New $50K reward in Nolan Wells case sparks fresh questions online

The father of one of Nolan Wells’ reported friends, Warren Hudson, announced a $50K reward, urging people to come forward with information

As days pass, the hunt for the truth about what happened to Nolan Wells intensifies. From social media users around the world calling for justice to celebrities like Tyler Perry and Colin Kaepernick investing money into helping the family find out what happened to their 18-year old son, who was found dead on Horn Island 2 days after a boating trip with friends on July 4, the efforts and support have come from all fronts. 

In fact, yesterday, Dr. Benjamin Hudson, the father of one of Wells’ reported friends, Warren Hudson, who was with him the day he disappeared, announced a $50,000 reward for anyone who can provide details about what happened to Wells. 

“We feel people aren’t talking because of the pressure of the case,” Dr. Hudson told TMZ. “We don’t know that anyone had any involvement, but we care about Nolan and want to find out what happened.”

Warren’s father also told the outlet that his family has received thousands of death threats since the case gained national attention, while continuing to defend the teens who were reported to be with Wells on Horn Island. Now, the Hudson family’s reward announcement only raised further suspicions across social media as it comes days after Rev. Al Sharpton, Tyler Perry, and NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens announced a $125k reward for anyone with credible information about what happened to Wells in collaboration with the family’s attorney Ben Crump. 

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The separate reward news comes shortly after a series of developments in Wells’ case including: Wells’ family subpoenaing to social media companies to preserve data linked to the teen’s account, another teen, who was reportedly on Horn Island with Wells, Bart Edmiston Jr., reportedly obtained a lawyer to fight the defamatory claims online linking him to Wells’ death, and after an audio engineer enhanced the audio of a newly released call from the boat to the Sea Tow company, which many speculate could be a step closer to uncovering the truth of what happened that day. 

The $50k reward comes from the same family whose son appeared on a conservative commentator, Brandon Tatum’s, podcast, where he recounted the moments from that day. According to Warren, who describes himself as the late teen’s “close friend,” Wells was in the water with a girl. When the group noticed that the boat began to take on water, he claims he called out for Wells to get on the boat, to which the teen allegedly stated he would ride back with someone else. 

“We were in an emergency,” Warren told Tatum, citing a bilge pump issue. “The boat, we’re trying to save the boat. It’s not like we didn’t ask Nolan, or we just left Nolan. Nolan decided to stay on the island with the girl that he was with. And the girl is a witness to that, too.”

Warren was also the one who called Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, to inform her that the teen was missing. However, Wells’ parents say they have trouble believing the teen chose to leave the group. In two separate interviews, one with TheGrio and another with “Good Morning America,” Elmore Wonsley, Nolan’s father, explained that he taught Nolan to stay with a group when traveling, a lesson he “preached” to Nolan “every day.”

“We always taught him that if you go with a group, you stay with a group,” Wonsley shared. “If you go with five, you come back with five. Do not separate from the group. Because I always said, ‘Safety is in numbers.’”

Additionally, Warren’s stepmother, Ashlee Cole, released statements on July 7 & 9 to “dispel some rumors” regarding Wells’ case. 

“Unfortunately, I feel that it is appropriate for our family to dispel some rumors with facts based upon the social media attention that is being diverted away from the Wells family and their loss. 

“We have decided that we will not be speaking to the press at this time. The Media is not the appropriate forum to further elaborate on the facts of July 4, 2026. We realize that the truth will not stop the calls for the death of our small children,” Cole wrote on July 9. “We have not had the opportunity to speak to the Wells-Wonsley family or their attorney. However, we are willing to directly communicate with attorney Ben Crump and the Wells-Wonsley family. We will provide them with all the information known to us so their family can rest and properly mourn. We also want to know what happened to Nolan. We will do everything within our power to assist Nolan’s family in their quest for answers.”

The collective side-eye surrounding the Hudson family’s reward stems from how Mississippi authorities and Wells’ reported friends who were on the boat have addressed the case since it gained national attention. Between conflicting stories, Wells’ phone being found at one of the friend’s homes, suspicion of content being deleted from his phone, and local officials sharing early conclusions before any proper investigation, there have been a lot of suspicions about how the case has been handled and covered by the media.  

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“It’s just a glaring example of how traditional news media will denigrate the dead when they are Black. We have seen this before, and this is just the latest example of it. And I think that is why so many people are paying attention to it, because they can see very clearly that Nolan Wells is not here to defend himself,” journalist Janai Norman told theGrio reflecting on the narratives being pushed by certain media organizations.

“Yet, in the news coverage, we have seen the coverage take the side of what, in most cases, I think most people would view as suspects, and that’s what’s been disheartening. I think for so many people, and it has nothing to do with race, actually, because anyone, any parent who would have their kid leave home and not return home would want to know what happened, would want to have answers, would want a thorough investigation, and would hope that the news media would cover the story as the fourth estate, as an independent fourth estate that is there to verify information before just putting it out, and unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be what’s happened here.”