Nolan Wells case: forensics show messages deleted before parents got phone

Sep 25, 2026

A digital forensics review of Nolan Wells's phone found Snapchat messages were deleted after he last used it and before his parents received it, reopening questions in a death a grand jury just declined to prosecute.

  • Deletions happened on the phone between the last time Wells used it and the moment his parents got it.
  • The deleted items were Snapchat messages; the forensic work says nothing about who deleted them or why.
  • A Jackson County grand jury recently declined to indict anyone, finding no credible evidence of a crime.
  • The grand jury called the circumstances consistent with drowning, but the state medical examiner listed both cause and manner of death as undetermined.
  • Wells was found dead near Mississippi's Horn Island two days after traveling there with friends for the 4th of July.

Outlook: The family's attorneys are pressing the findings publicly while the district attorney's office stays silent, so pressure for a fresh look at the case is likely to build.

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