The boat arrived at Horn Island shortly after 11 a.m. on the Fourth of July, carrying a group of young friends toward what was supposed to be a day of celebration.

Five hours later, the vessel pulled away from the island.

Eighteen-year-old Nolan Wells was apparently no longer aboard.

Two days afterward, his body was recovered from the waters surrounding the Mississippi barrier island, leaving his parents with grief, unanswered questions and a timeline that still contains a terrifying blank.

Newly released boat records now confirm parts of the story told by people who were with Wells that day. GPS data shows when the vessel arrived, when it left and where it traveled afterward.

But the records do not answer the question haunting the case:

What happened to Nolan after his friends last saw him?

Wells traveled with friends to Horn Island for an Independence Day gathering on July 4. According to authorities, he was last seen on the island at approximately 3 p.m.

His friends later told investigators that Wells had chosen to remain behind after meeting a young woman.

His parents do not believe that account.

Christine and Elmore Wonsley have said separating from the group would have been reckless and completely inconsistent with the safety lessons their son had followed throughout his life.

“We always taught him that if you go with a group, you stay with a group,” Elmore said during an appearance on Good Morning America.

“If you go with five, you come back with five.”

To Wells’ father, the explanation that his son voluntarily remained on an isolated island simply does not make sense.

“So why would he split from the group?” he asked. “I don’t know.”

The newly obtained records provide a detailed account of the boat’s movements—but little information about the teenager himself.

GPS data from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources shows that the vessel left its dock shortly before 10 a.m. and arrived at Horn Island at 11:14 a.m.

It remained there until 4:31 p.m.

Around 4 p.m., the boat’s operator contacted emergency dispatch and reported a serious mechanical problem.

“Hey, we’re at the west tip of Horn and our bilge pump stopped working,” the caller said in audio obtained by NBC News.

“We’re sinking. Can you all please come?”

The caller estimated that approximately seven people were aboard and said assistance was needed to keep the vessel afloat and tow it back.

The emergency helps explain why the group left the island when it did.

Ashlee Cole, a local chancery judge whose son Warren was among Wells’ friends that day, previously said the boat began taking on water and experiencing trouble with its bilge pump.

Cole said her son last saw Wells around 3 p.m. and left the island at approximately 4:30 p.m. because of the vessel’s problems.

Another friend, Tracestin Shepherd, told ABC News that Wells stayed behind after meeting a young woman.

The boat data aligns with the reported departure time.

It does not establish who was aboard when the vessel left, who remained on the island or whether Wells had made a clear decision to stay.

According to the GPS records, the boat returned to its original dock after leaving Horn Island. It later traveled into Fort Bayou at approximately 5:52 p.m. before returning to the dock at 6:06 p.m.

At 7:19 p.m., it moved back toward the Fort Bayou boat launch. The vessel was later transported over land to the Biloxi residence of its owners.

By then, Wells’ mother had reportedly learned from one of his friends that he had not returned.

She reported him missing that evening.

Multiple agencies launched a search on July 5. Wells’ body was found in the island’s waters on July 6.

His official cause of death has not been determined publicly. Results from both an official autopsy and an independent examination requested by the family remain pending.

Authorities have said accidental drowning is among the possibilities being considered.

Wells’ parents have made clear that they are not prepared to accept that explanation without a complete investigation.

They have retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump and have called for greater transparency, suggesting that race may have influenced the urgency and direction of the law-enforcement response.

The family has also focused on the personal items Wells left behind.

His friends reportedly returned with his phone and keys, which his parents recovered after he was reported missing.

One friend said Wells had left the phone to protect it from exposure to seawater.

To his parents, however, the fact that the group left with his belongings while he remained behind has only deepened their suspicion.

A teenager without his phone, keys or original transportation would have had limited options for leaving the island.

The unanswered hours between approximately 3 p.m.—when Wells was reportedly last seen—and the discovery of his body two days later remain the central mystery.

Who was the young woman he allegedly met?

Did anyone see them together?

Did Wells communicate with anyone after his friends departed?

Was he aware that the boat was leaving?

And why did no one ensure that he had a safe way home?

The records cannot answer those questions.

They show the boat’s route, not Wells’ movements.

They confirm the mechanical emergency, not his decision to remain.

And while they clarify the group’s departure timeline, they do not explain how a holiday celebration ended with an 18-year-old alone and missing on a remote island.

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter has said the investigation remains active. Both investigators and the family are asking anyone with direct knowledge of Wells’ final hours to come forward.

For his parents, the demand is simple.

They want every witness interviewed, every timeline verified and every unexplained detail examined before anyone decides what happened to their son.

The boat left Horn Island at 4:31 p.m.

Nolan Wells did not return with it.

Between those two facts lies a mystery his family refuses to let disappear beneath the water.