A dolphin swims near Horn Island in the Mississippi Sound on Friday, June 25, 2010, even as weathered oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill floats nearby. (Photo by James Edward Bates/Biloxi Sun Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Nolan Xavier Wells was reportedly last seen alive on July 4th. The 18-year-old had traveled to Horn Island on a boat trip. He spent time with at least three males, according to photos his mother shared during the search for him. After two days missing, a park ranger reportedly found a body in the northwest end of Horn Island. An autopsy is pending to confirm the body’s identity with DNA. On Facebook, his mother asked for privacy to grieve and thanked the rescue efforts.
In between sending his parents love, the internet has also raised questions about where Wells was ultimately found. Here are some key things to know about Horn Island.
Horn Island is approximately between 10 to 12 miles long from east to west, but very narrow. 10 miles long is the same thing as traveling between 10 to 15 minutes on a highway with no traffic or walking the entire length of the National Mall in Washington, DC at least three times. But it’s only 1 mile wide though and that’s reportedly at it’s widest point. See drone footage of the island and surrounding waters below.
Horn Island is about 8-10 miles off the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, according to the National Parks Conversation Association. From Ocean Springs it’d take about 20 to 25 minutes to get there, but only if the waters are calm. Nolan Wells grew up in Ocean Springs and graduated from Ocean Springs High School last year. The main way to travel to Horn Island is on a private boat, like the 18-year-old did with presumed friends on July 4.
Horn Island is mostly flat sand, but can switch up quickly. For example, every 200 yards, it can go from white sand beaches to rolling sand dunes, to pine forests, lagoons and even hidden marshlands.
According to the National Park Service, there are no bathroom facilities, shelter, trash cans, drinking water sources or even staff on the island. However, they allow people to camp, fish, bird watch and boat on and off the shores of the island with the expectation of following the “Leave No Trace” principles. Glass containers aren’t allowed, neither are pets.
That said, visitors are also subject to the animals living on and surrounding Horn Island. Dolphins are known to play and swim close to boats on the beach. The sandy shores are active with crabs and wild oysters in the shallow water, per NOLA.com. On land, there’s marsh rabbits and black racer snakes. And alligators also live permanently in Horn Island’s interior habitats, like lagoons and ponds. Sometimes, per the NPCA, they even sunbathe on the open beaches and swim in the ocean.
