A major new round of scrutiny is building around the final hours before Nolan Wells disappeared from Horn Island, after his family’s legal team released new cellphone findings and older witness statements were reexamined alongside the grand jury record.

The most concrete new evidence comes from the forensic review of Nolan’s phone. His family’s attorneys say specialists recovered 282 pages of Snapchat material, reconstructed GPS activity and identified deleted messages. The phone later moved away from Horn Island even though Nolan did not leave with it, renewing questions about who had possession of the device after he was last seen.

Attention has also returned to Katie McCormack, a young woman who had been seen speaking with Nolan that afternoon. Earlier reporting described conflicting accounts about whether Nolan planned to leave with his original group or expected another ride. Publicly available evidence still does not establish that Katie personally saw Nolan board a boat, and no confirmed alternate vessel has been identified in the record.

The timeline itself remains important. One early account placed Nolan’s last sighting at about 3:00 p.m., but later Apple Maps and Garmin data showed the relevant boat did not begin its sustained departure until roughly 4:28–4:31 p.m. That leaves approximately 90 minutes that investigators and the family continue trying to reconstruct.

A Jackson County grand jury reviewed testimony from 43 witnesses, phone and GPS evidence and numerous subpoenaed records before unanimously declining to indict anyone. The panel said it found no credible evidence of criminal conduct by the people on the boats and concluded that the available evidence was consistent with drowning, even though both the state and independent autopsies left Nolan’s cause and manner of death undetermined.

Nolan’s family remains unconvinced. Their attorneys have emphasized unexplained bruising documented in the autopsies, the movement of his phone after he remained on the island and the deleted digital material as reasons they believe more investigation is warranted. They are continuing to push for federal review and greater transparency.

One important clarification: the viral claim that police have “confirmed Katie McCormack’s statements were fabricated” or proved that she watched Nolan board her boat is not supported by the latest verified public record. Those claims go beyond what authorities or the grand jury have publicly established.