Body Found During Search for Teen Who Vanished After Traveling to Remote Island with Friends on the Fourth of July
Posted by max - July 15, 2026
A body has been found in the search for a missing Mississippi football player who vanished after heading to a remote island during the July 4 holiday.
Xavier Wells, 18, was last seen on Horn Island, located 10 miles off the coast of Mississippi,on Saturday, July 4, wearing blue swim trunks, no shirt and sunglᴀsses, according to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
As the search for Wells — who graduated from Ocean Springs High School and went on to play football at Southwest Mississippi Community College — continued, a body was found on the west end of the island on Monday, July 6, officials confirm to PEOPLE.
The body was found by a park ranger at 8:45 a.m. local time, WLOX reported.
The Jackson County Coroner’s Office has yet to formally identify the body.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office searched the island with the ᴀssistance of the Department of Marine Resources, the Gulf Islands National Seashore and the United States Coast Guard.
Nolan Xavier Wells
Though the circumstances behind his disappearance remain unclear, mom Christine Wonsley said Wells, who also goes by Nono, had been “separated from his phone, so location tracking isn’t an option,” according to the Mississippi Clarion Ledger.
“His father and I have his cell phone so for friends who are seeing his location it’s because we have it,” she said.
Horn Island
The United Cajun Navy Incident Commander Josh Gill said in a video posted on social media on Sunday that Wells was “last talking to a girl on that north end” and then went to Horn Island on a boat with some friends.
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“Out of respect for Nolan’s family and the integrity of the investigation, we will not comment on search developments or release information before the appropriate law enforcement agencies provide an official update,” the group added.
A body has been found in the search for a missing Mississippi football player who vanished after heading to a remote island during the July 4 holiday….