Nolan Wells Case: Friends Overcome With Emotion While Visiting Where Body was Discovered

Nolan Wells' friends set out Friday to Horn Island after launching an investigation of their own into the death of the teen ... and the visit was intense.

Warren Hudson and Jax Pitalo took their lawyers, J. Tyler Cox and Edward Andrew Paltzik, to inspect the Mississippi barrier island ... and a realization hit them like a ton of bricks.

Cox tells TMZ ... things got raw for the boys ... "The trip was tough for Warren and Jax because that’s the last place they saw their best friend. A couple of times we had to pause and give them their space."

He tells us Nolan's friends have been an "emotional wreck" for the last month, explaining ... "Nolan was a brother to them, and Nolan loved them. They've not been able to grieve ... they're good Ocean Springs boys."

Cox says they hitched a ride out there to show Paltzik the "washing machine," which he says is an area of the island where the tides create a whirlpool because they're coming in from different directions.

Paltzik tells TMZ ... the conditions today, in his opinion, were similar to the Fourth of July, when Nolan went missing.

He says the water was murky -- "like chocolate milk" -- and between the tides, wind and temperature, it appears they were "not swimmable" ... again, in his opinion.

We're told the group spent three hours on the island for what was called a casual visit and "learning expedition."

The attorneys are also representing Nolan's friend Morgan Seymour, but they said he wasn't on the outing due to "school responsibilities."

As you know, the boys lawyered up after they say they received threats over Nolan's death, as well as accusations that they may have been involved.

Warren's father, Benjamin, launched a crowdfunding site to cover the trio's legal costs.