Newly released audio shows Nolan Xavier Wells‘ friends calling for help after their boat reportedly malfunctioned while on Horn Island. Additionally, GPS data on the boat’s movements on July 4 has been shared.
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Newly Released Audio Shows Nolan Wells’ Friends Calling For Help After Boat Reportedly Malfunctioned
In a report published by NBC News on Wednesday, July 15, the outlet shared audio of Nolan Wells’ friends calling for help. This, reportedly, because “their boat was taking on water” while stationed at Horn Island on July 4. Per the outlet, the malfunction was experienced around 4 p.m. In the audio, a dispatcher asked the caller whether everyone on the vessel was “in good health.”
“Yeah, yeah, everybody is on board,” the caller reportedly explained, noting the headcount as 7 people.
Per the New York Post, the vessel’s operator then told the dispatcher, “Hey, we’re at the west tip of Horn. And our bilge pump stopped working. We’re going. We’re sinking. Can you all please come? I want to get this boat unsank and towed back.”
🚨Reports indicate that audio obtained via records requests has captured members of the group Nolan was with requesting towing assistance when their boat began taking on water.
NBC News has obtained audio as a part of a records request that details some of Nolan Wells’ friends… pic.twitter.com/zmTbrZi9kd
— Amy Leigh (@IAmyLeigh) July 16, 2026
Social Media Reacts To The Audio Of Nolan Xavier Wells’ Friends
Social media users reacted to the newly released audio of Nolan Wells’ friends reporting the boat malfunction in NBC News’s comment section.
Instagram user @hippy.lynne wrote, “‘Is everybody on board *in good health otherwise*?’ ‘Yeah, everybody’s on board.’ Already trying to create the narrative. 🙄”
While Instagram user @luckypky added, “The way they keep trying to convince everyone that a crime wasn’t committed here makes you think there was a crime committed here.”
Instagram user @shannondatsmee wrote, “So they could dispatch for a sinking boat but not a drowning”
While Instagram user @pretty_bl3ssing added, “Where’s the rest of the audio, what’s your name? How many ppl on the boat? How much water or water level on the boat? What’s going on, details of boat condition? I’m just saying when you call 911, they ask you a million questions so I know there’s more to the audio than this”
Instagram user @tdpalm wrote, “Im confused… if his mom didn’t find out he was missing till 11pm, was he supposed to stay at his friends house again? And if so, how did he plan to get to his friends house without them? Was the girl supposed to take him? The friends parents didn’t wonder why he didn’t return for their “sleepover” or whatever?…”
While Instagram user @curlygirlcooks added, “Gotta see what that Independent autopsy says…”
Instagram user @1hotshon wrote, “Praying the investigation gives the family all of the answers they are seeking! Nothing wrong with a thorough and fair investigation in an suspicious and unexpected loss of life like this! No rock should go unturned.”
Boat’s GPS Data Is Shared Alongside Newly Released Audio Of Friends
According to the New York Post, the boat was “towed for around three miles before picking up normal speed less than an hour later.” Per WLOX, GPS data from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources has been obtained, recapping the boat’s movements.
It reportedly left a private dock on July 4 at 9:56 a.m. Then, it arrived on Horn Island at 11:14 a.m. The boat then left the island at 4:31 p.m. It traveled into Fort Bayou at 5:52 p.m., and it ultimately returned to the dock at 6:06 p.m.
Furthermore, the outlet notes that at around 7:19 p.m., it was taken to the Fort Bayou boat launch, removed from the water, and transported to the owner’s home. Per the outlet, the boat’s owner, his mother, and another unidentified person have been cooperating with authorities.
At this time, it remains unclear whether the owner and their mother are Warren Hudson and Chancery Judge Ashlee Cole. As The Shade Room previously reported, earlier this month, Cole took to Facebook to allege that her son last saw Nolan Wells around 3 p.m. on July 4.
“Warren was interviewed by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and cooperated fully. He saw Nolan last at around 3 pm on July 4th. They left around 4:30 pm when the boat was taking on water and they had an issue with the bilge pump. Nolan made a decision to stay on the island and return inland later with another group of friends,” she wrote online at the time.
Subsequently, her statement sparked pushback as social media users and even Wells’ parents refuted the claim that he would willingly stay on the island.
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What Do You Think Roomies?
