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ATLANTA (WAPT) — Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Congresswoman Lucy McBath joined the parents of 18-year-old Nolan Wells at a news conference in Atlanta on Thursday to call for a federal review of his disappearance and death.
Before the announcement, Wells’ parents sat down for a panel discussion during the 2026 National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Atlanta.
“That boy had faith beyond measure,” Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley said. “He was just a bright light; and he was our bright light.”
The Congressional Black Caucus has issued a letter to U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel urging the Justice Department to determine whether a separate federal investigation, including a possible civil rights investigation, is warranted. McBath said she gave them seven days to respond.
The FBI is already assisting local investigators.
“We have two parents, lovely friends who I’ve gotten to know, that really don’t have an answer to a question: Is it a civil rights violation or not? And we do not know,” Sharpton said. “How do you trust the words of people that say immediately there was no foul play? We haven’t even investigated whether it was foul play. How do you trust people that come back from something that happened and never really give your story?”
Wells disappeared during a Fourth of July boat trip to Horn Island. His body was found two days later near the island. An independent autopsy commissioned by the family classified both the cause and manner of death as undetermined. Findings from the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office have not been publicly released.
Crump called for a National Day of Prayer on Aug. 19, which would have been Wells’ 19th birthday.
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