Nolan Wells' Dad Doesn't Recognize Man Claiming to Be Son's Friend

Nolan Wells' father says one of the young men calling himself Nolan's "best friend" is no friend at all ... 'cause he doesn't even recognize the kid.

Elmore Wonsley appeared on NewsNation's "Cuomo" Wednesday night, where Chris Cuomo asked whether he knew Tracestin Shepherd, who appeared on "The Officer Tatum Show" and was presented as one of Nolan's best friends.

Elmore says Tracestin wasn't a friend of Nolan's as far as he's concerned, summing it up like this ... "Just because you parked your vehicle in someone's yard doesn't mean that they have to know you."

He went on to rip Tracestin for being more focused on getting his name out there than the fact that his "so-called best friend" is dead.

Brandon Tatum recently interviewed Tracestin and Warren Hudson ... referring to both young men as Nolan's best friends.

Tracestin even spoke about Nolan on "Good Morning America" ... saying he and other friends were receiving online threats and insisting they did nothing wrong.

Tracestin also went to the media and pushed back on rumors surrounding a viral pool photo featuring Nolan, which was posted after his July 4th disappearance. Tracestin wasn't at the party, but he said it was the weekend before the Fourth of July.

Warren later gave the same account during his interview with Tatum.

Elmore noted everyone being interviewed is home while his son is not ... saying Nolan should be in college right now, calling his parents to tell them about his day.