FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — This week marks two months since the disappearance of recently retired Green Beret Clinton “Clint” Bonnell in Cumberland County in North Carolina.
NewsNation affiliate WNCN obtained newly released search warrants revealing Fit 4 Life on Owen Drive in Fayetteville was the last place Bonnell’s wife saw him on Jan. 27. She told Cumberland County investigators they left in separate cars and he was going to Methodist University to study for a test.
Bonnell’s girlfriend, who works near the gym, told deputies he went to an attorney that day to discuss filing for a divorce. He then visited her workplace to discuss the conversation he had with the attorney before going to Methodist University to study. In court papers, she said Bonnell texted her that night after he returned home. According to her, he said he told his wife about the divorce and he was going to bed.
On Jan. 28, after he missed classes and could not be reached, both Methodist University and his girlfriend requested well-being checks on Bonnell.
Deputies went to Bonnell’s home on Jan. 29. They found his car, wallet and keys at his Butler Nursey Road home that he shares with his wife but did not find his cell phone.
Deputies said his wife declined to file a missing person report at that time. An incident report listing Bonnell as missing was completed by his girlfriend.
According to cell phone records, Bonnell’s phone showed continuous location at his residence until Jan. 28 at 8:15 a.m. The data for the mobile device stopped at that point and started again on Jan. 30. Court records suggested the unavailability of the mobile device’s location is likely due to the phone being powered down or loss of battery life.
On Jan. 31, Cumberland County investigators returned to Bonnell’s home and found his bookbag and laptop. Both had projectile damage, suggesting Bonnell might have been harmed.
Cumberland County investigators met with Virginia State Police on Feb. 1 to execute a search warrant on Bonnell’s wife and her pickup truck in Troy, Va. Deputies seized her cell phone. The search warrant affidavit said she admitted at this point she had a confrontation with Bonnell over a note from his girlfriend.
Several weeks later, a Cumberland County man discovered a body with no legs or arms in a pond behind his home, just three miles from Bonnell’s home. According to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, those remains have not been identified.
The next day, deputies searched Bonnell’s nearly 15 acres of property again and seized several items, including a pistol.
WNCN reached out to both Bonnell’s wife and girlfriend for comment and have not heard back. Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said there are no updates to this case as Bonnell is still missing.