Miguel Baza Hernandez, a 45-year-old Hispanic man, was found fatally shot in a ditch on Isham-Frederick Road in Magnolia, North Carolina, on the morning of January 24, 2017. Deputies discovered Hernandez with gunshot wounds; he died despite efforts to save him. The Duplin County Sheriff’s Office reported the shooting followed a drug deal gone bad and described the incident as isolated.

Authorities arrested 29-year-old Brandon Jerod Swindell of Bladen County and charged him with an open count of murder and possession of a firearm by a felon. Investigators said Swindell had a prior criminal record; authorities continued to probe whether any additional suspects or accomplices were involved.

Friends and family remembered Hernandez as a hardworking man who had faced many challenges. Does anyone who knew Miguel or who was in Magnolia on January 24, 2017 have information that could help clarify what happened that morning?