Amid the search for a missing Ocean Springs teenager last seen on Horn Island on July 4, a body has been found on the barrier island.
Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter confirmed to WLOX-TV that the body was discovered Monday morning but did not immediately identify it as that of Nolan Xavier Wells.
Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd later told the Sun Herald that the body matches the description of Wells but is awaiting DNA testing by the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office.
Several law enforcement agencies, including the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, have been searching the island for Wells since his disappearance. The 18-year-old was last seen around 3 p.m. on July 4, when Horn Island was crowded with Fourth of July boaters.
Wells played football at Ocean Springs High School and is a wide receiver at Southwest Mississippi Community College.
