On Friday, March 28, 2025, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit arrested Shana Cloud for the murder of her husband, Clinton Bonnell, a Special Forces veteran and a student in the Physician Assistant Program at Methodist University.
The investigation began on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, when the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office received a request for a wellbeing check on Clinton Bonnell. An employee at Methodist University alerted authorities after Bonnell failed to attend class that morning. Deputies arrived at 3265 Butler Nursery Road in Fayetteville, where they encountered his wife, Shana Cloud. She claimed she had not seen him since the day before. His vehicle, school bag, and other belongings were still at the residence. Later that evening, a friend of Bonnell’s placed an additional call requesting another wellbeing check. With no sign of Bonnell, he was officially reported as a missing person, and the case was assigned to the Major Crimes Investigative Unit.
On Thursday, January 30, the investigation escalated, with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit taking over. The next day, authorities executed a search warrant at the Bonnell residence. On Saturday, February 1, detectives traveled to Virginia, where, with the assistance of the Virginia State Police, they executed search warrants on Cloud’s vehicle, rental property, and cell phone. Investigators collected crucial evidence that was transported back to Cumberland County for analysis.
Throughout February, law enforcement executed multiple search warrants to obtain digital data, including cell phone records and video footage, to piece together a timeline leading up to Bonnell’s disappearance. On Tuesday, February 25, 2025, a call came into the Sheriff’s Office reporting human remains in a body of water at 4231 Gainey Road. Due to the condition of the remains, immediate identification was not possible. DNA was collected and sent to the North Carolina State Crime Lab for profiling. That profile was then compared with the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System’s records for Bonnell.
On March 28, 2025, the DNA results confirmed the remains belonged to Clinton Bonnell. His next-of-kin was notified. Following the confirmation, homicide detectives obtained arrest warrants for Cloud, charging her with First-Degree Murder and Concealment of Death. She was taken into custody at her residence without incident and booked into the Cumberland County Detention Center with no bond. Her first court appearance is scheduled for Monday, March 31, 2025, at 2:30 p.m.
The case has sent shockwaves through the Special Forces community, the Methodist University Physician Assistant Program, and beyond. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office has urged the public to respect the privacy of Bonnell’s family and to be mindful when discussing the case online. Authorities have expressed gratitude for the assistance provided by various agencies, including the Virginia State Police, the North Carolina State Crime Lab, the Ft. Bragg Criminal Investigation Division (CID), and others.
Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Sergeant J. McLeod at (910) 677-5548 or CrimeStoppers at (910) 483-TIPS (8477). Anonymous tips can also be submitted online at Fay-NC Crimestoppers or through the “P3 Tips” app available for Apple and Android devices. As the investigation continues, many questions remain about the circumstances leading to Bonnell’s tragic death. The Salty Soldier will provide updates as more details emerge.
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