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JACKSON COUNTY, Miss. (WKRG) – A cadaver has been discovered during the active search for a missing teenager, who vanished on Independence Day.
Over the weekend, Mississippi officials urged locals to assist in finding 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells. The teenager was last spotted on Horn Island, a remote barrier island located in the Gulf of Mexico, just off the coast of Mississippi.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were searching Horn Island with help from the Department of Marine Resources, the Gulf Islands National Seashore, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Monday morning, a body was found near where Wells had gone missing on the northwest end of Horn Island, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed. It’s believed the body washed ashore.
While officials are awaiting DNA results, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to Nexstar’s WKRG that the body matches the description of Wells.
An autopsy will be conducted, according to authorities. No additional details were immediately available.