The mystery surrounding Nolan Wells' death continues to deepen, and now two of his closest friends have returned to the place where their nightmare began.
Warren Hudson and Jax Pitalo traveled to Mississippi's Horn Island on Friday with attorneys J. Tyler Cox and Edward Andrew Paltzik, revisiting the area where they last saw their friend before his disappearance over the Fourth of July weekend.
According to TMZ, the three-hour trip was described as a "learning expedition," but it quickly became intensely emotional for Hudson and Pitalo.
"The trip was tough for Warren and Jax because that's the last place they saw their best friend," Cox told TMZ, adding that the group had to stop several times to give the young men space.
Cox said the pair have been an "emotional wreck" during the past month and described Nolan as being like a brother to them.
But the visit wasn't only about grieving.
The friends reportedly wanted Paltzik to see an area they call the "washing machine," where competing tides can create turbulent, swirling water. Paltzik said that, in his opinion, conditions during Friday's visit appeared similar to those on July 4, when Nolan disappeared.
He described the water as murky, comparing it to "chocolate milk," and said that considering the tides, wind and temperature, the conditions appeared "not swimmable" to him.
The trip comes amid mounting scrutiny surrounding Nolan's death. Hudson, Pitalo and another friend, Morgan Seymour, recently retained attorneys after they said they had received threats and faced accusations online suggesting they might know more about what happened to Nolan. No evidence cited in the report establishes that the three friends were involved in his death.
Seymour did not participate in Friday's visit because of what the attorneys described as "school responsibilities."
The friends' legal representation comes as questions and speculation surrounding the case continue to circulate. Hudson's father, Benjamin Hudson, has also launched a crowdfunding campaign to help cover the trio's legal expenses.
Meanwhile, Nolan's parents are pursuing an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding their son's death as they continue searching for answers.
For Hudson and Pitalo, however, Friday's return to Horn Island brought them face-to-face with the location at the center of a tragedy that has followed them for more than a month.
What began as an attempt to help their attorneys understand the island reportedly became something far more personal: a painful return to the last place they saw their best friend alive.
