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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Michael R. Sisak

Mystery over teen’s death on boat trip deepens as lawyer says ‘it’s not adding up’

  • Parents of Nolan Wells, an 18-year-old Black college student, are demanding a deeper investigation into his death after he disappeared during a Fourth of July trip to Horn Island, Mississippi, and was found dead a day later.
  • Wells traveled to the island with friends but did not return with them. He got separated from his phone and keys, with civil rights attorney Ben Crump stating, “What teenager would leave their phone behind if they’re going to stay on this island? What teenager wouldn’t take their phone? It’s not adding up at all.”
  • Crump said that the family believes text messages from social media apps had been deleted from his phone when they got it back, and they plan to have experts try to retrieve all the data they can. He said the family plans for an independent autopsy after the Jackson County Sheriff's Office said it does not suspect foul play.
  • The family said they’d seen video of an alleged fight involving Wells, an elite athlete and swimmer, and questioned why he would have been left behind without his phone or a ride.
  • “We just wanna know what happened,” Wells’ mother said at a news conference. “And why our baby didn't come home.”

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