New video may show Nolan Wells hours before he vanished
TMZ reports a July 4 party video has been given to investigators in the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells on Mississippi’s Horn Island.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
A newly surfaced July 4 video may show Nolan Wells during the final hours before the 18-year-old disappeared from a party scene off Horn Island, according to TMZ.
TMZ reported it obtained footage recorded during the holiday gathering, where the camera sweeps across boats, water and a crowd of people. In the clip, a Black man can be seen on the rear deck of a boat, appearing to bend down for a drink.
The man’s face is not visible in the footage, according to TMZ. The outlet reported that he is wearing swim trunks that appear to match the color of the trunks Wells wore in a July 4 photo with friends on a boat.
Metadata reviewed by TMZ shows the video was recorded at 2:23 p.m. The boat in the clip was anchored in water described by the outlet as neck-deep, with several people nearby and a couple of older adults also onboard.
The person who recorded the footage believed the man could be Wells and took the video to law enforcement, TMZ reported. According to the outlet, that person brought the clip to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office last week and left a copy with a detective assigned to the case.
A law enforcement source confirmed to TMZ that investigators know about the video. If the man in the clip is Wells, TMZ reported, it would be the last known image of him.
Timeline under scrutiny
TMZ reported that roughly two hours after the video was recorded, the boat carrying Wells’ friends left Horn Island. GPS data placed that departure at about 4:30 p.m., according to the outlet.
The boat returned to the Mississippi mainland without Wells, TMZ reported. No witnesses have publicly reported seeing him after 4:30 p.m. on July 4, according to the outlet.
Wells was reported missing after his friends left the island. His body was found July 6 on the Horn Island shoreline, TMZ reported.
His family is conducting its own investigation into his death, according to TMZ. That effort includes ordering an independent autopsy.
Funeral and reward offers
Wells’ parents laid him to rest Monday at Center Pointe Church in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, TMZ reported. The service was officiated by the Rev. Al Sharpton.
During coverage from WLOX, Sharpton and Tyler Perry each offered $50,000 for information leading to a conviction in Wells’ death, according to TMZ.
The new footage has added another piece to a case already drawing attention from family members, civil rights figures and investigators. For now, TMZ reports that authorities are aware of the clip, while the identity of the man seen on the back of the boat has not been publicly confirmed.
This story draws on original reporting from TMZ.