Mystery Deepens: Nolan Wells was found in a puzzling position near a powerful current, raising new questions about how he di3d
The results of the private autopsy of 18-year-old Nolan Wells have come back inconclusive
(NewsNation) — New details have emerged about the discovery of the body of 18-year-old Nolan Wells after he disappeared while celebrating the Fourth of July weekend.
The United Cajun Navy, a search-and-rescue organization that helped search for Wells, said the teen was found in the same general area where authorities believe he may have drowned.
Todd Terrell, the organization’s president, told Nancy Grace that Wells was found “face down” on Mississippi’s Horn Island, near an area known for dangerous rip currents.
“He was in the same vicinity of where he possibly drowned,” Terrell said Monday. “It was not uncommon for the body to have washed up right there.”
Terrell initially said Wells was “fully clothed,” but another United Cajun Navy official told People Magazine that he was “only wearing swim trunks.”
Wells’ body was found July 6 on the northwest end of Horn Island, an undeveloped barrier island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast that is popular with boaters and beachgoers.
Terrell said the area is known for dangerous currents that rescuers sometimes refer to as a “washing machine” current because of the way it continuously pulls and churns the water.
Nolan Wells’ autopsy results
The results of a private autopsy of Wells came back inconclusive. Preliminary findings show the Mississippi teen’s cause and manner of death are undetermined and require further investigation, according to a report by Roger Mitchell, the president of the National Medical Association.
Wells’ family decided to pursue their own autopsy after being faced with several unanswered questions following the discovery of their son’s body a few days after he went on a trip with friends to an island off the Mississippi coast.
The state medical examiner’s office has completed its own autopsy but hasn’t released results.
