Phonesia Miranda Machado-Fore, 52, a paramedic and mother from the Lake View area, was reported missing from her Marion County, South Carolina home in March 2024. Her body was found in Dillon County on March 15, 2024; an autopsy revealed she died of a gunshot wound.

Investigators linked her case to a cross-country investigation after her vehicle was located in New Mexico at the scene where New Mexico State Police officer Justin Hare was fatally shot. Jaremy Smith, 33, of Marion, South Carolina, was identified as a person of interest in Machado-Fore’s murder. Smith was later apprehended in Albuquerque after a foot chase and was wounded by gunfire. Seventeen arrest warrants were issued in South Carolina for Smith related to Machado-Fore’s death, including murder, kidnapping, carjacking, burglary and multiple weapons offenses.

Machado-Fore was remembered by colleagues at Florence County Emergency Medical Services as a compassionate paramedic who loved people. Her family includes two daughters who survive her. If anyone has information about Phonesia Machado-Fore or her movements in March 2024, please come forward.