Emotional Revelation: A person close to Nolan Wells reveals why fear kept them away from his fun3ral
NOLAN WELLSâ self-described âbest friendâ has revealed how pals begged the teen to get back on the boat while also doubling down on claims about deleted phone content.
The 18-year-old went missing during a Fourth of July boat trip to Horn Island and was found á´ á´á´á´ in the water two days later, sparking a criminal investigation and theories about what really happened on the trip.
Warren Hudson, one of the teens on the boat, recalled the chaotic moments before he and the rest of the group pulled away from the island, leaving the football star behind.
One of his âpanickingâ friends yelled at Wells, âNolan, get the F on the boat,â Hudson told YouTuber Brandon Tatum on The Officer Tatum Show.
âAnd Nolan said no Iâm staying out here⌠Iâm gonna ride in with somebody else.â
âMy buddy asked Nolan multiple times to get on the boat: âNolan, get on the boat, get on the boat, weâre leaving. If youâre coming, you gotta come now.ââ
Nolanâs friends have previously claimed they were forced to leave after their boat developed problems with its bilge pump and that Nolan chose to remain on the island because he was talking to a girl.
Their conflicting accounts have fuelled concerns about what really happened from Nolanâs grieving family, whose attorney Ben Crump has repeatedly questioned the differing versions of events.
Suspicions were further raised regarding why his phone and keys were left onboard which later saw Nolanâs family claim that content had been wiped on it before it was handed back to them by the teenagers.
Hudson, who revealed he skipped his best friendâs funeral on Monday due to receiving death threats, doubled down on claims that they did not touch the phone in the YouTube interview.
âThere was no reason for us to get on Nolanâs phone, no one touched Nolanâs phone,â Hudson said.
âNo one even was in contact with his phone until it was moved from the boat to the truck, and none of us have access to Nolanâs pá´ssword to get on his phone and delete anything.
âWe had no reason to delete anything⌠Thereâs nothing to hide here.â
He added that no one had their phones on them because they were âwaist-deep in water,â hence why Wellsâ cell was left onboard.
Meanwhile, he spoke of his sadness at not attending the funeral which was held in Ocean Springs on Monday, saying he did not want to âtake the attention away from Nolan and his familyâ with his presence.
He also revealed how he and his family have received âthousands of death threatsâ as people blame him and the others on the boat for what happened.
âI couldnât bring myself to go because, you know, I got to put my own safety first,â he said.
âIt breaks my heart that I canât go. And it hurt me more than anything because obviously I want to say my last goodbyes to one of my best friends.â
Hundreds of people attended the hometown funeral where Nolanâs parents were seen breaking down in tears and mourners, including the teenâs high school football teammates, wore black and blue to represent their team.
Meanwhile, the investigation into his death continues after independent autopsy results could not determine the exact cause of death or even the date he died.
Preliminary findings found an unexplained red discolouration on the back of Nolanâs head, but Nolanâs lungs and airway had already been removed in the official autopsy and so could not be examined.
It is also noted that the body was already in an advanced state of decomposition when it was recovered, which could limit what pathologists can determine.
Foul play has not been ruled out and the investigation continues.
A $125,000 reward is available for information about his death.