A Jackson County grand jury has unanimously declined to indict anyone in the death of Nolan Wells, the young man found in the water off Horn Island on July 6, 2026, two days after setting out with friends to celebrate the Fourth of July. The no true bill means the investigation closes without criminal charges, and the district attorney’s office announced the decision Monday night.
Jurors reviewed phone forensic reports, GPS logs, security footage, 132 subpoenas and testimony from 43 witnesses. The evidence showed Wells stayed behind on the island to socialize after the boats returned to the mainland, and that his phone came back without him. Both the Mississippi state chief medical examiner and an independent forensic pathologist hired by the Wells family ruled the cause and manner of death undetermined, with accidental drowning consistent with the evidence and no signs of fatal trauma. The jury also stated that online rumors of a fight, and allegations against Wells’ friends and family, were false.
The case drew national attention, and the grand jury’s findings may not settle every question for everyone. A no true bill does not prevent reopening should new evidence emerge, and Mississippi has no statute of limitations on homicide. Anyone with credible information can still bring it to investigators.
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