Judge Ashlee Cole, mother of one of Nolan Wells’ friends, publicly explained why the 18-year-old was left on Horn Island, stating that he chose to stay behind. Concerns over empty Snapchat accounts and apparent deleted messages on the recovered phone have kept questions alive and shifted focus onto digital evidence.

Jackson County Chancery Court Judge Ashlee Cole, whose son Warren was among the group that traveled with Nolan Wells to Horn Island on July 4, 2026, released a detailed Facebook statement in the days after Wells’ body was recovered. She said her son last saw Wells around 3 p.m. The boat began taking on water due to a bilge-pump problem, and the group left around 4:30 p.m. According to Cole, “Nolan made a decision to stay on the island and return inland later with another group of friends.” She emphasized that Warren had been interviewed by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and cooperated fully, that neither she nor her husband was on the island that day, and that no one in the family was attempting to impede the investigation. Cole also addressed her decision to temporarily deactivate social media, citing fear for the safety and privacy of her six children amid circulating pH๏τos and online hostility. She later shared screensH๏τs of graphic death threats her family had received and indicated they would not elaborate further to the press.

That account aligned with what friends told investigators and with early statements from Sheriff John Ledbetter that Wells had chosen to remain behind. It has been reinforced by GPS data showing the boat’s departure at 4:31 p.m. and by towing footage that shows seven people on the vessel and no sign of Wells. Friends have maintained they did not abandon him but left because of the mechanical emergency and that Wells was in the company of a young woman (later identified in reporting as Katie McCormack).

The family’s perspective has remained sharply different. Wells’ mother, Christine Wonsley, tracked the phone using Life360 after her son was reported missing. When the device was recovered—located at a friend’s residence—she and her sister examined his two Snapchat accounts and found no saved pH๏τos, videos, or activity from the outing, even though Snapchat content typically remains available for 24 hours. She described this as highly unusual given Nolan’s habit of documenting social gatherings and called it “suspicious.” Attorney Ben Crump has repeatedly noted the family’s concern that messages appeared to have been deleted and that the phone’s return without Wells “isn’t adding up.” The family has pointed to the empty digital record, the conflicting statements about whether Wells said he was returning to the boat or staying with the young woman, and the fact that his keys also came back without him.

Friends have denied any deletion. Warren Hudson, who has described himself as Wells’ best friend, stated that no one touched Nolan’s phone, that none of them had the pᴀssword, and that there was “nothing to hide.” He said the phone was left on the boat while people were in the water and was later moved to a truck before being returned. A mutual forensic inspection of the phone was agreed upon between the family’s experts and the district attorney’s office. As of the latest public information, results of that examination have not been released, and authorities have not confirmed the recovery of specific deleted messages that alter the timeline or the friends’ account.

The independent autopsy performed by Dr. Roger Mitchell left both cause and manner of death “undetermined pending further investigation” and could not rule out non-accidental factors. The state’s autopsy and toxicology remain pending. A preliminary search email noted “Alcohol intake: Heavy” based on witness statements, though toxicology has not yet confirmed the level. Enhanced versions of the Sea Tow distress call have prompted online speculation about background voices, but forensic audio experts have cautioned that the recordings remain ambiguous.

Cole’s explanation provided one of the clearest public statements from the friends’ side about why Wells was not on the returning boat. The family’s discovery of an empty Snapchat history and their belief that messages were missing have kept digital evidence at the center of public and legal scrutiny. Until the mutual phone inspection results, the official toxicology, and the full investigative file are presented—likely to a grand jury—the competing accounts continue to define the case. The judge’s timeline and the unresolved questions about the phone’s contents remain two of the most closely watched elements in the search for what happened to Nolan Wells in his final hours on Horn Island.