A West Price Hill woman is accused of making dozens of threatening calls to Mississippi government offices, including one alleged bomb threat that prompted a sheriff’s office lockdown. The federal case surfaced as scrutiny continues around the unexplained death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells.
According to Local 12, Michelle Edwards allegedly used a blocked number to place about 21 calls to the George County Chancery Clerk’s Office over eight minutes, followed by eight calls to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators say she threatened recipients with phrases including "Do not go outside," "Die," and "The clock is ticking," while one call allegedly warned, "Y’all got a bomb outside." No explosives were found during a sweep.
The targeted offices are in separate Mississippi communities. George County lists its chancery clerk’s office at 355 Cox Street in Lucedale, while the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department is based at 3104 Magnolia Street in Pascagoula, according to the George County government and Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.
The Calls Came As Questions Swirled Around Nolan Wells’ Death
Wells, a Black student at Southwest Mississippi Community College, disappeared during a July 4 boat trip to Horn Island with friends and was found dead in the water two days later. The Associated Press reported that Wells was the only Black person in the group, a detail that intensified public concern amid Mississippi’s history of racial violence and conflicting accounts about what happened before he vanished.
Local 12 reported that Jackson County officials initially described Wells’ death as an accidental drowning, while the official cause and manner of death have not been publicly released. An independent autopsy commissioned by Wells’ family found the cause of death to be undetermined, and the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office plans to present the findings to a grand jury.
What The Federal Threat Charge Means
Edwards faces a charge of transmitting an interstate threatening communication to kill or injure a person and damage or destroy a building. Under 18 U.S.C. § 875, a communication containing a threat to injure another person can carry a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both.
The allegations remain unproven in court, and a federal charge is not a conviction. The complaint’s account links the calls to the broader Wells investigation, but it does not establish that Edwards had any involvement in Wells’ death.
