Terrell Owens Adds $25,000 to Nolan Wells Reward Fund
Retired NFL wide receiver and Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens has pledged $25,000 toward the reward fund for information in the death investigation of Nolan Wells, the 18-year-old college student and football player found dead near Horn Island, Mississippi, on July 6. The donation brings the total reward to $125,000, according to a statement from attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents the Wells family, reported by WLOX.
Owens joins civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton and filmmaker Tyler Perry, who each previously pledged $50,000 toward the fund. Owens attended Wells’ funeral Monday, July 20, at Center Pointe Church in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and stood behind the family, Sharpton and Crump during a news conference afterward, according to WLOX.
“We are deeply grateful to Terrell Owens, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Tyler Perry for standing with Nolan Wells’ family in their pursuit of truth and justice,” Crump said in a statement reported by PEOPLE.
What Happened to Nolan Wells
Wells traveled by boat to Horn Island, a barrier island off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, with friends on July 4 for a large Fourth of July gathering. The boat returned to the mainland that afternoon without him, and he was reported missing that night. His body was recovered from the water near the island on the morning of July 6, according to a summary of the case.
Jackson County authorities have said the evidence collected so far has not indicated foul play, and investigators initially suspected Wells drowned. But an official cause and manner of death have not been released. Toxicology testing remains incomplete, and results from an independent autopsy requested by Crump’s team have not been made public either, according to WLOX.
Wells is Black. Friends who traveled with him are white, and accounts of what happened before he was separated from the group have varied, fueling public scrutiny of the case. At the funeral, Sharpton addressed the question of race directly rather than assert an answer either way. “We cannot say it was race, but we cannot say it was not race,” he told the congregation, according to reporting on the service. “So let’s not judge either way until all the evidence is in.”
Reward Fund Timeline
| Donor | Amount | When Pledged |
|---|---|---|
| Rev. Al Sharpton | $50,000 | Announced at funeral, July 20 |
| Tyler Perry | $50,000 | Matched Sharpton’s pledge, July 20 |
| Terrell Owens | $25,000 | Announced by Crump’s office, July 21 |
| Total | $125,000 | As of July 21 |
Sharpton, who delivered the eulogy at Wells’ funeral, framed the reward as a call to action rather than a bounty for information alone. “He was not on that island by himself. Somebody saw something and knows something,” Sharpton said, according to WLOX. “So, I didn’t come to make money. I came to give money. Stand up and tell the truth. Whatever it is, good or bad.”
Perry, who also helped cover funeral costs, matched Sharpton’s donation shortly after it was announced.
Where the Investigation Stands
More than two weeks after Wells died, the case remains open with no official cause of death released. Investigators are continuing to collect witness accounts, photographs, video and digital evidence tied to the Fourth of July gathering, which reportedly drew hundreds of people to the island, according to a case summary published this week.
Crump has pushed back publicly on an early theory that Wells’ death was an accidental drowning, though the basis for that pushback has not been detailed in available reporting. No arrests have been announced, and no findings from either the state medical examiner’s autopsy or the family’s independent autopsy have been made public.
Anyone with information related to the case is urged to call the tip line at 888-991-1772.
