Nolan Wells Death

Ben Crump says his team has hired some of the nation's top audio engineers to review the full Sea Tow call from the day Nolan Wells disappeared ... as the family's fight for answers continues.

Crump provided an update on Nolan's case Thursday at the National Urban League Conference ... announcing his team obtained the audio from officials and will have experts comb through the entire recording. He said they are also consulting oceanic engineering experts to determine whether the tides line up with Nolan's body being found near the same location where he was reportedly left.

Nolan's mother, Christine Wonsley, became emotional while describing the pain of going 27 days without talking to or hugging her son ... begging anyone with information to come forward so the family can finally rest.

Nolan Wells' friend Bart Edmiston Jr. is putting his new attorney to work ... and the first order of business appears to be a legal threat against an OnlyFans model who is yapping about the investigation.

Bart's lawyer, Russell Latino, fired off a cease and desist letter to social media personality Kymbra Li Wednesday ... claiming she's been pushing false and defamatory statements about Bart on her social media channels.

In the five-page legal threat, obtained by TMZ, Latino claims Li is falsely claiming Bart helped cause Nolan's death and participated in a cover-up.

The father of one of Nolan Wells' friends is offering a hefty cash reward in hopes of shedding light on the mysterious circumstances surrounding Nolan's death, TMZ has learned.

Dr. Benjamin Hudson, the father of Warren Hudson, tells TMZ he's offering the reward for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Nolan's death -- laying a $50,000 reward on the table for information that leads investigators to whoever may be responsible.

The teen's father also makes it clear his family isn't pointing any fingers ... telling us, "We don't know that anyone had any involvement, but we care about Nolan and want to find out what happened."

Journalist Brandon Tatum says he had no prior relationship with Mississippi Chancery Court Judge Ashlee Cole or Warren Hudson's family before they reached out ... pushing back on claims he was chosen because of an existing connection.

The "Officer Tatum Show" host sat down with "TMZ In the Know" to discuss Nolan Wells' death and addressed speculation Cole sought him out because his conservative politics made him a friendly platform for Warren's family.

Tatum says he'd never spoken with Cole before she contacted him, adding it's only natural for a parent trying to tell a loved one's story to choose someone they trust to present it fairly. He compared it to Nolan's mom, Christine Wonsley, turning to attorney Ben Crump to advocate for her family after her son's death.

Nolan Wells' friend Bart Edmiston Jr. handed investigators a list of potential witnesses and opened up his digital life as authorities probed the 18-year-old's death ... according to a new statement from his family.

The Edmistons say Bart sat for interviews, answered every question and shared his full recollection of July 4. They say he also let investigators view his phone, provided requested photos and videos, and allowed inspections of his boat and GPS device -- all without an attorney, warrants, or hesitation.

His family adds that Bart compiled a witness list -- including passengers aboard his boat. They believe more than 20 people spread across two vessels saw him help another boat that was taking on water near Horn Island.

A friend of Nolan Wells is lawyering up amid a wave of online speculation ... denying a viral photo shows him with a woman some social media users are attempting to link to Nolan's death.

Attorney Russell Latino says the old high school photo does show Bart Edmiston Jr. with a young woman -- but insists she is not Katie McCormick, a woman social media users have attempted to romantically link to both Bart and Nolan.

Latino says Bart has never dated Katie and did not even know who she was before Nolan’s death.

Nolan Wells’ mother, Christine Wells-Wonsley, is making moves in court to get her hands on her late son’s social media accounts, TMZ has learned. 

TMZ obtained court docs filed by Christine on Tuesday, revealing she fired off subpoenas to the companies behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Life360, Snapchat and TikTok. During the search, Christine used Life360 to track Nolan's phone and compared the location history between Snapchat and the tracking app, but found that the data didn't match.

The subpoenas request the social media companies turn over all materials and information related to Nolan's account.

