00:00Newly released audio obtained by NBC is shedding light into the tragic disappearance and death of
00:05an 18-year-old star football player. After he mysteriously vanished during a 4th of July
00:11boating trip. Here's the latest on the disappearance and death of college wide receiver
00:19Nolan Wells. A 4th of July boating trip turned tragic in Mississippi after college student
00:25Nolan Xavier Wells went missing on Horn Island. According to authorities, Wells and a group of
00:30friends took a boat out to the island, a popular spot about 10 miles off the Mississippi Gulf coast
00:35to celebrate the 4th. Though it isn't clear what exactly transpired on the island, the Jackson
00:41County Sheriff's Office said Wells was last seen around 3 p.m. talking to a girl at the north end
00:46of the island. Ashley Cole, a judge in Jackson County whose son was among the youngsters with
00:51Wells on the boat trip the day he went missing, confirmed in a Facebook post that her son also
00:56last saw Wells around that same time. Warren was interviewed by the Jackson County Sheriff's
01:01Department and cooperated fully. He saw Nolan last at around 3 p.m. on July 4th. They left around 4
01:08.30
01:08p.m. when the boat was taking on water and they had an issue with the bilge pump. Nolan made
01:13a decision
01:13to stay on the island and return inland later with another group of friends. Jackson County Sheriff John
01:19Ledbetter confirmed to ABC News that Wells' friends left the island without him, telling
01:24the outlet that Wells supposedly chose to stay on the oasis. And now, new audio from Wells'
01:29friend's boat is revealing new information about their sea voyage back from the island that lines
01:33up with Cole's Facebook statement. According to audio obtained by NBC, the teens called for help
01:39when their boat suddenly malfunctioned and started taking on water at around 4 p.m. In a call to dispatch,
01:45the operator of the boat called for towing assistance. GPS data obtained by the Mississippi
01:55Department of Marine Resources and shared with NBC News showed the boat leaving the western tip of
02:01Horn Island at 4.31 p.m. The boat was reportedly towed for around 3 miles before picking up normal
02:08speed less than an hour later. It returned to the location it originally departed at 5.44 p.m. without
02:14Wells. Later that night, Wells was reported missing by his mother after he didn't return home. A U.S. Park
02:20Service ranger recovered his body off the northwestern tip of the island two days later. The circumstances
02:26leading up to Wells' disappearance and death still remain unclear, leading Wells' mourning family to retain
02:32the services of prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who insists that they will, quote,
02:37not rest until every fact about what happened to Nolan on Horn Island is brought into light.
02:42The hope is that when this is presented to the grand jury, all relevant witnesses and evidence will be
02:52presented to them so that we can have a fair and impartial investigation into the death of Nolan
03:02Wells. Crump has also ordered an independent autopsy paid for by the former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
03:09Wells' body was flown over 800 miles to medical examiners in Washington, D.C. for the independent review.
03:16Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynn told CNN that Wells' body had no signs of physical injury.
03:21Wells' cause of death hasn't been released, but Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said he had
03:27no reason to suspect foul play was a factor. Investigators suspect the football star drowned
03:31on the now ill-fated trip. Wells' funeral is set to take place in Ocean Springs on July 20th,
03:37with Wells' mom telling the press that they are looking to celebrate the teen's life.
03:41He would not want us to be sitting around crying and eating and...
03:51So what we're going to do is kind of have a party to celebrate him.
03:56So what we're going to do is we're going to do so anyway we've got to do something that
03:56we're going to do so well. So okay, that's all you can start again.
03:56So, let's try to get into account like this one.
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