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MISSISSIPPI – A United Cajun Navy leader who helped search for Nolan Wells says the water around where the teen was found is notorious for deadly “washing machine” currents, and water conditions the day he vanished were far from ideal.
Wells, 18, disappeared July 4 after a boat trip with friends to Horn Island, a barrier island off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. A National Park Service ranger found his remains on the island’s northwestern tip two days later, on July 6, after crews searched the area.
Wells’ friends returned to the mainland that afternoon without him. Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter has said investigators believe Wells chose to stay on the island. It wasn’t until later that night that his mother learned from one of Wells’ friends that he was missing, and she reported it to authorities.
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The stretch of water between Horn Island, where Wells was found dead, and neighboring Ship Island is known to locals as a “washing machine” because of its deadly rip currents, United Cajun Navy Vice President Brian Trascher told Fox News Digital. Authorities previously told the Associated Press that foul play isn’t suspected.
“Yeah, there is some kind of nickname for it, and it’s because they’ve had a lot of drownings in that area and on that island. And to the west, there’s Ship Island, just another few miles to the West. And in between those two islands, there’s a strong divergent occurrence,” Trascher said. “And that area is called the washing machine by locals.”
Based on conversations with people who were on Horn Island on July 4, Trascher said the rip current that day was “extremely strong,” adding that the water off the island’s northwest tip can go from shallow to deep in just a few steps.
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While Wells knew how to swim and swam regularly, Trascher said a strong rip current can overpower even an experienced swimmer, especially if panic, sun exposure or alcohol are factors.
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Trascher said one of the biggest unresolved questions in Wells’ death is what happened between when he was last seen, around 4 or 4:30 p.m. on July 4, and when his body was found, calling it a “gaping hole” that still needs to be answered.
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“I’ve heard virtually no explanation, no eyewitness accounts. Nobody seemed to see him after that… there don’t seem to be any photographs or videos of him after that time. So what happened? It wasn’t dark yet. There was still a lot of people on the island… why did he just vanish and show up dead two days later?” Trascher said. “That is a question that needs to be asked. And I’m not suggesting that means that there was foul play involved. I’m just saying that there is a gaping hole in the story that needs to filled.”
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During a Wednesday news conference, attorney Ben Crump revealed that an area of “red discoloration” was found on Wells’ head, but said Dr. Roger Mitchell, who performed an independent autopsy, couldn’t come to a conclusion on a cause or manner of death “pending further investigation.” An official autopsy into Wells’ death hasn’t been completed.
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When asked by Fox News Digital about the case, forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden said the head injury doesn’t point to foul play.
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“So that could be from bumping into something in the water. There’s a lot of debris in the water, for example. It depends how deep it is, but it’s describing a really superficial impact that could have happened before death or after death,” Baden said. “What he’s describing is a minor injury that could be… totally innocent.”
Without having additional information, Mitchell wrote in his report that he couldn’t rule out the possibility that “non-accidental factors contributed to or caused the death.”
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