OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. — An investigation is underway into the death of 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells, whose body was recovered Monday on Horn Island, a barrier island off Mississippi's Gulf Coast, four days after he went missing during a Fourth of July boating trip with friends.

Wells was last seen on Horn Island around 3 p.m. Saturday, July 4, wearing blue swim trunks and sunglasses, according to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department. He had traveled to the undeveloped island, which is accessible only by private boat and has no facilities, drinking water or staff, with a group of friends from a private dock near Ocean Springs. He did not return with the rest of the group later that day, and his phone was later found still on the boat. His mother, Christine Wonsley, reported him missing that night after he failed to come home.

A two-day search followed, involving multiple local, state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and the National Park Service. A U.S. park ranger found a body at the northwestern tip of the island Monday morning. Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd confirmed the body was identified as Wells through dental records Tuesday afternoon. An autopsy was performed the same day at the Mississippi State Medical Examiner's Office, though officials have said full toxicology results could take up to two weeks, and a cause of death has not yet been determined.

Wells' family has retained civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump, known for his work on prior high-profile cases including those involving George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Trayvon Martin. In a statement,........

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