In Episode 149, I shared the story of Phonesia Machado-Fore, who was a 52-year-old mother and grandmother from Pee Dee, South Carolina when she went missing in March of 2024. She had worked as a paramedic for Florence County EMS since 2017, and her EMS director described as being very happy-go-lucky. He said that “She was always around, always had a smile, and just loved her job and loved people.” Phonesia had recently accepted a job in Minnesota, where one of her daughters lived, and her family had planned to help her move.
Phonesia was last seen on March 12, 2024 in her home. When her family couldn’t reach her, they reported her missing two days later. It didn’t take long for Phonesia’s whereabouts to become known, though.
Her body was found near an abandoned home on Jones Drive in Dillon County, the same day that she was reported missing. She lay face-down in her pajamas and slippers. She was restrained with zip ties and duct tape, and had a dog shock collar around her neck. The shock collar was presumably to keep her from calling out for help. She had been shot in the back of the head execution-style, which the autopsy determined was the cause of death.
On March 15, Phonesia’s white BMW was located in Tucumcari, New Mexico, over 1,000 miles away from the scene of the crime. Jaremy Smith, a 33-year-old from Marion County with a lengthy criminal record, had possession of the car. Because of his criminal record, Smith had been barred from purchasing any firearms.
Murder Across State Lines
Smith was apparently trying to change a tire on the BMW when 35-year-old Justin Hare, who was a New Mexico state police officer, approached him to offer help. Smith proceeded to ambush and murder Officer Hare before stealing his patrol car and fleeing. Smith crashed the patrol car 14 miles away, near mile marker 304 on I-40. The BMW linked the murder of Officer Hare in New Mexico to Phonesia back in South Carolina. Authorities then launched a manhunt in multiple states.
On March 17, authorities located Smith in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He had been recognized by a store clerk, who alerted the local police. Smith attempted to flee when the officers approached, and a brief pursuit followed. Smith was captured after some exchange of gunfire, and he was taken to a nearby hospital so that his injuries could be treated. He was kept under armed guard for the entirety of his hospital stay.
In Marion County, the police filed 17 charges against Smith. These charges included murder, kidnapping, carjacking, conspiracy, burglary, gun charges, and grand larceny. Charges were also filed in New Mexico.
What Happened to Phonesia?
The police investigation revealed the circumstances around the abduction and murder of Phonesia. The GPS in her BMW was useful in the investigation, as it revealed the timeline of events. Law enforcement did run into problems due to the investigation involving multiple states.
Based on their investigation, this is what South Carolina officials believe happened to Phonesia. On the evening of March 13, 2024, Smith entered her home, kidnapped her, and forced her to drive her vehicle to a remote location near Nichols, South Carolina. Once she was bound and blindfolded, he executed her behind an abandoned house. He drove back to her home, where he stole several firearms that he later sold.
They believed Smith had worked with an accomplice, and this was confirmed. Joshua Johnson, a 30-year-old man, had joined Smith after Phonesia was murdered. The two met up at Phonesia’s house and proceeded to commit the burglary. The men stole several firearms, as well as her roommate’s 2011 Chevrolet Silverado. The two continued on a crime spree within Marion County before leaving the state. Smith and Johnson split up in Texas, with Smith continuing to New Mexico.
Due to the interstate nature of Smith’s crimes, he had to stand trial in multiple states. The first one was in New Mexico, and the second one in South Carolina. Smith initially plead Not Guilty to the crimes. The trial in New Mexico was set for June 10 in 2024. However, it was delayed due to Smith’s defense requesting more time. The trial would be delayed several more times, pushing it all the way into 2025. In August, prosecutors decided that Smith would not face the death penalty in New Mexico.
Jaremy Smith pleaded guilty to the murder of Officer Justin Hare on January 17 of 2025, and he was sentenced to life without parole in April. In late February of this year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina announced its intent to seek the death penalty against Jaremy Alexander Smith, now 35. He has been charged with kidnapping resulting in death, carjacking resulting in death, using a firearm during a crime of violence in a manner that constitutes murder, possession of stolen firearms, and being a felon in possession of firearms.
The actions of Jaremy Smith devastated two communities. The New Mexico State Police were grieving the loss of their colleague, as was the Marion County EMS.
A representative from Marion County’s sheriff’s office made the trip to New Mexico to attend Officer Hare’s funeral. The New Mexico State Police did the same, sending several representatives to Phonesia’s funeral. Sheriff Brian Wallace said on the department’s Facebook page that Fore’s family was presented with a New Mexico state flag and a photograph of Ofc. Justin Hare. Sheriff Wallace also stated that the Fore family was “hurt, angry, and they want justice for their loved one just as much as we do.”
