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Tragic Mississippi teenager Nolan Wells had been drinking heavily before vanishing on what became an ill-fated Fourth of July trip with friends – and chose to remain on the island with an “unknown female” when his pals left, according to witnesses.
The revelation appeared in a document sent by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources on July 5 – hours after Wells had gone missing on Horn Island – a remote island located around 10 miles off the coast of Mississippi, according to ABC News.
Witnesses seemed to fess up to investigators that Wells had been drinking alcohol – even though he was underage at 18.
The document also contained details about the student-athlete’s physical build to assist investigators in the search.
Wells’ friends also told investigators “that when they left he was in the company of an unknown female and that he chose to remain at the island,” according to a Mississippi Department of Marine Resources police report obtained by ABC News.
They claimed they didn’t abandon Wells on the island – but said they needed to return to shore after their boat experienced problems and was taking on water.
Ocean Springs teen Wells was found dead by a National Park Service ranger on July 6 in an area the United Cajun Navy said was known for “powerful rip currents.” He was found just wearing blue swim shorts.
Investigators suspect Wells drowned and they do not believe there was any foul play.
But his cause of death and date of death remains unknown as the Mississippi state autopsy results have not yet been released.
Amid the uncertainty, his family and civil rights lawyer Ben Crump requested an independent autopsy – but the results came back inconclusive.
Roger Mitchell, the chair of pathology at Howard University College of Medicine who conducted the independent autopsy, said he couldn’t rule out the possibility that Wells may have suffered a neck injury as his thyroid bone and trachea were not sent with the rest of the body, according to WKRG.
Mitchell also spotted red discoloration at the back of Wells’ head, which Crump said was “something of great concern” for the pathologist.
“He [Mitchell] could not directly view the stomach for contents or gastric gases,” Crump read from the report.
“He could not see the condition of the body when it was pulled from the water.”
Crump also said Mitchell didn’t know if Wells was conscious when he went into the water, or whether he was forced into the sea.
“All that information is very important in determining the cause and manner of death,” the civil rights lawyer said.
“This pathologist cannot rule out if any intervening non-accidental factors caused or led to the death of Nolan Wells. So he cannot rule out foul play.”
Investigators had warned Wells’ family state autopsy results could take weeks.
His parents Christine and Elmore Wonsley told ABC News they wanted a “thorough investigation” into their son’s death.
They were baffled as to why he was still on Horn Island while his friends had returned to the mainland.
“We always told him, if you go with a group, you stay with a group,” Elmore Wonsley said.
Christine said she and her husband “couldn’t answer” the question as to why Wells would stay on the island.
“I just, I can’t — I can’t fathom why he would,” she said.
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