White Friends – the Nolan Wells case

[Puppycow]

My question to you is:
What would you have done when you discovered that you had his phone and his keys?
Did you notice how his parents found them?

I believe that they used some sort of tracking function on his phone to locate it, and the keys were with the phone. It was that night or the following morning. He was reported missing that night.

At 7:19 p.m., the boat exited the water and travelled to the owner's residence in Biloxi, Mississippi.[6] Hudson called Wells' parents later that night at 11:00 p.m., and Wells' parents reported him missing to authorities that night.[3] The U.S. Coast Guard reported that they received a phone call from one of Wells' friends around 11:00 p.m. as well, but that it did not "require Coast Guard assistance".[14] His parents used a tracking app to locate Wells’ cell phone and his car keys with a friend on the mainland.[4][9] His car was located at a different location.[5]

Another reason why he left his phone and keys on the boat is that he likely planned to go swimming. He was wearing swimming trunks. When his body was found he was wearing swimming trunks. In this photo, Nolan and his friends are all wearing swimming trunks. You wouldn't leave your phone in your pocket if you planned to enter the water, so that's why Nolan and others left their phones on the boat. It might not have been obvious to others whose phone (or keys) it was, as most smartphones look similar to each other.

As to the fact that he was "a good swimmer", there is a difference between being a good swimmer in a swimming pool, and the ocean. There are tides and currents in the ocean that can cause even good swimmers to drown. If he had been drinking heavily, that's another reason for increased danger. There's a lot of signs here that he planned to enter the water at some point, including wearing swimming trunks and leaving his phone on the boat. Perhaps he entered the water at some point for a swim and nobody noticed because they were all drunk.