Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jul 15

Mississippi Teen Nolan Wells Found Dead on Horn Island 2 Days After July 4 Boat Trip

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jul 15

Mississippi Teen Nolan Wells Found Dead on Horn Island 2 Days After July 4 Boat Trip

Q: Why do his friends' stories clash, and what was deleted from the Mississippi teen's phone before he was found dead?

The accounts clash because key witnesses have given different versions of Nolan Wells’ last known movements, and some online material has added confusion rather than clarity. One version, repeated early by the sheriff and by friend Tracestin Shepherd, is that Wells chose to stay on Horn Island to talk with a young woman and planned to get another ride back. But Ben Crump, the family’s lawyer, says the woman told investigators Wells left her to return to the boat, directly contradicting the claim that he voluntarily stayed behind. There are also disputes over a viral video of an alleged argument: Crump initially pointed to it as potentially involving Wells, while Shepherd and another friend said Wells was not in that clip. The family’s concern is that these contradictions affect the central question of whether Wells was abandoned, became separated accidentally, or encountered some other problem before he died. That is why they are pressing for a fuller review of witness statements, digital evidence and the timeline. As for the phone, the family says messages and Snapchat activity appear to have been deleted before Wells was found. His mother said both of his Snapchat accounts were essentially blank when checked, with no saved pictures, no snaps from that day and missing message history, which she said was out of character for him. The family has also said location data from Life360 and Snapchat did not match, and they want the phone forensically examined.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 15

Horn Island rangers found Nolan Wells' body on July 6, two days after the Mississippi teen disappeared during a July 4 boat outing with friends.
Search crews from the United Cajun Navy said boats and an aircraft tracked wind and drift patterns, and the body was found near where Wells was last seen.
Brian Trasher, the group's vice president, said there is no evidence Wells was abandoned on the island and that drowning is the working theory.
Jackson County sheriff's investigators have not announced an official cause of death and are asking the public for information.
Ben Crump, hired by Wells' family, said they want a thorough and transparent investigation into how the teen died.