Army veteran Clinton Bonnell (50) went missing in January 2025 from Fayetteville, North Carolina. His remains have just been found in a pond and his wife Shana Cloud has been charged with his murder.
Clint’s sister Stefanie Firkins has spoken multiple times to the media about the case.
She told Dateline that the family were originally from Texas. “We grew up in the Austin area, specifically a small town called Dripping Springs,” Stefanie said.
Clint had once worked for Motorola but eventually made his way to the Army. “After 9/11, he joined the military,” Stefanie said. Not only was he a Green Beret, “he was also the spokesperson for the Gold Star Families.”
He joined the Army after Sept. 11, 2001, when al-Qaida terrorists hijacked U.S. commercial airliners and flew into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a United Airlines Flight 93 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
“He did multiple deployments,” Stefanie said about her brother, who was an Army medic. “I don’t have an entire list of his deployments, but I do have some. Iraq, I know, for sure. And Germany.”
Clint met Shana while he was stationed in Oklahoma. At the time of his disappearance, they had been together for 16 years. The couple did not have any children together, but Clint is said to have treated Shana’s 19 y/o daughter as his own.
Shana worked as a traveling nurse and was often away from the family home. Stefanie said that Shana worked at a prison in Virginia at one point.
Clint was last seen on Monday, January 27, 2025. He and Shana had been having marital difficulties at the time. Online reports indicate that Clint had a girlfriend, but that he and Shana were still living together.
There is a really comprehensive timeline online from ‘Watch Out Cumberland County NC’ and a lot of this info comes from that.
On January 27, Shana said that both she and Clint went to the Fit 4 Life Gym. She said they left in separate cars and that he planned to study at school.
Clint was participating in the Physician Assistant studies program at Methodist University.
The last place Clint had been stationed was Fort Bragg in Fayetteville. He retired in December 2024. “He was happy. He was excited,” Stefanie said of her brother’s plans for life after the Army. “He was a Green Beret medic so he wanted to pursue medicine. He worked really hard to get into this PA school program at Methodist College in Fayetteville.” Stefanie says not only did Clint get in to the school, he quickly became the president of his cohort. “He was completely enamored with medicine and excited about his career path,” she said.
“I would describe Clint as a dedicated, passionate student that his classmates quickly recognized as a leader,” April Martin, program director for the university Physician Assistant program would say after Clint disappeared. “He was elected as the president of his cohort shortly after beginning his studies at Methodist University. His PA program family are thinking of his family during this time.”
Clint’s girlfriend would tell authorities that he visited her on January 27. He told her he had consulted a divorce attorney. He also told his girlfriend that he had spoken to Shana about the divorce.
On January 28, 2025, Clint was due to take exams at Methodist University. He missed those. The university thought this was out of character. Officials there, along with his girlfriend, requested a welfare check on that day.
Stefanie said “They were taking exams and labs and it was so out of character for Clint to not be in class,” she said. She said that it was out of character for her brother to be a no-show for anything. “He was in the military for 20 years. He would’ve been kicked out of the military for just disappearing,” she said.
On January 29, deputies performed a welfare check at Clint and Shana’s home.
They found his car, wallet and keys were at the home but there was no sign of his phone. Shana was asked at the time if she wanted to file a missing person report and she declined. Clint’s girlfriend filed the official report that day.
Authorities later looked into Clint’s cell phone data and discovered that his phone showed it was at his residence until 8.15am on January 30. After that time, the phone went dark. There was no GPS or data activity.
Deputies went back to the home on January 31, 2025. They found Clint’s bookbag and laptop. According to the online timeline, both items showed projectile damage, indicating possible gunfire.
On February 1, 2025, a search warrant was executed on Shana and her vehicle. She was in Troy, Virginia at this point – possibly for work. Her phone was also seized at the time. During an interview at this time, she admitted that she and Clint had an argument over a note from his girlfriend.
After Clint disappeared, Stefanie said there was no way he would have walked away from his daughter. “There’s no way that he would have done that to his daughter,” Stefanie said. He “worshipped” her, she said.
“My brother is a salt of the earth good human being,” she said. “I mean, he had his flaws like every other person. But he was just a salt of the earth good man.” His disappearance, she says, is “devastating and nauseating.”
Stefanie said that she believed Clint was a victim of foul play.
“I want to find my brother,” she said. “I don’t care whose feelings get hurt from me doing everything that I can to find my brother.”
On February 25, 2025, a dismembered body was found in a pond on Gainey Road – around three miles from Clint’s home.
“It looks like there might be part of a body floating out in the water,” the 911 caller told dispatch, according to audio obtained by Raleigh-based NBC affiliate WRAL. “I just got here about 10 minutes ago, [I was] just looking around and seen it.”
“It looks like it’s been there a while, there’s no legs or arms on it or nothing on it,” the caller went on. “It’s in the middle of nowhere.”
The day after the body was found, a search warrant was executed at Shana and Clint’s property. Investigators seized items including a pistol.
Stefanie spoke after the body was found. “I have been praying for Clint to be found,” she said. “So, all I want is for Clint to be found, so that we can have some closure. So that we can have some answers. So that we can start finding justice for Clint. I believe that God has been working behind the scenes. That he can see all and that he will shine light in the darkness and bring truth to light, and I trust in his plan and his timing.”
On February 28, Shana filed a civil court case regarding Clint’s disappearance. She requested to be appointed as Guardian ad Litem and requested control of his property and finances including his home, a checking account, a Mercedes vehicle and a Chevrolet Colorado.
On March 28, 2025, exactly two months after Clint was reported missing, investigators confirmed that the remains belonged to him.
Shana was arrested that same day and was charged with first-degree murder and concealment of death. The concealment charge on the arrest warrant alleges Shana “failed to notify law enforcement of Clinton Bonnell’s death while knowing or having reason to know Clinton Bonnell’s death was not due to natural causes.”
Authorities have issued a statement about the investigation.
“During the month of February, multiple search warrants were obtained and executed for digital data, to include but not limited to: cell phone records, video footage, digital devices, etc.,” the release said. “The data collected was analyzed and used to develop a timeline of events not only surrounding Bonnell’s disappearance, but his whereabouts prior to his disappearance.”
“Our hearts go out to the Bonnell family, the Special Forces community, and the Methodist University Physician’s Assistant Program during this difficult time. We ask that the public be respectful of their privacy and mindful of the comments made on social media,” the Sheriff’s Office said. “Out of respect for Bonnell and the integrity of this ongoing investigation, no additional details will be released at this time.”
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