The family of Nolan Wells will work with a local prosecutor. They want to look at his phone. Nolan Wells was a Black teenager. He died after a boat trip on July Fourth.

The family said messages seemed erased from the phone. They got the phone back later. They met with District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath on Wednesday. Attorney Ben Crump said McIlrath agreed to show the investigation to a grand jury.

Wells went to Horn Island with friends. He did not come back with them. His mother said he was missing on July 5. His body was found near the island the next day. Authorities first said they did not think a crime happened. An official autopsy is not done yet.

The family asks why friends left Wells behind. They took his keys and phone. The family got his phone from a friend's home on July 4. Crump said an expert will try to get data from the phone. The expert will work with investigators. The Congressional Black Caucus wants an independent investigation.