Nolan Wells’ father says man on TV was no friend: ‘He doesn’t even recognize the kid’
The father of Nolan Wells is pushing back hard against claims that a young man on television was one of his son’s closest friends. Elmore
The father of Nolan Wells is pushing back hard against claims that a young man on television was one of his son’s closest friends. Elmore Wonsley said he does not even recognize Tracestin Shepherd, who has appeared in media coverage talking about the dead 18-year-old.
Wonsley made the remarks Wednesday night on NewsNation’s Cuomo, after host Chris Cuomo asked whether he knew Shepherd, who had recently been presented on Brandon Tatum’s show as one of Nolan’s best friends. His answer was blunt. “Just because you parked your vehicle in someone’s yard doesn’t mean that they have to know you,” Wonsley said.
The dispute adds another layer to a case that has already spilled far beyond a local tragedy. Nolan Wells went missing after taking a boat to Horn Island with friends on July 4. His body was found in the water days later. Since then, his parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, have pressed for a thorough investigation as questions swirl around the teens who were with him that day.
A family angry over who speaks for Nolan
Wonsley said Shepherd seemed more interested in attention than in mourning. He accused the young man of trying to get his name out there while the family grieves Nolan’s death.
That criticism follows a string of public interviews. Brandon Tatum recently spoke with Shepherd and Warren Hudson, describing both as Nolan’s best friends. Shepherd also went on Good Morning America, where he said he and other friends had received online threats and insisted they had done nothing wrong.
Shepherd has also pushed back publicly on rumors tied to a viral pool photo that circulated after Nolan’s disappearance. He said he was not at the party. The photo, and the conflicting accounts around it, have only deepened the online frenzy.
Pressure, grief and a wider backlash
The family’s pain has been visible. On Friday, Christine Wells-Wonsley posted a message saying the family would keep fighting for justice for their son and that they will always fight for him. She wrote that Nolan’s life mattered and said there is not a moment they are not thinking of him.
The case has also drawn harassment and hostility toward people around Nolan, according to People. Some family members and friends disagree on what happened, and many have faced hate online as amateur sleuths, media figures and attorneys trade accusations.
That tension has turned the search for answers into a public battle over credibility. Wonsley, speaking on national television, said he wants honesty. “Be brave and give us the truth,” he said.
For now, one fact hangs over everything else: the state autopsy report has been completed, but the results remain under wraps.
