Timeline of Events

High School Graduation

Nolan graduates from Ocean Springs High School, where he was a standout multi-sport athlete in football, basketball, and baseball. On National Signing Day, he officially commits to continuing his academic and athletic career at the collegiate level.

WLOX

Pool Party Photo

Nolan attends a social gathering and pool party in the Ocean Springs area. While a group photograph from this night later circulated widely on social media with false claims that it was taken after July 4th, digital metadata and witness statements confirmed that the gathering took place a week before the Horn Island excursion.

Rolling Stone

Excursion to Horn Island

Nolan Wells travels on a watercraft with a group to celebrate the Independence Day holiday on Horn Island. Witnesses later report that around 3:00 PM, as the vessel begins taking on water, the group prepares to return to the mainland. According to initial statements, Nolan remains behind on the island. In this photo from left to right: Jax Pitalo, Warren Hudson, Nolan Wells, Morgan Seymour.

WLOX

Warren Last Report of Nolan

Warren Hudson, one of Wells’ friends with him that day, said he last saw Wells around 3 p.m. local time on July 4.

The last time he saw Wells was around 3 p.m. local time when he was “cradling” a woman. The two friends allegedly joked and laughed about the situation.

People

Katie Says Nolan Left with Friends

The woman Nolan was with, Katie McCormack, gave a statement through her sister to the Daily Mail:

“Katie had a conversation and assumed that Nolan was getting ready to get on the boat he came out on,” Gracie McCormack told the Daily Mail. “Katie assumed the ‘friends’ telling him to get on the boat wouldn’t have left him.”

She never witnessed him getting onto the boat.

AOL

Bart Edmiston Jr. Grandpa Cancels Tow

The grandfather called the tow boat captain, Captain Seth, directly and canceled just minutes after his grandson first phoned for help. He reported that they no longer needed a commercial tow because a 21-year-old local boater had already arrived to assist them.

WLOX & People

Boat Leaves Horn Island

The report shows that the boat left the island at 4:31 p.m.

WLOX

Warren Hudson Calls Coast Guard

The group returned to Fort Bayou on the mainland, with some of the friends going to one’s house for food and a nap.

Later, the group watched the holiday fireworks, when one of the boys said something about Wells, prompting Hudson to ask about his whereabouts.

“And I was like, ‘Well where is Nolan? Have y’all heard from him?’ And he was like, ‘Uh no we haven’t,’ ” which prompted Hudson to tell the group that it was “a little concerning.” But he wasn’t “freaking out,” but was trying to find out where Wells was.

Hudson said he texted a couple of friends, asking “ ‘Hey, did he have y’all seen Nolan? Did he ride in with y’all?’ ”

But no one knew where he was, Hudson said, which prompted Hudson to ask for Wells’ mother’s contact information, saying he’ll call the Coast Guard if she hasn’t heard from him.

Around 11 p.m. local, he called Christine Wonsley, who didn’t answer until the second call.

Once he got a hold of her, he asked if she had heard from Wells, but she hadn’t. “I said, ‘All right, well, don’t freak out. I’m going to call the Coast Guard.’ ”

People

Family Retrieves Nolan Phone

Christine Wonsley said her friend, Tashema Hands, went and collected the phone from the home of Wells’ friends.

Clarion Ledger & CNN

Elmore Wonsley Searches

Nolan’s father, Elmore Wonsley, says he went to the island by boat with Nolan’s football coach to search for his body.

WLOX

Family Confirms

Just before 1 p.m., Nolan’s family confirmed his death on social media. His mother posted on Facebook confirming that Nolan was the person found on Horn Island.

WLOX

Warren Spoke to Police

Warren Hudson noted he spoke to authorities on July 7, “I told them everything I knew, every little detail.” He said the group of friends were “the first people to get questioned,” and “everybody cooperated with the police fully.”

People

Ashlee Cole on Facebook

 Warren Hudson’s stepmother, Ashlee Cole, made a Facebook post saying that her family is grieving with Nolan’s family and that she wanted to “dispel some rumors with facts.”

Cole also said her son Warren last saw Nolan around 3 p.m. on July 4, before leaving the island at 4:30 p.m. when the boat they were on started having issues. 

“Nolan made a decision to stay on the island and return inland later with another group of friends,” Cole’s post read.

Facebook

Parents Break Silence

Nolan’s parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, spoke to Good Morning America alongside Crump.

WLOX

Family First Meets with DA

Nolan’s family and attorneys Ben Crump and Eric Hertz met with Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath Wednesday morning.

Following the meeting, a press conference was held in front of the Jackson County Courthouse

WLOX

Sea Tow Call Audio Released

ABC released audio recordings from July 4, when a teen on the boat, later believed to be Bart, called a private towing company, Sea Tow, to report that the boat was sinking.

WLOX

Reward Money

NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens said he is adding $25,000 to the $100,000 amount announced by Sharpton and Perry, bringing the total amount of reward money to $125,000

WLOX

Undetermined Cause of Death – Independent Autopsy

Attorney Ben Crump said Nolan Wells’ cause and manner of death are undetermined “pending investigation,” according to the preliminary independent autopsy report ordered by his team. He also said the date of Nolan’s death is unknown.

Crump’s team said the second autopsy was conducted by experienced forensic pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell in Washington, D.C., on July 10. The report was created on July 19.

Because Nolan’s body was so decomposed by the time the second autopsy was conducted, Dr. Mitchell couldn’t tell if there were bruises or abrasions on his body, according to Crump.

The preliminary results found no lacerations of skin or fractures of the skull, but Crump noted that there was a 12-by-8-inch area of red discoloration in the soft tissue on the back of Nolan’s head.

Crump said there were organs missing when Dr. Mitchell received the body. Crump noted that it is common to remove organs when conducting an autopsy, especially if additional testing on specific organs is needed.

Because the throat was not received with the body for the second autopsy, Dr. Mitchell couldn’t rule out injury to the neck as a contributor or cause of death. He also couldn’t observe the airway for water or the stomach for gastric contents, according to Crump.

WLOX

Subpeona for Social Media Accounts

Mississippi-based attorney Gary Bufkin filed subpoenas seeking information from accounts associated with the Nolan Wells on Snapchat, WhatsApp, TikTok, Meta Platforms, and the location-tracking app Life360.

Sun Herald

State Autopsy Completed 

The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s office completed Nolan Wells’ official autopsy, though the results have not been made public. The Jackson County DA confirmed the case materials and report will be presented to a grand jury once the full investigation is complete.

ABC