ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A grieving South Carolina family with a connection to a suspect captured in Albuquerque stands in solidarity with the family of fallen New Mexico State Police Officer Justin Hare. 

“My mother’s death doesn’t make sense to me. So I can’t begin to imagine what types of feelings and emotions and rollercoasters you all are going through right now,” said Roxie Currie, daughter to Phonesia Machado-Fore. 

Police believe Jaremy Smith is connected to Machado-Fore’s death and that he killed Hare near Tucumcari days later. 

Right now, Smith is only facing charges for Hare’s death. Currie says she hopes he’ll be extradited back to South Carolina, where they have the death penalty.

“They reached out to me from the minute they were able to and kept me in the loop from a thousand miles away, and they didn’t really have to do that. I appreciate them so much for whatever they have done and whatever they are still doing to aid in my mom’s investigation,” said Currie. 

Currie now has ties to them and to Hare’s family. Connections she wishes didn’t have to happen. 

Currie’s mom Machado-Fore, a South Carolina paramedic, was found dead there last week. 

“She was extremely bubbly, extremely giving, she was a very loving caring person. She always wanted to help people,” Currie said. 

Machado-Fore was getting ready to move to Minnesota to be closer to her oldest daughter and grandkids. But those plans came crashing down after she disappeared Wednesday.

By Friday, police had found her car more than 1,500 miles away near Tucumcari.

“My heart dropped a little bit at that point, I was still holding on to the fact that my mom was okay. That wherever she was that even if she was hurt she was okay and that she would come back to us,” said Currie. 

Police say Smith stole the vehicle then drove it to New Mexico where he shot and killed Hare. Machado-Fore’s body was also found Friday. 

After a 48-hour manhunt, Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies captured Smith in Albuquerque.

Police have not charged Smith with Machado-Fore’s murder but say he’s a person of interest. 

“No one in my family knows who he is. My mom was such a loved figure in the community, always out around and about helping people, that there’s no telling if she actually knew him or if it was just someone who saw her in passing, or she came across in her job,” Currie said. 

Currie says now she wants answers. 

“Maybe he can answer some questions as to why he was in my mother’s car and if he knows anything about what happened to her,” she said. 

Not only for her and her family, but for Hare’s too. 

Currie also wants to remind people to always tell someone where they’re going. She says that would have helped point the family in the right direction when they started searching for her mom. 

The family also has a GoFundMe page to help with funeral and memorial expenses.