There's new video evidence Nolan Wells was not aboard his friends' boat when it was being towed from Horn Island ... which backs up what two witnesses told law enforcement -- Nolan was still on the island after the boat headed home.

Never-before-seen video and photos appear to show Nolan's friends on the boat, preparing to be towed back to the mainland without him ... there are seven people on board, and Nolan is NOT seen in the footage, which was obtained by "The Officer Tatum Show."

The footage seemingly confirms what we first reported ... sources with direct knowledge of the investigation told us authorities have evidence of Nolan being on Horn Island after the boat departed on the Fourth of July.

Nolan Wells was drinking while partying with friends on Mississippi's Horn Island before his death, according to a new report.

Citing preliminary information in a document from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, ABC News says witnesses told investigators the 18-year-old was drinking heavily with his buddies on the island on the Fourth of July before going missing.  

The document contains an email giving a physical description of Nolan as Marine patrols scoured the waters to try to locate the teen. On July 6, Nolan's body was found washed up on the northwest shoreline of Horn Island ... near where he was last seen alive.

Evidence apparently shows Nolan Wells was still on Horn Island when his friends' boat left ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge of the investigation claim authorities have evidence of Nolan being on the Mississippi barrier island after the boat departed on the Fourth of July ... which would be a huge development.

We're told at least two witnesses who were interviewed by law enforcement say they saw Nolan on the island after the boat headed back to the mainland.

The United Cajun Navy is pushing back against the ongoing debate over claims about Nolan Wells' clothing when he was found, saying the focus on the phrase "fully clothed" is taking attention away from the facts.

In a statement posted online, the United Cajun Navy said Wells was wearing only swim trunks when he was discovered and denied ever telling attorney Ben Crump or Wells' family that he was found "fully clothed."

"Did Attorney Crump lie about UCN? Yes," the organization wrote, claiming it never spoke with Crump and never provided information that Wells was found fully clothed.

Nolan Wells' best friend says he didn't understand the initial panic of others searching for him ... because he just assumed he'd passed out on someone's couch.

Warren Hudson laid out the hours after Nolan's disappearance during an interview on "The Officer Tatum Show" ... revealing one of his pals with whom he had returned from Horn Island got an agitated phone call around 12:30 AM on July 5 -- hours after they'd last seen Nolan.

About 30 minutes later, Warren says a group of 10 people or so slammed open the door to the house where they were staying ... clearly freaking out after not having heard from Nolan.

Nolan Wells' best friend says he skipped his pal's funeral for multiple reasons ... including multiple threats he says he's received in recent days.

Warren Hudson opened up about the difficult decision to stay away from Nolan's service during an interview on "The Officer Tatum Show" ... revealing he chose to skip it first and foremost to not distract from the event's focus on Nolan and his grieving family.

He then adds that he worried about going to such a public gathering, too ... saying he's received thousands of death threats -- and he didn't want to put himself or his family in danger.

The mystery of Nolan Wells' death is drawing wildly different opinions ... meanwhile, LeBron James chooses Philadelphia freedom, Diddy throws down in prison, and Tom Brady might be ramping up for a WWE throwdown! So, we gotta ask ...

Nolan Wells' best friend stresses that he, unquestionably, didn't kill the teen ... or have anything to do with his death.

Brandon Tatum asked Nolan's buddy Warren Hudson point-blank if he was responsible for the teen's tragic, mysterious death ... and he said no. Full stop.

Warren also denied deleting anything off Nolan's phone, after his parents raised concerns that messages had been wiped.

Nolan Wells' friend seemed panicked when the boat they were on started taking on water ... struggling to answer a tow service dispatcher's basic questions in newly released audio.

The call -- which was placed to Sea Tow, not 911 -- begins with the dispatcher asking what the issue is. The boat's operator says the boat is sinking and the bilge pump isn't working.

The dispatcher asks for membership information, which the boat's operator doesn't seem to have or know ... before he gives the dispatcher GPS coordinates.