Nolan Wells Friends Heard Calling For Help When Boat Malfunctioned

There are more peculiar details of Nolan Wells' last day alive ... and in newly released audio, the friends that were with him on Horn Island were heard calling for help when their boat malfunctioned.

According to audio from the day Nolan went missing -- obtained by NBC News -- the boat Nolan's friends took to Horn Island experienced difficulty before making the journey back to the Mississippi mainland.

It sounds like there were about 7 people on the vessel ... and the call for help was made around 4 PM when the boat's operator said, "Hey, we're at the west tip of Horn, and our bilge pump stopped working. We're going. We're sinking."

The boat was reportedly towed about three miles before it picked up normal speed and returned to the location it had originally departed from, according to California Post.

Jackson County Chancery Judge Ashlee Cole -- mother to one of Nolan's friends -- reportedly said her son last saw Nolan at around 3 PM ... that would have been about an hour before the boat malfunctioned.

She also says, "Nolan made a decision to stay on the island and return inland later with another group of friends."

This could help clarify a major discrepancy in the stories being told about Nolan's last moments ... which has Wells' family attorney Ben Crump on edge with the investigation.

Remember, Nolan went missing on July 4th after allegedly telling his friends he would stay on the island with a girl while they left via boat. Nolan was found dead on Horn Island two days later after being reported missing.