This article was originally published on Crafting Your Home. A human contributor also wrote and edited the post.
A friend of Nolan Wells is speaking publicly for the first time since the 18-year-old football player was found dead off the Mississippi coast, disputing key details his family has shared about his final hours.
Tracestin Shepherd was among the group of friends who traveled with Wells to Horn Island for a 4th of July outing before the teen vanished. Wells’ body was recovered near the barrier island two days later, and questions about what happened in between have only intensified since.
Shepherd appeared in a segment that aired Monday, July 13, on Good Morning America, choosing to alter his voice and stay off camera. He also gave a separate, more detailed account to Rolling Stone in an earlier interview.
Both conversations centered on a video that spread widely online and became central to public speculation about Wells’ death.
What Happened on Horn Island
Wells, a wide receiver at Southwest Mississippi Community College and a graduate of Ocean Springs High School, traveled to Horn Island by boat with a group of friends on July 4.
The trip had been planned as a final gathering before friends returned to school or work following the holiday. Roughly 300 people, many of them former classmates, were spread across the island that day.
According to Shepherd, the group had been drinking since late morning when word came that one of the boats needed to head back to shore because of an electrical issue. Wells chose to stay behind.
Shepherd said Wells told him he had met a young woman on the island and wanted to keep spending time with her, planning to return later on a different friend’s boat.
“They met that day, and it’s kind of one of those things,” Shepherd said, describing the encounter as brief. “He did come off that day that he really did like her, but that was the only time they ever hung out.” Wells was reported missing after failing to return, and his body was found two days later near the island’s northwest shore by a park ranger.
The Viral Video Controversy
Much of the online scrutiny has focused on a clip filmed from a boat that shows a confrontation on the island, along with shouting caught on audio. Attorney Ben Crump, who represents Wells’ family, said at a press conference that the voice belonged to Wells and that he could be heard demanding his phone back during an apparent dispute.
That characterization spread quickly across social media and fueled accusations against the friend group.
Shepherd firmly rejected that account in both interviews. He said the voice on the recording is his own, not Wells’, and that Wells does not appear in the footage at all.
He told Rolling Stone that his exact words in the clip were about wanting off the boat to continue a separate altercation unrelated to Wells.
Shepherd described the underlying incident as a personal dispute that began while he was in the water with his girlfriend. He said a man from a nearby town inserted himself into the disagreement, which escalated into a physical fight.
His uncle told him to get back on the boat, he said, though he initially tried to return to shore before someone nearby began filming.
Family’s Account Raises Different Questions
Wells’ parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, have publicly questioned why their son would have separated from the group at all.
They said during their own GMA interview that he had always been taught to stay close to his friends rather than remain behind on his own. The family has also raised concerns about inconsistencies involving his cellphone.
Christine said the phone was eventually recovered after a friend tracked its location through an app, and that its location history did not match what friends described seeing on Snapchat that day. Investigators have requested the phone directly from the family, and Crump has said it will be turned over following their own independent review.
Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter has said Shepherd and the other teens on the trip have cooperated with investigators.
The Wonsleys are also pursuing a private, independent autopsy, a move partly facilitated by former NFL player Colin Kaepernick. Investigators have said preliminary findings point to drowning, with no evidence of foul play identified so far.
The family has continued to describe the circumstances surrounding their son’s death as suspicious and says it is waiting on the outcome of their own examination before drawing conclusions.
Friends Say They Have Faced Threats Online
Shepherd said he and the other young people who were with Wells that day have faced intense backlash since his death, including direct threats.
He said he agreed to speak publicly in order to correct what he described as widespread misinformation circulating about the group. He also pushed back on suggestions that race played a role in what happened to Wells.
“We did no wrong here, and we don’t understand how we’re getting so much hate behind us,” Shepherd said. “We all cared and loved Nolan, and nobody wanted to see Nolan die.
Nobody wanted to see his life be taken so short.” He described the friend group as close and diverse, saying their shared bond was built around their affection for Wells.
Shepherd said he wants the investigation to run its course before anyone reaches conclusions about what happened. He acknowledged that many unanswered questions remain, including where Wells was in the hours before he ended up in the water.
“I want everybody just to relax and let everybody mourn the loss of Nolan,” he said. “I think everybody needs to let the investigation continue and let the facts be shown.”
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