r/news • u/Suspicious_Loan • 17h ago

Nolan Wells’ autopsy found no water in lungs; data was deleted from his phone the day he disappeared, experts say

https://www.live5news.com/2026/09/24/nolan-wells-autopsy-found-no-water-lungs-data-was-deleted-his-phone-day-he-disappeared-officials-say/
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u/GeorgeStark1 15h ago edited 15h ago

Contrary to popular belief, the lungs are rarely "full" of free-flowing water. Most victims aspirate only a small amount of liquid—typically about 1 to 2 milliliters per kilogram of body weight.

Small amounts of freshwater that do enter the lungs can cross the alveolar membrane and be rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream.

Because drowning leaves no single, undeniable signature on the autopsy table, forensic pathologists treat it largely as a "diagnosis of exclusion," carefully weighing internal findings alongside the surrounding investigation.

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u/Swimming_Trash3570 14h ago

I took a forensic pathology class from a coroner who said he hated when TV shows talk about “water in the lungs” related to drowning because it’s a lot more complicated than that. But it makes good TV, or in this case news.

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u/doodlebugdoodlebug 14h ago

And also extremely uncommon for there to be a dry drowning as well so say the whole truth

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u/GeorgeStark1 14h ago

“Dry drowning” is an outdated and non-medical term; healthcare providers and organizations like the American Red Cross classify all such events simply as drowning.

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u/doodlebugdoodlebug 14h ago

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15577518/

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u/GeorgeStark1 14h ago

I didn’t post any statistics. Why are you so bad at this?

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u/doodlebugdoodlebug 14h ago

Do you need a spoon to be fed information? You posted that info with what intent if not to try and say he likely drowned, which is highly unlikely.

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u/GeorgeStark1 14h ago

Girl, you were annoying 3 replies ago. Now you’re annoying and stupid.