No criminal charges in the death of Nolan Wells

(NBC, KYMA) - A grand jury in Mississippi will not pursue criminal charges in the death of teenager Nolan Wells over the July 4 weekend.

The district attorney says the grand jury returned a, no true bill, decision after looking at all the evidence in the case, and hearing from 43 witnesses.

In releasing the grant jury report, D.A. Angel Myers McIlrath also forcefully rejected months of speculation that race played a role in Nolan's death.

McIlrath said, "There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan's disappearance and death were racially motivated. Nolan's friends loved Nolan, and Nolan loved them. Nolan chose to stay on the island that day, and there is not a scintilla of evidence to contradict that."

Family attorney Ben Crump reacted to the news with a short social media post saying, "No true bill does not resolve how Nolan Wells died."

Wells went missing after joining friends on a boat ride to Horn Island off the Mississippi coast where they met up with other young people celebrating the holiday.

His friends returned home, but without Wells. They said he wanted to stay behind and catch a ride back on another boat.

His body was located in the water near the island two days later.

An autopsy concluded there was no evidence of physical altercation and that evidence suggested his death was consistent with drowning.

An independent autopsy commissioned by his family's legal team found that the teenager's cause and manner of death were undetermined.