At the The National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum in California, the family and attorneys called once again for the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct their own review of Wells' death.
"It is our plea that his case is reopened, re-examined," said Wells' mother, Christine Wells-Wonsley on Monday. "But also that the authorities do their job. Treat him as if this were your child, your niece, your nephew — whatever you need to do to give us an honest and thorough investigation."
Wells, 18, was found dead off the coast in early July, after an Independence Day trip to Horn Island with friends. After months with very little information from officials, a grand jury returned a report in September, declining to indict anyone in Wells' death.
"The Grand Jury finds no credible evidence to support the public allegations that any persons who rode to or from Horn Island on July 4, 2026 on the Triton, the Palm Beach, or the Tideline engaged in any criminal conduct related to the death of Mr. Wells," the report reads.
Now, the family is asking the FBI, DOJ and National Park Service to get involved.
"Today, I'm asking the people whose job it is to serve and protect, to keep their word to our family," said Elmore Wonsley, Wells' father. "Our son was found on federal land and we are asking the FBI to step in and do a full investigation."
"We're not asking for special treatment: we're asking for what any father would do for his child, and that's to find the truth of what happened to his child."
MPB News reached out to the Gulf Islands National Seashore by phone to ask for information on how criminal investigations are conducted on the islands as part of the National Park System. A information officer said she could not answer questions because of the investigation is ongoing.
When asked to clarify whether that was a separate investigation from that of local law enforcement, she said GINS was "deferring" to local law enforcement and did not specify what investigation was ongoing (the grand jury returned its report last month in Jackson County).
She said she had been told, as of this morning, to not answer questions because of the ongoing investigation and then directed further questions to the national office. MPB News is awaiting a response to emailed questions, directed to the NPS Gulf Islands general email, given by the information officer.
While the grand jury report states that other Black individuals were on Horn Island that day, Wells appeared to be the only Black teenager in his immediate group of friends who traveled there that day, sparking concerns over possible racial elements to his disappearance and death.
During the following investigation, his parents expressed concerns that race was a factor in the investigation.
"So many questions of why were photos not taken of a certain area in the back of his head? Why did you not do more, a more thorough investigation to rule those things out?" Wells-Wonsley said on Monday at the forum. "Again, we have been left with more questions and heartbreak than any answers."
"As a matter of fact, no one has given us any answers other than 'consistent with accidental drowning.' That's all our Black child — our Black and Asian child — received was, 'Hey, accidental drowning.'"
In a recorded statement from Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath, released with the redacted grand jury report in late September, Myers McIlrath vehemently denied that race had anything to do with the case.
"The family, the Crump team, and anyone close to Nolan knew that his disappearance and death were not the result of racial hate or violence," Myers McIllrath said. "Yet the flames of that narrative set against the backdrop of Mississippi's terrible history were fanned by both people who knew the truth and those who didn't."
This is not the first call from Wells' family and attorneys for a federal investigation. Several members of Congress have also called for a federal investigation and in August, before local law enforcement had completed their investigation, the Congressional Black Caucus issued a letter to the U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel calling for a federal review of the case.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) was originally meant to join the family as well, but was unable due to unforeseen circumstances. At the forum, civil rights attorney Ben Crump read a letter from Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (D-Florida) calling on the National Park Service to investigate.
"'I ask you to give them more than assurances: give this case the sustained attention it demands,'" Crump read. "'Communicate directly with Nolan's family as the investigation proceeds and make certain that no opportunity to establish the truth is lost.'"
These calls come amid urging to Myers McIlrath to keep the case open as well. Wells' parents and attorneys have expressed concerns over several unanswered questions, including missing messages from Snapchat group chats and unexplained bruises on the back of Wells' head.
Crump previously indicated that he would hold a press conference with Dr. Roger Mitchell, the forensic pathologist who performed an independent autopsy on Wells to discuss the independent and state autopsies. That conference still has not happened.
The initial findings from the independent autopsy were inconclusive and both autopsies listed Wells' death as ultimately finding that the cause of death is undetermined. The grand jury found Wells' cause of death was consistent with drowning, based on where his body was found and the autopsies.
Stop AAPI Hate Executive Director Cynthia Choi joined the family on Monday, calling for a federal investigation, but also highlighting the harassment the family has faced as they push for answers.
Multiple local government facilities and families involved have been the target of threats, with a short-lived professional misconduct complaint opened against Wells-Wonsley as the result of an anonymous complaint in July.
"Targeting someone's livelihood, their career, their ability to provide for their family in the midst of their grief, simply because they refuse to stay silent," said Choi. "We all know that this is a tactic to exhaust, frighten, silence those who ask hard questions, and it has no place in our just society."
