Faulty reasoning signals

• Biased Writer Voice - 25%
• Anecdotal - 23.4%
• Confirmation Bias - 19.4%

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Tonight there’s an urgent search for answers as the mystery grows over what happened to 18-year-old Nolan Wells. The college athlete died over the Fourth of July. Authorities say he was last seen boating with friends. NBC News’ Aaron Gilchrist has the story.

His body, recovered from the water near Horn Island off the Mississippi mainland on Monday morning.

Authorities say Wells took a boat to the island with friends on Independence Day. This photo may be one of the last taken of him.

Wells was reported missing by his family that evening after the friends returned home without him.

It’s unclear if any of the people in the photo were with him when he disappeared.

Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump has suggested race may be a factor in the investigation.

“Nolan was the only African American in the group. And so, it is making people harken back to the sins of the past in the state of Mississippi. And so, I think that’s why people are so concerned with getting to the truth of what happened to Nolan Wells.”

Some have speculated that videos circulated on social media show Nolan in an argument with other people, but even the person who shot it says she doesn’t know who’s talking or what it appears to show.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office is asking people on the island that day to turn over any unedited video or photos, specifically those depicting alleged altercations or containing images of or believed to include Nolan Wells.

“The rumors are out there. But the truth is what we want to get to law enforcement.”

A local judge posted on Facebook that her son was on the boat with Wells, writing that he cooperated with investigators and that her son decided to leave because of boat damage and that Wells made a decision to stay on the island and return inland later with another group of friends.

“I think the family deserves the truth, and that’s what we’re here to provide for them.”

Tonight, the family waiting on state and independent autopsies as Nolan Wells is being remembered by a former coach as an outstanding athlete who carried himself with humility and led by example.