Newly surfaced footage is shaking up the timeline of a tragic Fourth of July disappearance, confirming that Mississippi teen Nolan Wells was not aboard the boat being towed away from Horn Island.
According to video and photos obtained by The Officer Tatum Show, the images were taken from the vessel that was towing the friends’ boat. They appear to show seven of Wells’ companions on board—but Wells himself is nowhere in sight.
The clips have reignited questions about what happened on the afternoon of July 4. Friends of the 18-year-old have claimed they told him to get on the boat to leave with them. They say he chose to stay behind on the island with a young woman later identified as 19-year-old Katie McCormack.
But McCormack’s older sister, Gracie, has pushed back against that version of events. She told reporters that her sister assumed Wells would ride back to the mainland with his friends. Witnesses have also reportedly told investigators that Wells had been drinking before he disappeared.
The trouble began when the group’s boat malfunctioned and started taking on water. Dispatch audio obtained by NBC News captured the moment the crew called for help. The boat left Horn Island at 4:31 p.
m. , was towed for about three miles, and resumed normal operation less than an hour later. It was back at the departure point by 5:44 p.
m.
Wells was found dead two days later, on July 6, wearing only blue swim shorts. A National Park Service ranger discovered his body in an area the United Cajun Navy has described as having powerful rip currents. Mississippi authorities suspect drowning.
The conflicting stories from those on the island have deeply troubled the Wells family. They have hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump to investigate. Crump has publicly questioned the accounts, asking why one person says Wells got on the boat and others say he didn’t.
An independent autopsy conducted by Dr. Roger Mitchell of Howard University raised additional concerns. Mitchell noted that Wells’ thyroid bone and trachea were not sent with the rest of the body, making it impossible to rule out a neck injury.
He also observed red discoloration at the back of Wells’ head, which Crump described as “something of great concern.” The pathologist was unable to examine the stomach contents or assess the body’s condition when it was pulled from the water.
As the investigation continues, one question still lingers: with so many pieces of the puzzle not adding up, what truly happened on Horn Island that day?