Michael Woodward
The next case I want to talk about took place in the early 1970s. I first talked about the disappearance of Michael Woodward in Episode 20. Michael was 9 years old on April 23, 1972. His father, Major Joe Woodward, was a staff judge advocate serving at the Fort Jackson Military Base. On this particular Sunday morning, Major Woodward was out just doing an ordinary everyday chore, mowing the lawn. Once he was done, he’d planned to take his son out into the woods to practice shooting a BB gun he’d gotten as a birthday present. Michael was playing in the yard nearby. At some point during the morning, just before lunchtime, Michael simply disappeared.
After searching for his son on foot, Major Woodward alerted the authorities, thinking Michael had wandered off and gotten lost in the surrounding woods. The search party that gathered in the search was massive. included more than 400 soldiers, volunteers on horseback, motorcycles and in jeeps, and three helicopters from a nearby medical unit and the Fort Jackson Aviation Division. But the search party turned up no leads. By May 13, 1972, Ft. Jackson authorities terminated the search for the young boy, saying military police would continue to investigate any leads that came in. rumors circulated in the community at first that Michael had run away on his own because he was nervous about an upcoming trip to Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Michael had injured one of his eyes while casting a fishing rod and his parents were going to take him to see a specialist. But his parents said he’d been looking forward to that trip, as they would be staying in motels and he’d be able to swim in the motel pools. They were trying to make it fun for their son so he wouldn’t be nervous.
A Stranger Offers to Assist
After more than a month of their son being missing, Michael’s parents, Major Joe Woodward and his wife, said they took the suggestion of Michael’s grandparents to seek out advice from a man in the Netherlands who had helped out with missing persons cases in the past.
The family sent the man a map of the general area where Michael went missing, and the man sent it back with a location marked in a shallow creek where he said the boy could be found. Authorities searched the creek and drained a nearby lake, but no sign of Michael turned up.
His mother told The Columbia Record that he didn’t take a jacket or any clothes with him as if he was running away. His BB rifle was left right inside the front door.
Despite the offer of a cash reward for anyone who could come forward with information leading to the discovery of Michael Woodward, the case went cold and remained that way for years. In 2014, two investigators reviewing cold cases with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department requested permission to reopen the case. According to a newspaper article that ran in The State newspaper on June 6, 2014, a man named Patrick O’Connor, deputy director for emergency services, spent about five years reviewing Michael’s file in his spare time.
O’Connor received permission from Fort Jackson commanders to reopen the case, which allowed him to enlist the help of Military Police Investigator Carlos Monday. O’Connor was able to get the case listed on the National Crime Information Center database and with the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children, which means that the case is visible to law enforcement agencies across the nation.
Michael’s parents are no longer alive, but he has an uncle still living who hopes for resolution in his disappearance. O’Connor traveled to Greer, South Carolina to obtain a DNA sample from Michael’s uncle. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children went to Texas, where Michael’s sister lives, and took a DNA sample from her. These two collections have ensured a DNA profile for Michael is in the system. If investigators ever locate any remains or a person who could be Michael, there will be DNA to test against.
If Michael is still alive, he would be 63 years old today. When he went missing, he was wearing brown striped pants and blue sneakers. He stood about four foot eight and weighed 70 pounds. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, and his left eye had been injured in a fishing accident prior to his disappearance.
Anyone with information about the disappearance of Michael Woodward should call the Fort Jackson Military Police at (803) 751-1418, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at (800) THE-LOST (843-5678) or Midlands Crimestoppers at (888) CRIME-SC (274-6372).
Linda McCord and Sarah and Kimberly Boyd
The next case I want to talk about is one that has very little public information, but I still think it’s important because someone out there must what happened to the victims. I shared this mysterious disappearance in Episode 21. On April 3, 1987, Linda McCord, age 33, and her friend Sarah Boyd, age 32 drove to a gospel concert in Waltersboro, South Carolina. They were traveling in a blue Lincoln owned by Linda’s husband. They took Sarah’s 2 ½-year-old daughter Kimberly along with them. Around midnight, Sarah’s husband returned home from work and was surprised that his wife and daughter weren’t back home yet, but he assumed they had stayed over at Linda’s house and would be back the next morning. When they didn’t return, he filed a missing persons report with the police.
Linda’s husband found the car abandoned in Dorchester County two days later. Upon further examination, he discovered a freeze plug had blown out on the car, causing it to overeheat. There was no sign anywhere of Linda, Sarah or Kimberly. Investigators were able to determine the trio was seen at the concert, and a witness was reported to have seen them driving on the road around 11 p.m. The car was found in the front yard of a home, but no one who lived there recalled seeing anyone in it. Authorities from Orangeburg and Coleton Counties assisted in the investigation, and the F.B.I. and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division were notified of the case as well.
The families set up a reward fund and took out an ad in a local newspaper offering $6,000 to anyone with information about the whereabouts of the two women and the toddler.
