about two weeks later nolan wells disappeared during a trip to Horn Island, Mississippi, on the Fourth of July, as investigators continue to piece together her final hours. Authorities have not determined a cause or manner of death and say they are awaiting autopsy and toxicology results.
The Wells family, represented by a civil rights attorney ben crumphas launched an independent autopsy and is continuing its parallel investigation.
Throughout the investigation, Wells’ family has stressed that there have been numerous inconsistencies since the 18-year-old went missing.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department has repeatedly urged patience, saying investigators are examining eyewitness accounts, digital evidence and forensic findings before reaching conclusions. Sheriff John Ledbetter has said that authorities have not found evidence of foul play but has not ruled out any possibilities.
Many discrepancies have reportedly come to light in the case. Here is a look at some of the information on which questions are being raised.
10 major inconsistencies in the Nolan Wells case
1. Were Wells left behind on Horn Island?
What do friends and officials say? Authorities say multiple witnesses reported Wells chose to stay on Horn Island and planned to return later with another group.
Local judge Ashley Cole said his son Warren last saw Wells at about 3am before leaving because their boat had developed mechanical problems. “Nolan decided to stay on the island and later return inland with another group of friends,” Cole said.
Another friend, Tracettin Shepherd, told ABC News that Wells had met a younger woman and wanted to stay for a long time. Shepherd said, “They met that day and it’s one of those things. That day he discovered that he really liked her, but that was the only time they got together.”
What do Wales’ parents say? Wells’s parents disapproved of this, calling it risky and unnatural behavior for Wells.
“We always taught him that if you go with a group, you stay with the group,” his father, Elmore Wansley, told Good Morning America. “If you go with five, you come back with five.”
They see this narrative as evidence of a more important issue. “When he said that, it was self-evident – it freaked me out, but it sparked a question like, I know he wouldn’t do that. I preached this to him every day… You’re lying to me,” Elmore said.
2. Did Wells leave his phone behind?
What do friends and officials say? One of the biggest questions concerns Wells’ cellphone.
Shepherd said it’s common to leave phones inside boats because people don’t want them exposed to salt water. “All our friends are there. Who are we talking to?” he told ABC News.
What do Wales’ parents say? His parents disagree.
Christine Wansley said her son was a frequent user of Snapchat and regularly documented outings with photos and videos. She found it suspicious that her account was showing almost no activity since July 4.
He said it was strange to note that Wells’ phone lacked texts, pictures or videos other than his walk with friends, which might have provided more information about his activities that day.
Officials have not publicly disclosed whether the deleted content, metadata or cloud backups have been recovered. A digital forensic investigation of Wells’ phone is expected to be conducted jointly by experts from both the family and prosecutors
3. Why was the phone location different from Snapchat?
What do Wales’ parents say? According to reports, family members tracked Wells’ phone using a monitoring application with the help of a family friend on the mainland.
The family noticed that Nolan’s Snapchat account was displaying a location that did not match his phone’s location, and it had shown no activity for 24 hours before his disappearance.
The Rev. Al Sharpton also questioned why Wells’ friends never voluntarily told the family that they had his phone. “They did not voluntarily tell him they had his phone. They did not voluntarily tell him they had the keys,” Sharpton said.
What do friends and officials say? Officials have not publicly addressed the discrepancy or said whether it was caused by a delay in GPS updates or some other technical reason.
Also read: Nolan Wells’ parents ‘strongly’ urge public to help find answers, ‘We need to know what happened…’
4. What did Wells wear?
What do friends and officials say? Another discrepancy is what Welles was wearing.
Police reports state that he was wearing black shorts when he disappeared.
What do Wales’ parents say? However, Christine Wansley said that a young woman who attended the Horn Island gathering later sent her photographs of herself wearing blue shorts.
5. Alleged Argument
What do Wales’ parents say? The fierce clash can be seen in a widely circulated video from Horn Island.
Initially, Ben Crump suggested that Welles join the recording.
What do friends and officials say? That claim was later challenged by Shepherd, who told Rolling Stone that the person heard screaming was in fact him.
Crump later clarified that investigators would continue to receive tips about possible controversies involving Wells.
Investigators have specifically requested the original, unedited video from July 4.
6. Who is Katie and where is she?
What do friends and officials say? One of the biggest unanswered questions centers on a young woman who has been identified as Katie.
During the initial phone call Wells’s friends had with Christine, they told her that Wells was staying on the island with a girl named Katie. “He said he wanted to live and hang out with a girl named Katie. And also, and this was the initial conversation, I was alerted to his disappearance.”
What do Wales’ parents say? According to Wells’ mother, she was initially told that her son was last seen with Katie and that the young woman herself was “missing”.
However, a relative later wrote on Facebook that Katie was never missing.
Crump highlights another paradox. According to her, Katie allegedly told investigators that Wells said he was returning to his friends’ boat. Meanwhile, his friends reportedly claimed that Wells had told them that he was living with Katie.
Crump said, “Which one is it? No one must be telling the truth.”
7. When did Wells actually die?
What do friends and officials say? Investigators have not established the exact time of Wells’ death. After a lot of search, his body was recovered on 6 July.
Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lind has declined to speculate until receiving autopsy and toxicology findings. Therefore the official cause and manner of death is unknown
What do Wales’ parents say? Crump suggested in a social media repost that Wells may have returned home early on July 5, died later, and then had his body returned to Horn Island by July 6.
However, other known facts, such as his parents’ claim that they were initially informed that he was missing and that they searched his phone, seem to contradict this timeline.
8. Did Wells drown, or was there something else involved?
What do friends and officials say? Law enforcement say the dangerous waves around Horn Island make accidental drowning a real possibility.
What do Wales’ parents say? The Wells family is still not convinced.
Christine Wansley questioned whether anyone would have noticed if her son had gone into the water in distress. “We just want to know what happened and why our child didn’t come home,” she said during a news conference.
9. Was Welles drunk?
What do friends and officials say? Photos of the gathering showed Wells holding an alcoholic beverage.
However, Brian Treasure of the United Cajun Navy told People that his understanding was that Wells’ blood alcohol content was not at intoxication levels.
The official toxicology report has not yet been released. Meanwhile, two investigations are underway. On Monday, July 13, Ledbetter told ABC News that his department was still operating. Crump will conduct a private investigation, including a second autopsy. Neither team has announced autopsy results or an official cause of death.
10. Did Welles stop by to ‘chase a girl’?
What do friends and officials say? The United Cajun Navy was assisting in the search for Wells when he went missing, and incident commander Josh Gill previously told Nola.com that the teen was last seen “hanging out with a girl.” Wells’ friend, Jevon Williams, who was on Horn Island on July 4, told the Biloxi Sun Herald that he last saw Wells walking with a girl and other friends just after 4 p.m. He said the two had left their phones on the boat Wells took to the island.
What did Wells’ family say? Wells’s father, Elmore Wansley, rejected this possibility. He said of his son, “He had a lot at stake. He had a plan for his life. He knew what he wanted to do. He knew what he had to do the next Monday, which was to get down to business so he could start his future. So, someone could tell me that Nolan decided to stay on the island to pursue a girl. No one would make me believe that.”
