GPS data traces boat movements in Nolan Wells Horn Island case

GPS data from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources shows the boat carrying Nolan Wells left a dock at about 9:56 a.m. on July 4 and reached Horn Island at 11:14 a.m. The same record traces the vessel back off the island at 4:31 p.m., then into Fort Bayou around 5:52 p.m., back to the dock at 6:06 p.m., and to the Fort Bayou boat launch at 7:19 p.m. It later traveled over land, on a trailer, to the Biloxi residence of the boat’s owners.

The department’s report lists the boat owner, the owner’s mother and one other individual as cooperating with investigators. On July 5, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office took over as the lead investigative agency.

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said Wells had traveled to Horn Island with friends but did not return to the mainland with them that afternoon. Wells was last seen at 3 p.m. on July 4 on the island, and his mother reported him missing later that night. He was wearing blue swim trunks and sunglasses when he was last seen, and he did not have his cell phone when he disappeared.

Wells’ body was found July 6 off Horn Island, about 10 miles south of the Mississippi mainland, after a search involving the U.S. Coast Guard, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and the National Park Service. Jackson County coroner Bruce Lynd confirmed the body was Wells through dental records. An autopsy took place July 7, but the results were not immediately released, and Wells’ body was flown to Washington, D.C., for an independent autopsy.

The family has retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who said, “We will not rest until every fact about what happened to Nolan on Horn Island is brought into the light, and we call on investigators to pursue this case with the urgency and transparency this family deserves.” Wells attended Southwest Mississippi Community College and played wide receiver on the football team after graduating from Ocean Springs High School, where he was a multi-sport athlete.