🚨 NOLAN WELLS CASE: NEW PHONE EVIDENCE & AUTOPSY FINDINGS RAISE MORE QUESTIONS

Just when officials appeared ready to close the book on the death of Nolan Wells, his family is saying: NOT SO FAST.

New forensic information released Thursday is raising more questions about what happened to the 18-year-old college freshman whose body was discovered on Mississippi’s Horn Island two days after he disappeared during a Fourth of July boating trip.

And this update is important because it comes just days after a Jackson County grand jury declined to indict anyone in connection with Nolan’s death.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing Nolan’s family, joined forensic experts Thursday to reveal information recovered from Nolan’s cellphone along with details from the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s autopsy.

And baby, this story is nowhere near as simple as some people wanted it to be.

📱 WHAT DID THEY FIND ON NOLAN'S PHONE?

Digital forensic investigator Andrew Garrett says his team extracted more than one million data artifacts from Nolan's cellphone.

That included GPS information, photos, videos, social-media activity and Snapchat communications.

Investigators were able to reconstruct the phone's movements throughout July 4.

According to the forensic analysis, Nolan used facial recognition to unlock his phone at approximately 2:17 p.m. while it was still on the boat.

After Nolan was reportedly left behind on Horn Island, however, his phone didn't stay there.

The phone returned to the mainland. Nolan didn't.

The forensic team also recovered 282 pages of Snapchat conversations.

Some Snapchat messages had been deleted, although investigators have NOT established who deleted them or why. The forensic examiner also said there was no evidence presented showing someone unlocked Nolan's phone after it left the island.

That's an important distinction.

Deleted messages sound suspicious, but deleted does not automatically mean somebody was covering up a crime.

Still, Nolan's family wants answers about everything that happened that day.

⚠️ THEN THERE'S THE AUTOPSY.

The official Mississippi State Medical Examiner's autopsy lists both Nolan's cause of death and manner of death as UNDETERMINED.

Read that again.

UNDETERMINED.

The report also documents fresh contusions on the back of Nolan's head.

And according to information released from that report Thursday, investigators found no water in Nolan's lungs, airways or stomach.

Now before everybody on Facebook graduates from the University of Google Medical School tonight, that finding alone does NOT prove Nolan didn't drown.

Drowning can be a diagnosis of exclusion, and the grand jury noted that neither the state medical examiner nor the independent pathologist hired by Nolan's family ruled out accidental drowning.

But here's the problem Nolan's family keeps coming back to:

If the official cause and manner of death are undetermined, how can everybody be so comfortable saying this case is settled?

That's their question.

And they want somebody to answer it.

⚖️ WHAT DID THE GRAND JURY SAY?

Earlier this week, a 23-member Jackson County grand jury unanimously declined to indict anyone.

The grand jury reviewed testimony from 43 witnesses, information obtained through 132 subpoenas, physical evidence, digital evidence, GPS information and cellphone records.

Its report said it found no credible evidence that the people traveling to or from Horn Island committed a crime connected to Nolan's death.

The panel also said it found no evidence supporting allegations that Nolan's death was racially motivated.

And despite the medical examiners classifying the cause and manner of death as undetermined, the grand jury concluded the circumstances surrounding where and how Nolan's body was discovered were consistent with drowning.

But the grand jury left one very important door unlocked:

If credible new evidence suggesting a non-accidental death emerges, the matter can be presented again.

And THAT is why Thursday's developments matter.

🗣️ NOLAN'S FAMILY ISN'T FINISHED.

Nolan's parents have questioned from the beginning why their son would voluntarily stay behind on an island while his cellphone left on a boat.

They've also questioned the injuries documented on his body and exactly what happened during the period between Nolan being last seen alive and his body being recovered.

Now they're calling for the investigation to continue.

Crump has also asked federal authorities to examine the circumstances surrounding Nolan's death.

So let's be crystal clear:

Nobody has been charged with killing Nolan Wells.

The grand jury found insufficient evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

There is currently no official finding that Nolan was murdered.

And the newly discussed cellphone information does NOT, by itself, establish that somebody killed him.

But there's another fact that can't be ignored either:

The State of Mississippi's own medical examiner still lists Nolan Wells' cause and manner of death as UNDETERMINED.

And for a mother and father who buried their 18-year-old son, “undetermined” isn't an answer.

It's another question.

Nolan Wells went to Horn Island on July 4.

His friends returned.

His cellphone returned.

Nolan didn't.

His body was found two days later.

Nearly three months later, his family is still asking the simplest question imaginable:

WHAT HAPPENED TO NOLAN WELLS?

And until somebody can answer that question with evidence instead of assumptions, his family says they aren't going anywhere.

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