The United Cajun Navy has pushed back against recurring online rumours surrounding Nolan Wells’ death, saying he died in an accidental drowning despite the state autopsy listing the cause and manner of death as “undetermined”.
The grassroots non-profit, which assisted in the initial search for Wells’ body, addressed the claims on X over the weekend while sharing and responding to discussion about the case.
It said Wells’ phone was not opened after 2.18pm on the day he disappeared until his mother accessed it later that evening. The organisation also said nothing had been deleted from the device.
The United Cajun Navy claimed that a forensic expert retained by Ben Crump had given evidence under oath supporting those points. It also said the family’s privately hired medical examiner had examined all of Wells’ organs.
According to the organisation, both the state medical examiner and the private medical examiner testified that the death was consistent with drowning. However, the state autopsy report did not identify drowning and recorded the cause and manner of death as undetermined.
The organisation further rejected claims of blunt force trauma, saying there had been only light bruising. It also alleged that the original sea-tow call had been altered and given fake captions by someone posing as an audio engineer.
In a post responding to the speculation, the United Cajun Navy said: “No, there was no blunt force trauma on the body, only light bruising. Yes, the original sea tow call was altered and added fake captions to by a fake audio engineer. No, none of Nolan’s friends had anything to do with his death. These are indisputable facts.”
Some people responding online questioned the organisation’s authority and shared TikTok videos advancing a different account of events. The United Cajun Navy replied to one critic who said its members were not digital forensic experts: “Neither are you. You’re not an expert at anything.”
Despite its name, the United Cajun Navy is not an official law-enforcement or military organisation.
