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Family, Ben Crump Demand Transparency in Snapchat Deletion Probe

7/20/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Christine Wonsley publicly demanded full transparency as the family probes alleged deletions of Nolan Wells’s Snapchat messages.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI are jointly examining Wells’s cellphone and Snapchat data and have issued preservation letters to the platform.
Civil-rights attorney Ben Crump and the family will present the investigation to a grand jury after a mutual inspection of the phone with prosecutors.

History

Historical Context

The 2015 San Bernardino attack sparked the first major clash when the FBI invoked the 1789 All Writs Act to force Apple to create software that could bypass an iPhone’s encryption—a move the ACLU notes has appeared in at least 76 cases across 22 states. That precedent underlies today’s Jackson County Sheriff’s, FBI’s and civil-rights lawyer Ben Crump’s request for Nolan Wells’s Snapchat data.

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Story summary

Christine Wonsley publicly demanded full transparency as the family probes alleged deletions of Nolan Wells’s Snapchat messages.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI are jointly examining Wells’s cellphone and Snapchat data and have issued preservation letters to the platform.
Civil-rights attorney Ben Crump and the family will present the investigation to a grand jury after a mutual inspection of the phone with prosecutors.

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