10 days ago, Mississippi authorities discovered the body of 18-year-old Nolan Wells after he reportedly went missing on Horn Island during a boat day with his friends. Since then, his family, friends and communities across the country have been grieving his death while desperately wanting to know what led to this tragedy that for many people in the Black community hit very close to home.
Having earned the support of stars like Tyler Perry, Colin Kapernick, Byron Allen and more, Nolan’s mother Christine Wonsley took to social media this week to acknowledge the outpouring of love she and her family have received.
“I wanted to acknowledge all of your love, your support, your kindness, that you guys have been showing me. I wanted to answer each and every one of you, and I probably will at some point. I will at some point, but right now it’s just, everything is so heavy,” she said in an emotional video posted to Instagram.
“Everything is so heavy. I’ve just been going through the motions,” she continued as she held back tears. “So I lost my mom a few years ago, and that was hard. This loss, this grief, that’s pain, it’s different. It’s insurmountable. You get these floods of emotions all at different times, and grief is so multi-layered. One second, I might be okay, and I can talk about things, and I can listen to his stories. And then the next minute, I am falling apart, and I feel like I can’t breathe, and I feel like there is an elephant just sitting on my chest.”
During 4th of July weekend, Nolan and his friends went on a boat ride. However, what Christine understood to be a casual hangout with friends turned into a tragedy when she received a call from his friends saying that her son was missing. On July 6th, authorities found his body floating in the water. Wells’ case has since raised a number of questions among officials, his family, and social media users as more and more conflicting information emerges.
With the help of civil rights attorney Ben Crump and the Jackson County District Attorney’s office, the family is hoping to find out the truth about what happened to their son. In the meantime, however, Christine and her husband Elmore Wonsley are left to manage the weight of grieving a child, and despite Christine working as a healthcare provider, she says that doesn’t make it any easier to navigate.
“I know this is the process. I have a wonderful support system. I have my faith in God, which I’ve completely leaned into. But I just wanted to let you guys know that I see you, I love you. I’m thankful for all of you, and I’m so sorry that I hadn’t been able to reply,” she concluded. “I don’t know exactly when again on post for some reason, it doesn’t help. And I know if no one was here, he’d be like, Mom, you know, just keep talking to the people, keep telling my story, keep telling your story. So that is going to be my plan. Again, thank you all so much. I love you, and I will talk to you later.”
