NOLAN Wellsâ friend has broken his silence to reveal what he says âreally happenedâ in the viral beach fight video that has fueled speculation since the football star vanished.
A viral video circulating last week appeared to offer major clues about the tragic studentâs final hours.
Online sleuths claimed the grainy clip captured Wellsâ voice while he was involved in a heated argument before his death.
Many believed he could be seen standing with the group on shore because one of the young men was wearing blue swim trunks similar to those Wells had on that day.
But Tracestin Shepherd insists the clip has been widely misunderstood, claiming Nolan isnât even seen in the footage and that the voice many believed belonged to the 18-year-old was actually his.
Shepherd said the July 4 confrontation began after he got into an argument with his girlfriend while the pair were waist-deep in the water off Horn Island, Mississippi.
The 20-year-old said another young man, who was not part of their group, interrupted the argument, prompting tensions to boil into a fight.
âI told him he needed to mind his own business,â Shepherd told Rolling Stone.
After the pair allegedly became physical, Shepherd said his uncle ordered him onto the familyâs boat so they could head back to shore.
But Shepherd admitted he wanted to return to continue the fight as his friends defended him on the beach.
âAt that point, another adult on a nearby boat started filming the now-viral clip that later spread across social media after Wells disappeared.
âIn that video, you hear somebody yelling â that is me,â Shepherd said.
âItâs me yelling â my exact wording is, âGet me off this f****** boat.â I wanted to fight, and Iâd felt like I hadnât had my fair share.â
His account was backed up by his girlfriend, his uncle and a family friend seen in the footage trying to calm him down.
âHe want[ed] to get off the boat and go fight the dude who he got into it with,â an unnamed family friend told Rolling Stone.
âNobody knows what Tracestin was saying better than me because he was screaming it in my face.â
The grainy video quickly became a focal point after Wells was reported missing, with online sleuths claiming it showed the final moments before the teen disappeared.
Many believed Wells could be seen standing with the group on shore because one of the young men was wearing blue swim trunks similar to those Wells had on that day.
Shepherd rejected those claims, saying the person identified online as Wells was too short to be his six-foot-two friend and insisting Nolan was actually out of frame in the water.
He sad he has now given investigators his full account of the day and has also spoken with Wellsâ family.
The footage was also referenced by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Wells family.
After reposting the video online, Crump said during a press conference: âThis video, you can hear an argument going where Nolan is saying, âGive me my freaking phone, what are you freaking doing?ââ
But another friend, Jayvon Williams, also disputed that version while speaking to TMZ.
âThat altercation, it sounds just like my other friend who got into another altercation on the boat,â Williams said.
âAs he was in that altercation, I was trying to calm him down, they were trying to get him out, off the island, trying to get him back to land because he was just losing it. The parents on that boat were trying to get him out.â
Shepherd confirmed he was the friend Williams was referring to, saying: âThose were not Nolanâs words, they were mine.â
He added: âI get that everybody wants justice for Nolan. Everybody wants to know exactly what happened. Will we ever know?â
Nolan Wells was found dead on July 6Â in the same area of Horn Island where the group had spent the day celebrating Independence Day.
The Jackson County Sheriffâs Office is investigating his death, while Crump has called for an independent investigation and commissioned a separate autopsy.