New Mexico
Daughter of South Carolina paramedic shares gratitude for New Mexico law enforcement
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.
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.
Native Vote 2026
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Laguna Pueblo woman is the front runner to be New Mexico’s next governor.
Shortly after polls closed Tuesday night, Deb Haaland was declared the winner over Bernalillo County district attorney Sam Bregman in the state’s semi-open Democratic Party primary. As of 11:00 p.m., Haaland carried support from 72% of the Democratic primary voters to Bregman’s 28%, according to unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State.
“We’re showing everyone that a better future in New Mexico is possible,” she told supporters gathered in Albuquerque’s historic Old Town Plaza. “New Mexicans want a leader who will stand up for working people, and who is ready to take on Donald Trump. I proudly accept your nomination as a Democratic nominee.”
Haaland spoke for 13 minutes, at times through a scratchy throat that required her to pause for water breaks. “Excuse me, I’ve been talking with voters all day,” she said while grabbing a water bottle before hitting her campaign stump notes on affordability, health care and public safety.
She will face Republican Gregg Hull, a former mayor from suburban Rio Rancho that won his party’s three-way primary with 47% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State.
Haaland will be the Democratic Party nominee in a state dominated at every level by Democrats, and is expected to be heavily favored in the general election. With that insight she said her campaign message does translate to Republicans and Independent voters.
“We want our kids to thrive. We want our kids to have a quality, public education. We want every New Mexican to have health care. Everybody wants to feel safe in their neighborhoods, and everybody wants to be able to afford to put a hot meal on their table every night and have a roof over their children’s heads,” she said. “Those issues transcend whatever political spectrum we’re trying to slice and dice people into.”
Shortly after the race was called, Haaland campaign staff, major donors, surrogates, and their families walked from a building on the west side of Albuquerque’s Old Town Plaza to the historic plaza core, where the Haaland campaign had set up a stage and reserved the entire plaza for its victory celebration.
“We are now witnessing history in the making,” New Mexico state Rep. Derrick Lente (Sandia Pueblo) said to supporters immediately after Haaland was declared the winner.
Denise Wilie (Dine) also joined the celebration of Haaland’s victory. Wilie said she worked on get-out-the-vote efforts with the Native American Voters Alliance in McKinley County.
“It just is so exhilarating to even think about, a woman and a Pueblo woman,” she said. “Indigenous all the way, is how I feel. I’m like, yes, let’s get more of our voices.”
Haaland was introduced by her two sisters and walked to the stage escorted by a mariachi band.
Speaking to reporters after the event Haaland reflected on voting for a Pueblo woman (herself) for governor.
“I got emotional, quite frankly, when I went to vote for myself because you do that when you’re a candidate,” she said. “We’ve never had a Native American governor in New Mexico. We’re a multicultural state. I think representation matters, especially in a political era such as this one. So, I’m really proud and honored to carry on the legacy of my ancestors, who worked so incredibly hard to make sure that I had a place here today.”
Related
When a famly unexpectedly loses a loved one, or has someone go missing, the details of what comes next can be overwhelming.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – When a famly unexpectedly loses a loved one, or has someone go missing, the details of what comes next can be overwhelming.
But they don’t have to do it alone thanks to an organization helping New Mexico families with some of those burdens.
Watch the video above for more.
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