A Surprise Discovery
At the end of July, a few months after the McCord and the Boyds went missing, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division conducted a search of the area where the car was found. As a plane was flying over during the search, they discovered three acres of well-tended and irrigated marijuana fields in a farming area. Law enforcement estimated the plants had a street value of $20 million dollars. The fields were all on land owned by members of the same family, and three individuals were arrested as part of their involvement in the drug operation. Unfortunately, the search for the women was called off after the discovery of the marijuana, and law enforcement focused their attention on confiscating and clearing out the plants and arresting the individuals involved. That was the last report of the search I could find.
There is one final footnote to this story. In 1990, Sarah Boyd’s credit card was used in a local mall in 1990. Police stated the signature was barely legible and didn’t match Sarah’s writing. The identity of the credit card user has never been established.
At the time the women disappeared, Sarah Boyd was a black female who stood between five feet four and five feet six inches tall. She weighed approximately 105 pounds, wore eyeglasses and had on a beige flower print dress. Kimberly had black hair and brown eyes, stood three feet four inches and weighed 25 pounds. Linda was a black female who also wore eyeglasses. There are no stats available on her height and weight or clothing. Foul play has always been suspected in this case. Anyone with information on the disappearance of Sarah and Kimberly Boyd and Linda McCord should contact the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office 843-873-5111.
Josh Long and Troy Driscoll, Lost and Found at Sea
I want to end today’s episode with a more uplifting story about two young men who were lost at sea in 2005 but were found thankfully found alive six days later. Josh Long, then age 17, and Troy Driscoll, age 15, were last seen around 12:30 p.m. on April 24. They launched a 14-foot Sunfish boat with plans to paddle a short distance from the beach near their homes in North Charleston. The National Weather Service had put out an alert for small boats to stay off the water that day, but the boys continued with their plans. They weren’t expecting a riptide to suck them away from the shore, but that’s what happened. They later told the Sun-News they realized almost immediately they were in trouble, and they tried to swim and pull the boat back to shore, to no avail. They yelled to people on the nearby beach for help but no one heard them. They watched as the bridge linking Sullivans Island the Isle of Palms disappeared from view.
They lost their tackle on their second day out on the water, leaving them unable to catch any fish. When he couldn’t withstand his hunger any longer, Troy ate gelatinous sea creatures out of the ocean. Both boys tried to resist the temptation to drink the saltwater that surrounded the boat. They said they would cool off in the ocean, but sharks chased them back into the boat. At night, when the temperatures dropped, they shared the one wetsuit they had to keep them warm. Every time they saw a fishing boat get close to them they would stand up on the Sunfish and wave their paddles, but no one heard them. The two had no idea where they were. After several days, Troy said he had prayed for God to take him because he didn’t want to fight for his life any more.
What no one knew was that Josh and Troy had drifted about 111 miles north, outside of the Coast Guard’s search grid. But when they spotted another fishing boat on April 30 and tried to get the attention of the fisherman, they were finally successful. Fishermen Rick Smith and Ben Degutis pulled the boys from their boat. They were rescued about seven miles from Cape Fear, North Carolina. Troy and Josh were sunburned, dehydrated, and exhausted, but they were alive and in remarkably good shape for having been lost at sea for six days. Josh lost 30 pounds during the ordeal. Their story was quickly picked up by the national media, and they even scored a spot on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” that spring. These days, they both still live in the area and are living normal lives with their families. But they know they are fortunate to not be one of the many people from the Carolinas who are still missing at sea.
Show Sources:
Phonesia Machado-Fore
https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/south-carolina-man-pleads-guilty-federal-charges-connection-murder-new-mexico-statehttps://www.wmbfnews.com/2025/01/17/pee-dee-man-accused-killing-paramedic-officer-pleads-guilty-federal-charges/
Michael Woodward
https://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article13859291.html
Josh Long and Troy Driscoll
https://www.counton2.com/news/where-are-they-now-charleston-lost-at-sea-survivors-10-years-later
The Beaufort Gazette
April 28, 2005
Missing boaters still not found, DNR says
https://www.newspapers.com/image/781804555
Sun News
May 2, 2005
Lost Teens, Families Unite
Page 1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/822705065
Page 2
https://www.newspapers.com/image/822705078
The State
May 1, 1972
Search for Lost Boy Still Without Results
https://www.newspapers.com/image/750362506
The State
May 13, 1972
Active Hunt for Youth Discontinued
https://www.newspapers.com/image/750365828
The Columbia Record
May 31, 1972
New Shoes Untouched in Missing Boy’s Closet
Page 1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/745675767
Page 2
https://www.newspapers.com/image/745675858
The State
July 10, 1972
No Clues Turned Up in Case of Missing Boy
https://www.newspapers.com/image/750346995
The State
July 23, 1972
9-year-old missing for three months
https://www.newspapers.com/image/750334479
The Columbia Record
Files on Missing Children Gathering Dust
Page 1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/745928611
Page 2
