New audio obtained through a records request is shedding additional detail on the moments before 18-year-old college football player Nolan Wells is reported to have died. NBC News says the recording captures calls made by Wells’ friends to a private towing company after their boat malfunctioned and began taking on water during a July 4 trip to Horn Island, Mississippi. In the audio, the friends describe an urgent situation and ask for towing assistance, with one line reportedly including, “We’re sinking. Can you all please come?”
The reports say Wells was found dead two days after the trip, and the new audio is being used as part of the ongoing death investigation. NBC News frames the development as new information related to the circumstances surrounding the boat trouble and the friends’ response, including their attempt to summon help. The New York Post similarly reports that the newly released audio shows friends calling for assistance as their boat takes on water.
Across outlets, the key point is that the audio reflects friends’ real-time calls for towing when the boat appears to be in distress on July 4.
