Joseph Alfredo Vasquez Dumarce, 27, was arrested on Thursday, July 31, 2026, on charges of interstate transmission of a threatening communication, according to federal court documents. Dumarce allegedly sent violent threats via Facebook Messenger to Jackson County Chancery Court Judge Ashlee Cole, including a message stating that a bomb would be sent to her office.

Judge Cole is the mother of Warren Hudson, a friend who was with Nolan Wells the day Wells disappeared. Wells, 18, vanished on July 4, 2026, after a boat trip with friends to Horn Island, a barrier island off Mississippi's Gulf Coast. After a two-day search, a National Parks Service ranger found Wells' remains on the island's northwestern tip on July 6.

Attorney Ben Crump, representing Wells' family, disclosed during a July 22 news conference that an area of "red discoloration" was found on Wells' head, but Dr. Roger Mitchell, who performed an independent autopsy, could not determine a cause or manner of death. Wells was a wide receiver at Southwest Mississippi Community College with aspirations to play at the Division I level.

The threatening messages included statements such as, "There will be a package coming to your guys office in the next few days," and "Blood. So much blood everywhere. Hard to clean. Especially from a boat. But yours will be quick I promise. I got all your info. Not even the FBI can stop this. Once that package is opened the timer will start. And then you have maybe 10 seconds or less to ask god forgiveness." Dumarce also allegedly called numbers associated with the Jackson County Chancery Court office.

New audio released following Wells' disappearance reportedly does not show "anything nefarious," according to a retired FBI agent.

Sources