The family of 18-year-old Nolan Wells says its search for answers is far from over after a Mississippi grand jury declined to bring criminal charges in connection with the teenager’s death.

Wells’ parents, Christine Wells-Wonsley and Elmore Wonsley, appeared at a news conference Tuesday alongside attorney Ben Crump, calling for authorities to continue investigating the circumstances surrounding their son’s death. Crump said the family does not believe the grand jury’s decision should bring the investigation to an end.

“Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath will have you accept that Nolan Wells’ death can be summarized in three words: ‘We’ll never know,’” Crump said. “But Nolan’s family offers three other words: ‘We’ll never stop.’”

Wells was last seen July 4 while celebrating the holiday with friends on Horn Island, a barrier island off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast that is accessible by boat. According to information included in the grand jury report, the group’s boat began taking on water and the friends returned to the mainland. Wells chose to remain on the island and reportedly told the others that he would find another way back.

His body was discovered two days later near the northwestern end of the island.

After reviewing the evidence, a state grand jury determined there was insufficient evidence to indict anyone in connection with Wells’ death. Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said investigators found no evidence supporting allegations that Wells’ disappearance and death were racially motivated.

“There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan’s disappearance and death were racially motivated,” Myers McIlrath said in a video statement. She also said Wells’ friends loved him and that there was no evidence contradicting the conclusion that Wells chose to remain on the island.

The grand jury report said investigators found no evidence that Wells had been involved in a physical altercation or argument with anyone on the day he disappeared. It also concluded that the position, condition, time of discovery and location of Wells’ body were consistent with drowning.

However, the report did not establish a definitive cause of death.

An independent autopsy commissioned by Wells’ family determined that the cause and manner of death were undetermined. The examination also documented two bruises on the back of Wells’ head, an issue Crump and the family have repeatedly raised as they continue to question what happened.

The grand jury report acknowledged the bruising but concluded that it was not a fatal injury. It also referenced testimony from a witness who said Wells was seen getting awkwardly off a boat. The witness could not determine whether Wells struck his head but said Wells continued socializing afterward.

According to the report, both Mississippi’s chief medical examiner and a forensic pathologist retained by Wells’ family concluded that the cause and manner of death were undetermined. Neither expert, however, ruled out accidental drowning.

Crump has challenged the idea that the case can simply be attributed to drowning, while people familiar with the waters around Horn Island have pointed out that strong currents can pose a danger even to experienced swimmers.

For Wells’ parents, those questions remain unresolved.

Wells-Wonsley said she received a text message from the district attorney’s office Monday evening informing her that the grand jury report had been released. She questioned the timing and manner of the notification and said the report did not provide the answers the family has been seeking.

“What we have learned is that we still have no answers, and the report reinforced the fact that Nolan was not given a thorough, transparent and honest investigation,” Wells-Wonsley said.

She said her focus has always been on finding out what happened to her son.

“I have always told our children, ‘I will move heaven and earth if anything were to ever happen,’ and that’s exactly what Elmore and I are doing,” she said.

Race has also become part of the public discussion surrounding Wells’ death. Crump previously raised questions about whether race could have played a role, noting that Wells was Black and appeared to be among relatively few Black people on the island during the July Fourth celebration.

Wells-Wonsley said, however, that the family has not characterized her son’s death as a racial incident.

“At no point in time have we ever made this a racial thing,” she said, while acknowledging that the circumstances surrounding the case have contributed to public speculation about race.

The family is also seeking answers about Wells’ cellphone. The friends who were with him said Wells accidentally left the phone on their boat when they returned to the mainland on July 4. His parents have questioned that explanation and have asked why an 18-year-old would leave his cellphone behind.

Crump said his legal team plans to hold another news conference in Orlando, Florida, to discuss its investigation into the cellphone and other aspects of the case.

The attorney is also calling for Mississippi officials to release the complete state autopsy report. Coroner Bruce Lynd told NBC News that Mississippi law limits the release of autopsy reports and that the report could contain toxicology information.

The grand jury’s decision means no criminal charges will be filed based on the evidence presented to it. But Wells’ parents and their attorneys say they intend to continue pursuing information about what happened to Nolan during the final hours of his life.

For the family, the absence of a definitive explanation for his death means the search for answers is not over.