Members of Congress are asking the National Park Service to investigate the death of Mississippi Gulf Coast teenager Nolan Xavier Wells, adding to calls for federal intervention to help his family better understand what happened to him.
Rep. Frederica Willson, a Democrat from Florida, wrote to the agency Sept. 28, requesting a “prompt and exhaustive investigation.” Wells, 18, was last seen on July 4 at Horn Island, a barrier island that is part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore administered by the park service. His body was found there two days later, and a Jackson County grand jury concluded he probably drowned.
“The full resources and investigative authority of the National Park Service must be brought to bear,” Wilson wrote in the letter, which was also addressed to FBI Director Kash Patel and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
“ … Nolan cannot speak for himself. We have a duty to ensure his death is met with the seriousness it deserves,” she wrote.
The letter comes several weeks after the Congressional Black Caucus sent its own letter asking for the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI to step in and investigate. Over 60 representatives and senators are part of that group, including Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson and Wilson.
On Monday, civil rights attorney Ben Crump joined Wells’ parents at a news conference at Center of Hope church in Inglewood, Calif., to renew calls for a federal investigation and push for answers for the family.
The family’s legal team has continued to raise questions about his death, including how water was not found in Wells’ lungs, airway and stomach – where water is typically found in drowning incidents. They also raised questions about what caused blunt-force trauma injuries to the back of his head.
Rep. Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California who is also part of the Congressional Black Caucus, was unable to attend the news conference. Crump said she joined Rep. Wilson’s letter asking for the Park Service to investigate.
At the news conference, Christine Wonsley said the Jackson County grand jury’s decision not to indict anyone for her son’s death has left her and her husband with more questions and heartbreak than answers.
“In fact no one has given us any answers other than ‘consistent with accidental drowning’,” she said. “That’s all our Black and Asian child received.”
Through his mother, Wells was Black and Filipino.
Cynthia Choi, executive director of the national group Stop AAPI Hate, also spoke at the news conference and joined calls for a federal investigation into Wells’ death. She also condemned “patterns of harassment and intimidation” his family has faced, including those directed at Christine Wonsley’s workplace.
Stop AAPI Hate was formed in 2020 during a surge in incidents of anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Wonsley gives a speech in remembrance of her son during a vigil for Nolan Wells at Greater St. John AME Church in Biloxi on Wednesday, August. 19, 2026. Credit: Jackson Ranger/The Sun HeraldChristine and Elmore Wonsley were in California over the weekend where she was honored by the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, which hosted its 30th anniversary celebration and showed support for their family.
At the event, Christine Wonsley received the “Voice of Courage Award” for seeking answers and transparency about what happened to her son. She was also recognized for a career of caring for others as a nurse practitioner.
“I never thought I would be in this position,” Wonsley said Monday about receiving the award and her advocacy. “I never thought I would be someone who was giving a voice to so many who feel like they have none because our justice system has told us to just take the answers you have been given.”
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