Roommates, United Cajun Navy vice president Brian Trascher is opening up about his role in the search for Nolan Xavier Wells on July 6. Trasher joined the aircraft search team and snapped wide-angle photos of the law-enforcement response from about 400 feet above ground. He says he later zoomed in on the images and noticed Nolan’s body. Now, Trascher says he’s willing to give the photos to Nolan’s parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, if they want to see them.
RELATED: Ben Crump Shares Preliminary Findings Of Indep. Autopsy Report, As Teen Who Traveled To Horn Island With Nolan Wells Breaks Silence
United Cajun Navy VP Shares Details From The Search For Nolan Wells & The Photos He Captured
Recently, Cajun Navy Vice President Brian Trascher spoke exclusively with TMZ about the day Nolan Wells’ body was discovered. Trascher said he captured images of the scene during the search, and after zooming in on the photos, he noticed a body that fit the description of Nolan Wells. He explained that he never intended to photograph the body, but the images captured it during the search. Brian also said the photos show “a body laying faced down at the shoreline right at the water’s edge wearing swim trunks.” He added that some images are difficult to look at and hopes Nolan’s family never has to see them, but he said the United Cajun Navy will provide anything that Nolan’s parents request. “We will give them whatever they want, anytime they want, all they have to do is ask,” Trascher said.
Brian Trascher Explains Why His Team Held Off On Sharing Their Findings With Nolan’s Family
Brian also explained why he and his team decided not to share details from the day they found Nolan with his parents right away. He said he didn’t want to add to the emotional pain Nolan’s parents were already experiencing after learning about his death. Trascher added that he believed Nolan’s mother would likely ask him to explain what he saw, and he felt those details could have made an already difficult moment even harder. “I just didn’t think it would be helpful to his mom as she was just finding out that her son was dead.”
Furthermore, Trascher made it clear that he was never trying to hide anything. He said plenty of law enforcement officials were near Nolan’s body and could have also provided details from the scene. He added that he later learned that Nolan’s parents did not get access to view his body, which was something he didn’t know at the time. Trascher explained that if he had known, he would have shared information that could’ve helped Wells’ family get more clarity.
Attorney Ben Crump Shares Preliminary Findings From Nolan’s Independent Autopsy
Brian Trascher’s remarks come shortly after Attorney Ben Crump provided an update on Nolan Xavier Wells’ independent autopsy. On Wednesday, July 22, Crump addressed the findings during a press conference at the 117th NAACP National Convention. He explained that Dr. Roger Mitchell, a pathologist and current president of the National Medical Association, performed the independent autopsy and shared the preliminary observations.
According to Crump, the autopsy listed Nolan Wells’ cause and manner of death as “undetermined pending investigation.” He also revealed that the preliminary examination found a 12×8-inch area of “soft tissue” with red discoloration on the back of Wells’ head. Attorney Crump further stated that doctors could not examine certain internal neck structures because they did not receive the trachea and other neck tissues with Wells’ body for the second autopsy. Crump added that Dr. Mitchell wants to receive the missing tissue so he can conduct a more thorough review and reach a clearer conclusion.
“It is assumed that the initial pathologists retained these structures for additional evaluation. The retention […] is common […] He doesn’t know why they held the throat back, but he says the throat was not with the body of Nolan Wells when he received it in Washington DC to perform the second autopsy of the body,” Crump explained,
