Overview
- Nolan Wells vanished after a July 4 boat trip to Horn Island and his body was recovered near the island’s northwest shore on July 6, with investigators treating drowning as the working theory.
- The family’s private autopsy returned an undetermined cause of death and noted a large area of red discoloration on the back of Wells’ head, while the state autopsy and toxicology remain sealed for grand‑jury review.
- On July 28–29 the family obtained court subpoenas for Snapchat, WhatsApp, TikTok, Meta platforms and Life360 to compel account content, metadata and location records after concerns that Snapchat material from the day was missing.
- Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said the family has secured the full Sea Tow distress call and has hired audio engineers and ocean‑engineering experts to analyze the recording and local tides to test whether recovered evidence fits the drowning timeline.
- The probe remains active with no arrests reported, rising public pressure, legal preservation letters and lawsuits, and officials saying forensic results and a grand jury presentation will determine the next steps.