OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) — GPS data from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources has tracked the movement of the boat 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells was on before his disappearance and death, CBS News reports.
Wells’ body was found in the water off Horn Island on the morning of July 6. He was reported missing the night of July 4 after he did not return from a boating trip with friends.
According to data that CBS News obtained from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, the boat left a private dock at approximately 9:56 a.m. on July 4 and arrived at Horn Island at 11:14 a.m.
The report shows that the boat left the island at 4:31 p.m. It then traveled into Fort Bayou around 5:52 p.m. before returning to the dock at 6:06 p.m.
Officials said Wells did not return on the same boat as the group.
Later that night, the boat went to the Fort Bayou boat launch at 7:19 p.m., was taken out of the water, and traveled over land to its owner’s home in Biloxi.
The DMR report obtained by CBS News said the owner of the boat, his mother, and one other person who was with Wells are cooperating with the investigation.
CBS News said the department’s report ends on July 5, following notification that the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office would take over as the lead investigative agency.
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