A lawyer for the family of Nolan Wells revealed the final text message the college athlete sent before his dead body was found in the water after a July 4 boating trip.
Wells, 18, wrote “Thank you” to his Auntie Gabby at around 8:30 p.m. on July 3, civil rights attorney Ben Crump said at a press conference.
“And what his parents and family shared with us, this was common because… Nolan was like many teenagers, they don’t use their mother and father text messaging, they use Snapchat,” Crump revealed.
A lawyer for the family of Nolan Wells revealed the final text message the college athlete sent before his dead body was found in the water after a July 4 boating trip. Facebook/Christine Wonsley
The prominent civil rights lawyer said the tragic teen —who went missing after attending an Independence Day boat party on Horn Island — communicated with his friends via Snapchat on the day of the boat trip.
Crump said “282 pages” of Snapchat messages from Wells’ friend group were uncovered after the fallen teen’s phone was examined.
Though a grand jury ruled Wells’ boating death was “consistent with drowning” with no signs of foul play, his family says they are still fighting “for justice.”
A 23-person grand jury in Mississippi passed down the decision on Friday, declaring that it found no evidence that a crime resulted in Wells’ death.
“The Grand Jury finds that the position of, the condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr. Wells’ body is consistent with drowning,” reads the grand jury report, which was filed in Jackson County.
“There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan’s death and disappearance were racially motivated,” Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said in a video message after the ruling.
Nolan Wells, second from right, poses with friends during July 4 celebrations. Facebook/Christine Wonsley
But Wells’ mother, Christine Wells Wonsley, broke down in tears at a press conference Tuesday and explained she and Wells’ father, Elmore Wonsley, “do not believe” that their son “simply and accidentally drowned,” they said.
Here’s the latest on the disappearance and death of Mississippi teen Nolan Wells:
“Despite the grand jury’s decision, Elmore, our family and I will continue to fight for justice and I know all those who have supported us will do the same,” she said.
The grand jury reviewed results from autopsies carried out by both the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office and an independent pathologist previously conducted for the family before making its finding.
A witness also testified under oath to the grand jury that he saw Wells slip “awkwardly” off the side of a boat but couldn’t definitively say whether he struck his head. The unidentified witness added that Wells didn’t appear injured and carried on socializing.
Ultimately, “There was bruising on the back of Mr. Wells’ head which was not a fatal injury. Further, the Grand Jury found no evidence of any fatal injury or organic disease to Mr. Wells’ body,” the final grand jury decision states.
Wells, who played football for Southwest Mississippi Community College, was discovered dead in the water two days after he vanished during the July 4 boat trip with friends.
Wells’ pals have been subjected to a campaign of wild conspiracy theories and harassment from amateur online sleuths about why they left their friend behind on that fateful day.
The grand jury report called any such attacks on the group of Wells’ friends who traveled on three boats — the Triton, the Palm Beach, and the Tideline — or their families to be “malicious,” “false” and “have no truth in fact or evidence.”