Ocean Springs, Mississippi — The young woman Nolan Wells was last seen talking to on Horn Island before he vanished has been identified as 19-year-old Katie McCormack, but conflicting accounts of their final interaction continue to raise questions in the investigation into his death.

Wells, 18, traveled by boat to Horn Island with friends on July 4, 2026, for a Fourth of July gathering. According to his friends, the group’s boat began taking on water late in the afternoon, forcing them to return to the mainland. They said Wells chose to stay behind to continue talking with McCormack.

McCormack’s sister, Gracie, has disputed that version of events. She told the Daily Mail that Katie believed Wells was getting ready to board the boat with his friends and assumed they would not leave him behind.

“Katie had a conversation and assumed that Nolan was getting ready to get on the boat he came out on,” Gracie said. “Katie assumed the ‘friends’ telling him to get on the boat wouldn’t have left him.”

McCormack was on the island with a different group and later left with her brother and his fiancée. There has been no suggestion of wrongdoing on her part. She has not spoken publicly beyond a brief social media reply expressing sympathy for Wells’ family.

The conflicting stories have been highlighted by the Wells family’s attorney, Ben Crump, who has questioned which account is accurate. Wells’ body was recovered from the water near the island on July 6. The investigation by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office remains ongoing.

Sources:

• New York Post