving Black lives cut short, including Kohen Wiley, a 1-year-old shot to death by police in a Walmart parking lot in Senatobia, and Andrew Joseph III, a 14-year-old who was struck and killed on an interstate after being kicked out of the Florida State Fair in 2014. Carolyn Ruff, founder of Black Lives Matter Women of Faith who traveled from Chicago, told the gathering that participants remain steadfast in seeking the truth.
As the march concluded, supporters and family members signaled they would maintain pressure on federal authorities to step in, leaving the unanswered questions of that July 4 weekend at the center of a national call for review.
More on Justice for Nolan Wells
I'm exhausted but I always have time to share Jess Craven's amazing good news. "More than 500 people marched on the Biloxi Bay Bridge in Mississippi today—as well as in other cities— to demand justice for Nolan Wells and a thorough investigation into his death.A Minnesota…”
