Nolan Wells' family demands answers about US teen's death after boating trip

The family of Nolan Wells, a Mississippi teenager who was found dead after going missing last weekend, is demanding answers about what happened to him.

Wells, 18, did not return with friends from a boating trip to Horn Island on 4 July and his body was found in the water two days later.

The Jackson County Sheriff's office said "no foul play was suspected" but is calling on the public to come forward if they have any information.

Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump - who has been hired by the family - said there have been conflicting witness statements. He added that he has ordered an independent autopsy to be carried out.

"The family has distrust of the Mississippi law enforcement officials giving them a fair investigation where their black son ended up dead after going out on a boat with three young white men," Crump said during a press conference on Friday.

The emotionally charged event held in New York City was also attended by Al Sharpton and Wells' parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley.

"We just want to know what happened and why our baby didn't come home. That's our biggest thing," Christine Wonsley said through tears.

"We just want an honest and thorough investigation."

An initial autopsy was carried out earlier this week, but the results have not been released. Dental records confirmed the body was Wells, Jackson County coroner Bruce Lynd told the BBC's US news partner CBS News.

Crump has questioned what he says are conflicting reports about whether Wells was going to leave Horn Island with friends or whether he asked to stay behind, and said in a statement that Wells' family also "have serious, unanswered questions about the circumstances that left Nolan alone on the island and about how he died".

The Wells family said police initially suggested their son accidentally drowned, an assertion his mother Wonsley said made her "uncomfortable".

"This is a kid who new how to swim," Crump said.

Wonsley also said she was bothered by the fact her son's cell phone and car keys returned from Horn Island in the possession of his friends, without her son.

Wonsley was the first to raise the alarm that her son, who played American football at Southwest Mississippi Community College and was described by his coach as a "happy-go-lucky kid", had gone missing after he did not return on the evening of 4 July.

Authorities discovered his body off the coast of the island on 6 July, following a search that included multiple local, state and federal agencies.

National Park Service described Horn Island as having "no staff, drinking water, shelter, facilities, or communication".

Christine Wonsley and Nolan's father, Elmore Wonsley, told CBS Mornings that they don't believe their son would have decided to stay back on the island by himself.

"That's not in his character," said Elmore Wonsley.

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office has put out a press release "asking anyone who was on or near Horn Island on July 4" to contact the department and also requested any original, unedited photos and videos of "alleged altercations" or images of Wells.

On Friday, Al Sharpton said a funeral service for Wells was being arranged in Mississippi with the help of Hollywood filmmaker Tyler Perry.

A GoFundMe created for the family has raised over $388,000 (£283,535).