Body found in search for football player Nolan Xavier Wells, 18, who vanished during Fourth of July celebrations: reports

A body has been found after a Mississippi football player mysteriously disappeared after visiting a local island with friends on the Fourth of July, according to reports.Nolan Xavier Wells, 18, vanished during a boating trip with friends on Saturday and was last seen around 3 p.m.“talking to a girl” on the north end of Horn Island, a popular barrier island about 10 miles off the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the United Cajun Navy and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department said.The body has not yet been identified, WLOX reported.

The discovery was made around 8:45 a.m.Monday near where Wells disappeared, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office told News5.“He was last talking to a girl on that north end, he went out to Horn Island with some buddies yesterday on a boat and he has not been heard from in close to 24 hours,” Cajun Navy Incident Commander Josh Gill said in a video posted to Facebook early Sunday. “So guys, if you’re out there fishing, if you’re out there jet skiing, doing whatever you guys are doing, keep your eyes out for Nolan,” he said.

“Guys, please, please keep your eyes out… Let’s find this young boy, his mother is worried sick.”It’s unclear if the teen, a wide receiver at Southwest Mississippi Community College, ever made it back to the mainland.Wells’ heartbroken mother has since flooded Facebook with photos of her son from the day he vanished and desperate pleas for information.“His father, Elmore Wonsley and I are not ok,” mom Christine Wonsley said in a Monday morning post.“We have so many questions.Our hearts are breaking, we keep waiting for Nolan to walk through that door with his beautiful smile and a joke of course.

We just pray our son is alive & safe.Again we are looking for any pictures/video footage around 4:30 p.m.

or later.”Photos of the shirtless teen, who reportedly played football at Ocean Springs High School, show him sporting blue swim trunks, sunglasses and grinning alongside friends on a ...