Teen Goes Missing On July 4 — Commenters Blame His White Friends

Interesting fourth of july, missing person, mississippi admin July 7, 2026 0 Comments

Teen Goes Missing On July 4 — Commenters Blame His White Friends

A body was discovered Monday morning on Mississippi’s Horn Island as authorities continued an intensive search for 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells, an Ocean Springs native and Southwest Mississippi Community College football player who disappeared over the Fourth of July weekend.

A park ranger found the body around 8:45 a.m. on the island and officials say it matches the description of Wells, WLOX reported Monday. The Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd said DNA testing will officially confirm the identity. Lynd said, “there is no reason to believe it is not him.”

Wells was last seen around 3 p.m. on July 4 while visiting Horn Island, part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast that brings in a large boating crowd on the holiday, according to NOLA.

NOLA reported that Wells had gone to the island with a group of friends and was allegedly seen “hanging out with a girl before he disappeared.”

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department led the search effort with assistance from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Gulf Islands National Seashore personnel, the U.S. Coast Guard and volunteer responders from the United Cajun Navy, WLOX reported. (RELATED: Child Rapist Freed By Soros DA Last Seen Running Off With Missing Child)

“There were some people that thought he might have wandered off to the middle of the island, maybe into that lake. We sent people up there today, and if he was barefoot, there’s no way he made it up there,” said Brian Trascher with the United Cajun Navy, according to WLOX. “There’s cactuses and a lot of thorny brush. He would not have comfortably been able to make it to the middle of the island. He probably would’ve turned around and went to the beach.”

Christine Wonsley, Wells’ mother, also assisted in the search by posting to social media Sunday explaining that her son had been separated from his phone and asking for any pictures or videos people have of him from the island.

Several people online commented on the post, claiming that the friends Wells was with are responsible for his disappearance and that black people should not attend parties with their white friends.

One commenter asked, “When will black people learn that they should never be the only black in a group out on an excursion with wypipo smdh.” Wypipo is common slang for “white people.”

Another user claimed that going missing “is just the cost of doing business” when a black person has white friends and trusts them. The post goes on to blame Wells’ parents for not raising him right and tells them to “shut up.”

Authorities emphasized throughout the search that they had not verified whether Wells had remained on Horn Island after he was reported missing, according to WLOX. Investigators also asked anyone who had interacted with the teenager on the island Saturday to contact the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department with videos, pictures or other information. (RELATED: 35 Missing Children Recovered Ahead Of World Cup Matches)

Monday afternoon, following several reports that the body had been identified, Wonsley posted saying she was “absolutely devastated” and asked for the public to give her and her family time to grieve.

The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have not released additional information about the circumstances surrounding Wells’ disappearance.