Brian Trascher clarifies what the United Cajun Navy observed when Nolan Wells’ body was discovered and disputes attorney Ben Crump’s account.
United Cajun Navy’s VP Brian Trascher addressed the controversy surrounding the handling of information after 18-year-old Nolan Wells’ body was discovered on Horn Island, clarifying key details that civil rights attorney Ben Crump had disputed during a press conference.
During a TMZ Now interview, Trascher explained why the United Cajun Navy didn’t immediately inform the Wells family about what they observed when the body was found.
“I just didn’t think that it would be helpful to his mom as she was just finding out that her son was dead. Human curiosity is going to probably ask me to describe what I saw and I just think that that would have made it worse,” Trascher said. “Certainly wasn’t trying to hide anything from her and as a matter of fact, I was 400 ft in the air and there was plenty of law enforcement on the scene right there with his body.”
The situation unfolded after Wells went missing on July 4 during a Fourth of July celebration with friends, with his mother Christine Wonsley last hearing from him on July 3 when he cooked dinner and told her he loved her before heading to a friend’s house for the night.
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Wells traveled to Horn Island with a group of friends that morning, arriving around 11:14 A.M. by boat. Around 3 P.M., he chose to stay on the island while his friends departed at 4:31 P.M. when their boat began taking on water.
His parents immediately began searching after learning he hadn’t returned, with his father, Elmore Wonsley, heading to the island by boat with Nolan’s football coach early on July 5.
The Coast Guard and multiple agencies, including the United Cajun Navy, launched a coordinated search effort that morning.
Just before 9 A.M. on July 6, authorities discovered Wells’ body in the water at the northwestern tip of Horn Island, and his family confirmed his death on social media just before 1 P.M. that same day.
Trascher and another team member were in a plane hovering over Horn Island when Wells’ body was discovered. He explained that he captured images of the scene while photographing law enforcement personnel and boats.
When asked what the photos showed, Trascher described the scene.
“I see a body that matches the description of Nolan Wells laying face down at the shoreline right at the water’s edge. He was wearing swim trunks and not moving, obviously. He just looked like he was sleeping on the beach.”
Trascher clarified a key point of contention from attorney Benjamin Crump’s press conference with his family, questioning the official narrative and Crump’s claim that Wells was found fully clothed.
Trascher confirmed that wasn’t accurate.
“He was definitely only in swim trunks. I saw it and nobody ever told Mr. Crump, any of his attorneys, or the family otherwise,” Trascher said. “I think he either heard it on an interview or somebody told them they heard it on an interview and he just assumed that we told the family. We certainly never told them that he was fully clothed, which would have been significant if that was true, but that’s not true.”
Regarding whether he plans to hand over the photos to the family, Trascher made a clear commitment.
“Anything that Christine and Elmore want from the United Cajun Navy, we will not tell them no. We will give them whatever they want, anytime they want. All they have to do is ask.”
The family hired Crump on July 7 and held a press conference on July 10 calling for transparency, with Rev. Al Sharpton joining them to say he wasn’t ruling out race as a factor in the case.
During Crump’s press conference, he mentioned possible trauma on the back of Wells’ head. Trascher said he wasn’t surprised by the findings but found them vague.
“They weren’t very specific in the press conference. I don’t know if the report itself was more specific with regards to, you know, subcutaneous, soft tissue, like redness around the back of his head. That could be caused by many things,” Trascher said. “Now, it’s important to disclaimer that I am not a medical professional. I did not even get good grades in science, but I have seen a lot of dead bodies in my life and all I can tell you with regards to what they talked about at the press conference is inconclusive to me cause not enough information was given.”
Nolan’s funeral service was held on July 20 at Center Pointe Church in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy and announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, which actor Tyler Perry matched to bring the total to $100,000.
