A Cincinnati woman allegedly made 29 bomb-threat calls as the unresolved death of Nolan Wells fuels arrests and misinformation.
Federal prosecutors say 29 threatening telephone calls targeting two Mississippi offices came from Cincinnati resident Michelle Francine Edwards as public anger swirled around Nolan Wells’ unexplained death.
A criminal complaint alleges Edwards contacted the George County Chancery Clerk’s Office 21 times during an eight-minute stretch on July 23. The blocked caller reportedly warned, “Do not go outside,” “the clock is ticking” and “die.”
Authorities say another eight calls reached Jackson County Sheriff’s Office dispatch shortly afterward. The caller allegedly used *67 and declared, “Y’all got a bomb outside, don’t come outside b####.”
Officials locked down the buildings and deployed bomb-detection dogs. No explosive device was discovered.
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Phone records obtained from C-Spire and Verizon helped agents uncover the originating number. Investigators say Cash App information, Cincinnati police files and cellular-location evidence then pointed toward Edwards.
She was taken into custody Friday on a federal interstate-threat charge. A conviction could bring five years behind bars, a $250,000 fine and three years under supervision after release.
The arrest adds another disturbing chapter to a mystery that has commanded national attention while spawning racial arguments, unproven accusations and dangerous online behavior.
Federal authorities separately accused Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce, 27, of targeting Judge Ashlee Cole, whose son joined Wells on Horn Island. Prosecutors say Dumarce threatened to mail an explosive package and sent Cole images of her children.
Wells, an 18-year-old Black student-athlete, vanished from a Fourth of July gathering on the Mississippi barrier island. His friends headed back after their boat developed trouble, but Wells remained behind. A search ended July 6 when his body was recovered along the shoreline.
No one has been criminally accused of causing Wells’ death as of August 3.
A private examination requested by his family left the cause and manner classified as undetermined. Forensic pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell explained that decomposition and missing organs from the first examination restricted what he could determine.
Mississippi’s medical examiner has finished the state autopsy and toxicology analysis, but officials have withheld those conclusions. Authorities have also denounced a purported toxicology document spreading online as fraudulent.
District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath says the investigative record will go before a grand jury after law enforcement finishes its work. Jurors will then consider whether the evidence warrants any criminal charges.
