Friend says he, not Nolan Wells, is voice in viral July 4 video

Police investigators are reviewing a July 4 video that has been linked to the disappearance and death of 18-year-old Mississippi football player Nolan Wells. The footage, recorded by a passerby on a nearby boat, shows a heated exchange among a group of young people on Horn Island, a barrier island off the Mississippi coast.

Tracestin Shepherd, a close friend of Wells, said he was in the water with a large group of high-school friends when a disagreement with his girlfriend escalated after an acquaintance criticized their conversation. Shepherd said the altercation turned physical and that he later shouted, “Get me off this fucking boat,” a line captured in the video. He told reporters that the voice heard in the clip belongs to him, not to Wells, and that Wells was not visible in the recording.

Shepherd’s girlfriend, his uncle, and a family friend who appears in the video corroborated his account, confirming that Shepherd wanted to leave the boat and that older adults intervened to break up the fight on shore.

Attorney Ben Crump, representing the Wells family, previously reposted the video and claimed the audio included Wells demanding his phone. Another friend, Jayvon Williams, said the audio sounded like Shepherd, not Wells. Shepherd confirmed to the outlet that the words attributed to Wells were his own.

Wells was found dead on July 6 in the same area where the group had been gathering. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate, and Crump has requested an independent investigation and autopsy, with results pending.

“I’m tired of speculation, of not being able to talk, it’s time for somebody to start speaking up,” Shepherd said, expressing frustration with online speculation and threats directed at his friends.

Authorities have not released further details about the circumstances of Wells’ death.