Nolan Wells’ phone analysis reveals deleted Snapchat data after his death, family says
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The new findings add another layer of scrutiny to the death of the 18-year-old, whose family says critical questions remain unanswered.
Just days after a Mississippi grand jury declined to bring criminal charges in the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells, his family’s legal team says an independent forensic examination of his cellphone has uncovered new digital evidence they believe warrants continued scrutiny.
During a Thursday press conference, civil rights attorney Ben Crump and digital forensic investigator Andrew Garrett said their analysis of Wells’ phone recovered more than 1 million digital artifacts, including Snapchat and Instagram data, GPS information, phone records and Apple Health data, according to NOLA.com.
Garrett said the phone itself remained on the boat throughout the July 4 outing to Horn Island, but investigators found evidence that “there were things that were deleted from the phone” between the last time Wells accessed it and when it was returned to his parents.
“I can’t talk to intent,” Garrett said. “But I can tell you from a digital standpoint, things were deleted.”
The forensic review also recovered Snapchat group chat messages that continued syncing to Wells’ phone after his death. Crump said some of those conversations included friends expressing concern that “people on Horn Island can be racist” and discussing two men they described as “real sketchy looking,” according to NOLA.com’s press conference coverage.
The new claims come after a Jackson County grand jury unanimously concluded there was no credible evidence to support criminal charges or establish that Wells’ death was racially motivated. Prosecutors said extensive evidence—including testimony from 43 witnesses, phone records and GPS data—supported a finding consistent with accidental drowning, though both the state medical examiner and an independent pathologist listed Wells’ cause and manner of death as undetermined, according to Reuters.
Crump emphasized that the family’s latest findings are not an accusation against any individual but rather a call for additional answers.
“We don’t know what happened to Nolan Wells,” Crump said. “If you know anything, come forward.”
The Jackson County District Attorney has said the investigation remains open should new evidence emerge.