According to the Mississippi sheriff in charge of the case, investigators are currently collaborating with prosecutors to determine the precise circumstances behind the teen’s unexplained death, thus the Nolan Wells police investigation will not be expedited.
On Monday, Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter told ABC News that it’s crucial that his investigators don’t have to follow a schedule or be hurried by individuals who are demanding answers.
In order to solve the perplexing case, Ledbetter also urged anyone with knowledge to give it to his detectives.
On July 4, 18-year-old Nolan and his buddies embarked on a boat trip to Horn Island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast, as we previously reported. The gang shared a picture of themselves relaxing on the boat on the internet during the trip.
However, Nolan was nowhere to be found when they returned to the mainland later that day, and his family filed a missing person’s report. His body was discovered during a police search two days later, close to Horn Island’s northwest edge.
Since then, the cause of Nolan’s death has remained a mystery. In an interview with ABC, Sheriff Ledbetter stated that Nolan’s family “deserves a thorough and factual investigation, and that’s exactly what they’re going to get.”
The sheriff also mentioned that his investigators are currently collaborating with the local district attorney, although he clarified that this does not imply that foul play was involved in Nolan’s death.
Ledbetter added that his investigators are investigating the possibility of widespread drug and alcohol usage that day.
