President Trump said he may ask the FBI to look into the death of Nolan Wells during a press conference at the White House on Wednesday.
Trump said “we’re looking at that” when asked by reporters whether or not the feds would carry out their own investigation into the death of the 18-year-old Mississippi football player who was found dead days after vanishing from a summer boat trip with pals.
The call for a new investigation into Wells’ death was sounded by the teen’s father Elmore Wonsley on Monday, who asked for a federal investigation.
“Our son was found on federal land and we are asking the FBI to step in and do a full investigation,” Wonsley said.
Wells – who is black – was found dead after he disappeared during an ill-fated Fourth of July trip with friends to Mississippi’s Horn island, authorities said.
The Southwest Mississippi Community College student and his pals had travelled by boat to the island, but the teen didn’t return with his friends when they left. He was found dead near the island two days later.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department said that Wells was last seen traveling to the other side of the island with a girl, though authorities denied that there was any foul play involved in the teen’s death.
The circumstances around Wells’ disappearance were challenged by his family and their supporters, many who questioned the transparency of the case, the accountability of investigators and if there was an alleged racial motive.
But Wells’ death was also determined to not be either criminal or racially motivated after it was presented to a grand jury last month.
The teen’s family was suspicious of the grand jury decision, with their attorney Ben Crump, slamming the result as “[leaving] us with more questions than answers,” in a statement after its release.
“Today, the State of Mississippi is attempting to close the chapter on Nolan Wells’ death without getting to the truth,” Crump said in the statement.
