TRUE CRIME NEWSNolan Wells' Family 'Eager to Comply' With Joint Forensic Phone Investigation Scheduled This Week
The family of Nolan Wells has agreed to a forensic exam of the dead teen's cell phone as long as their own experts are present.
Aug. 18 2026, Published 12:53 p.m. ET
The legal team for Nolan Wells’ family has given the Jackson County District Attorney’s office a timeframe between Tuesday, August 18, and Friday, August 21, to conduct a joint forensic examination of the teenager’s cellphone.
Wells, an 18-year-old college student, was found dead on Horn Island, Miss., on July 6, two days after taking a boating trip with three friends.
The phone was left on a boat, passed through another teenager's hands, and later recovered by Nolan's parents.
Nolan Wells was found dead on July 6.
Wells' mother has expressed serious concerns that critical messages or social media data may have been erased before the phone was returned to them.
Led by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, the family stated they are ready to proceed on 12 hours' notice, provided their own forensic experts and potentially the FBI are in the room for the inspection.
Both the family and District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath originally agreed to a joint phone examination on July 15. However, neither a specific protocol nor a date was finalized.
The family has requested a search of his phone and data from his social media apps like TikTok.
On August 12, the DA's office issued a letter demanding the phone be turned over within 48 hours. The family's legal team pushed back, stating the parents were out of state at the time and that a solo extraction contradicted the joint agreement.
The family’s new timeframe is a direct response to allegations by an attorney representing Wells' friends, who claimed on a radio show that the family was refusing to cooperate with law enforcement.
In tandem with the physical phone search, the family has filed independent subpoenas to retrieve location and communication data directly from platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Life360.
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An Autopsy Is Pending
Football player Colin Kaepernick helped fund a private autopsy for Nolan Wells.
Official state autopsy and toxicology reports remain pending.
However, the private autopsy, funded with assistance from Colin Kaepernick and performed by forensic pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell, ruled the cause and manner of death as undetermined.
Once local law enforcement finishes the investigation, the DA plans to turn the completed file over to a citizen-led grand jury to determine if criminal charges are warranted.
'Our Experts Are on Standby'
'The family wants Nolan’s phone examined right away, with both parties in the room,' a statement read.
"We are eager to comply with the agreement we entered on July 15, which is a joint forensic examination of Nolan's phone conducted together, with their experts, our experts, and possibly the FBI. Our experts are on standby. The family is ready. We have given the District Attorney's office four days to choose from this week, and we will make ourselves available on 12 hours' notice for any one of them,” read a statement released by the family.
"The family wants Nolan’s phone examined right away, with both parties in the room. All parties agreed on July 15 that we share the same goal, which is determining the circumstances surrounding Nolan's death. The family is ready to move forward on that goal this week," they said.
