Agencies on Wednesday were searching the Fayetteville property of 50-year-old Clinton “Clint” Bonnell, a Green Beret who was reported missing in January.
At noon, Sky 5 flew over the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office's search near Butler Nursery Road and Gainey Road. Law enforcement officers searched Bonnell's home and the surrounding wooded area for about five hours.
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Crews also searched a pond in the 4000 block of Gainey Road, located 5 miles away from Bonnell's home. The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said a body was found there a day earlier and sent to the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for identification. Officials would not says whether the body was Bonnell or even if it belonged to a man or woman. It may be several days until the remains are identified.
Bonnell was last seen on Jan. 27 in the Gray's Creek area, according to the sheriff's office. He was reported missing on Jan. 30.
Bonnell is described as a white man who stands 6 feet tall and weighs 195 pounds. He has short brown hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a plaid button-up shirt, a black hoodie and brown pants. He is known to work out at the gym Fit for Life on Owen Drive, according to the sheriff's office.
"What's going through my mind is I hope it's not Clint," said a neighbor who didn't give a name. I was thinking him being Green Beret how tragic it would be."
Family members said he vanished under suspicious circumstances. They are offering a $25,000 reward for information about his whereabouts.
Bonnell's sister told NBC News he was studying medicine at Methodist University to be a physician's assistant. She said he missed a couple of classes, and the school called the sheriff's office asking them to check on him.
The sister is cooperating with authorities.
Anyone with information is requested to contact Sergeant J. Mcleod at 910-677-5548 or CrimeStoppers at 910-483-TIPS (8477).