Trump says he is considering asking FBI to investigate the death of Nolan Wells

Trump considers FBI probe of Nolan Wells death

Donald Trump said he is considering asking the FBI to investigate the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells, a Black college freshman who disappeared on a July 4 boating trip on Mississippi’s Horn Island. Wells’ body was found on the island two days later, but the cause and manner of death remain undetermined.

Family and civil-rights lawyer call for federal investigation

Wells’ mother, Christine Wells-Wonsley, and civil-rights lawyer Ben Crump have urged a federal investigation after a Jackson County grand jury declined to indict anyone. The grand jury concluded Wells drowned, but an independent autopsy by Roger A Mitchell Jr, president of Howard University Hospital, found no evidence of drowning and noted bruising on the head, back, left shoulder and buttocks. Crump said the family deserves the truth and will continue to seek answers.

Political and federal response

Congresswomen Maxine Waters and Frederica Wilson, along with others, sent a letter to Jessica Bowron, acting director of the U.S. National Park Service, requesting that the agency’s investigative services branch open a prompt and exhaustive investigation, noting that most of Horn Island is federally designated land. Wells’ father, Elmore Wonsley, asked the FBI to step in to conduct a full investigation. Trump, when asked by reporters, said he was looking into the matter and that the response carries weight.