Body Found Near Where Nolan Wells Was Last Seen; Katie McCormack Cooperating as Male Friends Lawyer Up and Stepmom Ashlee Cole Deactivates Social Media

 

The search for missing Mississippi teen and college football player Nolan Xavier Wells has taken a somber turn after a body was discovered Monday morning on Horn Island, near the exact location where he was last seen on July 4th, as new developments surrounding those closest to him continue to emerge.

A park ranger spotted the body at approximately 8:40 to 8:45 AM on the northwest end of Horn Island, close to the western tip where Wells was last seen at around 3:00 PM on Saturday. The Jackson County Coroner's Office is overseeing the confirmation process, and a positive identification was still pending as of midday Monday.

Wells, a wide receiver who had starred at Ocean Springs High School and was heading into his sophomore year playing college ball at Southwest Mississippi Community College, had traveled to the popular barrier island with a group of friends for the holiday weekend. When the group headed back to the mainland that evening, they assumed he had caught a ride with someone else. His phone made its way back to his family, but Nolan never came home. Family and friends spent the following day hoping he would turn up, while search teams from multiple agencies mobilized and began combing the area.

As the investigation intensifies, notable developments have emerged among those who were with Wells that day. A woman identified as Katie McCormack is reportedly cooperating fully with authorities, while several male friends who were present on the island have retained legal counsel and lawyered up. Additionally, Wells' stepmother, identified as judge Ashlee Cole, has deactivated her social media accounts amid the ongoing investigation, a move that has drawn significant attention and speculation online.

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter confirmed that authorities have remained in close contact with the Wells family throughout the ordeal. His mother, Christine Wonsley, has been actively posting on social media, appealing to anyone who took photos or videos on Horn Island that Saturday to share them, in hopes that her son may appear in the background of someone's footage.

The community continues to rally around the Wells family as authorities work to bring clarity to the heartbreaking situation.