As investigators continue searching for answers in the death of 18 year old Nolan Wells, a former FBI agent says Snapchat could play a key role in helping piece together the teenager’s final hours.

Wells, a Mississippi community college football player, disappeared during a Fourth of July trip to Horn Island. He was last seen on July 4, and his body was recovered in the water near the island two days later.

Authorities have not announced an official cause of death, and while investigators have said they have found no evidence of foul play so far, the investigation remains active. Both the official autopsy and an independent autopsy requested by Wells’ family are still pending.

One of the family’s biggest concerns involves Wells’ Snapchat activity.

His parents have said it was unusual that there were no Snapchat posts, saved photos, or messages from the day he disappeared, despite Wells regularly using the app to document gatherings with friends.

Speaking to NewsNation, former FBI agent Kieran Ramsey explained that deleted Snapchat messages do not necessarily mean valuable evidence has been lost.

According to Ramsey, investigators can often recover multiple layers of digital information, even if content has been removed from a device.

He said authorities can also send preservation requests to Snapchat, requiring the company to retain data stored on its servers before it is deleted.

That information could include location data, account activity, and other digital records that may help investigators reconstruct Wells’ movements and compare them with the movements of others who were with him on July 4.

“I think they’re going to be looking at a lot of that because you have a timeline that has a lot of contradictions,” Ramsey said.

His comments come as investigators continue examining conflicting accounts of what happened on Horn Island.

Several of Wells’ friends have told authorities they left the island without him after he decided to stay behind because he had met a young woman and planned to find another ride back to the mainland.

Wells’ family has repeatedly questioned that explanation, saying it would have been completely out of character for him to separate from his friends.

Ramsey also noted that because the FBI is assisting with parts of the digital investigation, preservation requests have likely already been sent to technology companies. If additional records are needed, investigators could seek grand jury subpoenas to obtain them.

Earlier this week, both the Mississippi authorities and civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Wells’ family, agreed to conduct a mutual inspection of the teenager’s cellphone, allowing experts from both sides to review its contents together.

The investigation has also sparked discussion about whether race may have played a role in the case.

During a recent news conference, Reverend Al Sharpton joined Crump and Wells’ parents in calling for a thorough investigation.

Sharpton noted that Wells was the only Black member of the group of friends he traveled with and pointed out that his phone and keys were later recovered from others rather than being voluntarily returned to the family.

“We’re not bringing in race, but we’re not discounting race either, because we don’t know what it is,” Sharpton said. “This does not smell right.”

As investigators continue reviewing witness statements, cellphone records, GPS data, and other digital evidence, Wells’ family says they remain focused on finding out exactly what happened during the teenager’s final hours on Horn Island.