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More than two weeks after 18-year-old Nolan Wells was found dead near Mississippi’s Horn Island, one of the biggest questions surrounding his final hours has become even more complicated.
A woman identified as Katie McCormack has now been named as the person Wells was allegedly talking with shortly before he disappeared.
But according to Katie’s family, the story being told publicly about that encounter may not be accurate.
As we previously reported, Wells vanished during a Fourth of July outing on Horn Island after traveling there with friends by boat.
His mother reported him missing late that night, and search crews located his body in the water near the island on July 6. Authorities have not announced a cause or manner of death, and the investigation remains active.
From the beginning, friends said Wells chose to remain on the island while they left because he wanted to spend time with a girl he had met that day.
One of his friends recently reiterated that account, saying Wells declined repeated requests to get back on the boat.
But Katie’s sister, Gracie McCormack, is now disputing the suggestion that Wells intentionally stayed behind with her.
According to her account, Katie believed Wells was returning with his own group and did not understand that he had become separated from them.
She also emphasized that Katie has cooperated with investigators and has not been accused of wrongdoing.
“Katie had a conversation and assumed that Nolan was getting ready to get on the boat he came out on,” Gracie told The Daily Mail this week.
“Katie assumed the ‘friends’ telling him to get on the boat wouldn’t have left him.”
Those conflicting accounts have only deepened the concerns of Wells’ family.
Represented by attorney Ben Crump, the family has repeatedly questioned what happened during Nolan’s final hours.
Crump has pointed to the differing narratives as evidence that investigators still need answers about who last saw Wells and whether everyone involved has been completely truthful.
An independent autopsy commissioned by the family (and financed by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick) was unable to determine a cause of death. According to reports, decomposition and the limitations created by the earlier state autopsy prevented definitive conclusions.
The report listed Wells’ cause and manner of death as undetermined and stated that foul play could not be ruled out.
Meanwhile, Mississippi authorities have said they have not found evidence that a crime occurred, though they continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding Wells’ death and have asked witnesses to provide information, photos, and videos from Horn Island.
For now, the question of what happened to Nolan Wells on July 4 remains unanswered.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.
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