2026-09-22T00:54:00-0400 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
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乔丹·弗莱曼是CBSNews.com的新闻编辑，负责报道突发新闻、热点事件、体育和犯罪新闻。他此前曾供职于《Spin》和《Death and Taxes》杂志。
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更新时间：2026年9月22日 / 美国东部夏令时凌晨1:41 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
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负责审理诺兰·韦尔斯案件的大陪审团认定，这名少年的死亡不存在任何刑事不当行为。18岁的韦尔斯7月4日在密西西比州霍恩岛与朋友外出后失踪，随后被发现死亡。
韦尔斯的死亡在社交媒体上引发了大量猜测，而大陪审团驳回了其中绝大多数说法。
“大陪审团认定，没有可信证据支持公开指控，即任何在2026年7月4日乘坐‘特里同号’、‘棕榈滩号’或‘海滨号’往返霍恩岛的人员存在与韦尔斯先生死亡相关的犯罪行为，”报告中写道。“针对‘特里同号’、‘棕榈滩号’和‘海滨号’（这些前往该岛的船只）上乘客的指控毫无事实依据，纯粹是公众喧嚣和私人恶意的结果。”
“除了对有罪者提起诉讼外，大陪审团还必须为那些被诬告的人洗清罪名，”杰克逊县地区检察官安杰尔·迈尔斯·麦克尔拉斯在一段视频声明中说道，该视频链接为https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1394444306203117。
“完全没有证据支持有关诺兰的失踪和死亡是出于种族动机的指控，”她说。“诺兰的朋友们爱着诺兰，诺兰也爱着他们。”
2026年7月10日，纽约全国行动网络总部的新闻发布会上，一名民众手持诺兰·泽维尔·韦尔斯的照片。尤基·岩村 / 美联社
杰克逊县警长约翰·莱德贝特当时表示，韦尔斯和朋友们前往霍恩岛庆祝独立日，但当天下午并未和他们一起返回大陆。
根据律师本·克兰普的办公室提供的信息，他最后一次被人看到在岛上的时间是下午3点。他的母亲当晚晚些时候报了警。7月6日周一，人们在该岛附近海域发现了他的遗体，该岛距离密西西比大陆以南约10英里。
克兰普在7月下旬表示，受家属委托进行的独立尸检未能确定韦尔斯的死因。
根据报告，大陪审团得出结论，韦尔斯先生遗体的“位置、状态、发现时间和地点与溺水身亡相符”。
韦尔斯的朋友们告诉当局，他选择留在岛上和一名女孩聊天，并表示稍后会返回大陆。
韦尔斯的父母克里斯汀和埃尔莫尔·温斯利此前在接受《CBS早间新闻》采访时表示，他们不相信儿子会主动留下来。
“不，他不会的。诺兰总是和大家待在一起，”诺兰的父亲埃尔莫尔·温斯利在《CBS早间新闻》中说道。“如果和我一起出来，就得跟我一起回去。所以我不明白这一点，作为一名家长，如果我处在那种情况，我会跟他们说，‘你们得跟我一起上船，因为我不想万一你们出了事，还要去跟你们的父母交代。’”
代理家属的克兰普在《CBS早间新闻》中表示：“存在太多明显的矛盾之处，这也是为什么全美各地这么多人都在发声，称此事不合常理。我的意思是，你看，他的朋友们说他当时在和一位年轻女士聊天，而那位女士说他曾说‘我要和兄弟们一起上船回去’。但男孩们却说‘他说过要留下来陪她’。到底哪个才是真的？”
克兰普在周一晚间发布的一份声明中呼吁地区检察官继续对韦尔斯的死亡展开公开且积极的调查。
“我们不知道诺兰是怎么死的，密西西比州也不知道。密西西比州必须继续调查，如果该州不愿将此事追查到底，司法部就应该介入，”克兰普说道。“这次大陪审团的结果带来的疑问多于答案。诺兰的家人不会罢休，直到我们查明他的遭遇，我们也不会。”
由来自杰克逊县的23名“具有广泛代表性的公民”组成的大陪审团在周一发布的报告中表示：“乘坐‘特里同号’、‘棕榈滩号’和‘海滨号’往返霍恩岛的人员完全配合了此次调查，包括向执法人员和韦尔斯先生的家属提供船舶GPS设备、监控录像、手机和证词。”
报告还得出结论，韦尔斯“在乘坐的船只离开后选择留在霍恩岛，这对于节假日和其他客流高峰期间前往霍恩岛的游客来说是常见情况”。
马克·奥斯本为本报道撰稿。
Grand jury declines to indict anyone in the death of Mississippi teen Nolan Wells
2026-09-22T00:54:00-0400 / CBS News
By Jordan Freiman News Editor
Jordan Freiman is a news editor for CBSNews.com. He covers breaking news, trending stories, sports and crime. Jordan has previously worked at Spin and Death and Taxes.
