United Cajun Navy denies speaking to attorney Ben Crump about Nolan Wells' condition
The volunteer search group said it never communicated with civil-rights lawyer Ben Crump, contradicting his claim that the group told him the missing teen was found fully clothed.
The United Cajun Navy said it has never spoken with civil-rights attorney Ben Crump, despite the lawyer’s assertion that the group informed him the body of 18-year-old Nolan Wells was found fully clothed. Crump made the statement at a press conference, saying the organization told him Wells was "face down, fully clothed" when recovered two days after he vanished from Horn Island, Mississippi.
In a post on the social platform X, the Cajun Navy refuted the claim, stating, "He said UCN told ‘us’ Nolan was fully clothed – not true. We have never spoken with Crump, and we certainly didn’t tell the parents anything like that."
Crump had highlighted the condition of Wells’ clothing as a potential clue to his death, noting that video footage taken hours before his disappearance showed the teenager in swim trunks. He questioned when a shirt might have been added, suggesting someone might have observed the change.
Wells’ body was located with assistance from the disaster-relief organization after a pilot spotted it from the air. The founder and president of the United Cajun Navy, Todd Terrell, previously answered "yes" to a question on a television program about whether Wells was found fully clothed, later clarifying that he meant the teen was wearing only swim trunks. The group reiterated this clarification, saying the claim of full clothing was a "manufactured distraction" from the earlier misstatement.
Crump did not respond to a request for comment before publication.