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Updated on: September 22, 2026 / 1:41 AM EDT / CBS News
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The grand jury reviewing the case of Nolan Wells, an 18-year-old who was found dead after going missing following an outing with friends on Mississippi’s Horn Island on the Fourth of July, has determined there was no criminal wrongdoing in the teen’s death.
Wells’ death sparked a considerable amount of speculation across social media, much of which was rebuked by the grand jury.
“The Grand Jury finds no credible evidence to support the public allegations that any persons who rode to or from Horn Island on July 4, 2026, on the Triton, the Palm Beach, or the Tideline engaged in any criminal conduct related to the death of Mr. Wells,” the report states. “The allegations against the occupants of the Triton, the Palm Beach, and the Tideline [boats that traveled to the island] are not based in truth, and are solely the result of public clamor and private malice.”
“In addition to bringing prosecutions against the guilty, the grand jury must also exonerate those who have been falsely accused,” Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said in a video statementhttps://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1394444306203117.
“There is absolutely no evidence to support the allegations that Nolan’s disappearance and death were racially motivated,” she said. “Nolan’s friends loved Nolan, and Nolan loved them.”
A person holds a picture of Nolan Xavier Wells during a news conference at National Action Network headquarters, July 10, 2026, in New York. Yuki Iwamura/AP
Wells had traveled to Horn Island with his friends to celebrate the Fourth of July, but didn’t return to the mainland with them that afternoon, Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said at the time.
He was last seen on the island at 3 p.m., according to attorney Ben Crump’s office. His mother reported him missing later that night. His body was found Monday, July 6, off the coast of the island, which is about 10 miles south of the Mississippi mainland.
An independent autopsy commissioned by the family could not determine Wells’ cause of death, Crump said in late July.
According to the report, the grand jury concluded the “position of, condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr. Wells’ body is consistent with drowning.”
Wells’ friends have told authorities that he chose to stay behind on the island to speak with a girl, telling them he would come back to the mainland later.
Wells’ parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, previously told “CBS Mornings” they didn’t believe their son would have stayed behind by choice.
“No, he wouldn’t. Nolan always stays with the group,” Elmore Wonsley, Nolan’s father, told “CBS Mornings.” “If you be with me, you come back with me. So that I don’t understand, and with me being a parent, if I was in that situation, I would have told them, ‘You’re going to get back on this boat with me because I don’t want to answer to your parents if something happens to you.’”
Crump, who is representing the family, told “CBS Mornings,” “There are so many glaring contradictions, that’s why so many people all across America are chiming in, saying this is not adding up. I mean, you have his friends say he was talking to a young lady, and she said that he said, ‘I’m going to get back on the boat with the boys.’ The boys say, ‘He said that, No, I’m going to stay with her.’ I mean, which is it?”
In a statement released Monday evening, Crump called on the district attorney to keep the investigation into Wells’ death open and active.
“We don’t know how Nolan died, and neither does the State of Mississippi. Mississippi must keep investigating, and if it will not pursue this to the end, the Department of Justice should,” Crump said. “This grand jury result leaves us with more questions than answers. Nolan’s family will not rest until we know what happened to him, and neither will we.”
The grand jury, which consisted of 23 people who represented a “cross section of citizens” from Jackson County, said in its report released Monday: “the individuals who traveled to or from Horn Island on the Triton, the Palm Beach, and Tideline cooperated fully with this investigation, including offering marine GPS devices, surveillance footage, cell phones, and statements to law enforcement officers and Mr. Wells’ family during this investigation.”
It also concluded that Wells “chose to remain on Horn Island after the boat he arrived on departed, which is common for visitors to Horn Island on holidays and other crowded days.”
Mark Osborne contributed to this report.
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