She called 911 to report abuse then disappeared: 5 months later her family's still searching

A 30-year-old South Carolina woman hasn't been seen since early December, when she made the last of three calls to police alleging she was being abused by her ex-boyfriend. Now, as a nonprofit group spearheads the search for Jamilla "Millie" Smith, the missing woman's family is asking whether police did enough to intervene in the first place.

Smith went missing on Dec. 2 in Aiken County, South Carolina, after police say her ex-boyfriend, Daniel Gabriel Harmon, ran her down with a rented car. Harmon was arrested three days later on suspicion of charges including kidnapping and murder, but the search for Smith continues.

"The defendant was found to have hit Jamilla Smith with a vehicle and did not transport her to the hospital," an investigator wrote in an arrest affidavit for Harmon. "This is according to the 911 call from Jamilla."

The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office has records showing Smith, who once lived in the area, made three domestic violence calls regarding Harmon. But although Smith called police on July 2, Aug. 22 and Nov. 9, Harmon didn't face any charges related to domestic violence until Dec. 5, three days after Smith went missing.

Last week, Harmon's cousin, Bryan Alexander Hampton Jr., 35, was arrested and is being held on an accessory after the fact to murder charge, the sheriff’s office told USA TODAY.

Harmon’s lawyer, Charles Lyons III, said this is a “very serious pending criminal matter” and his clients are not advised to make any comments on pending criminal cases.

Lyons said he is preparing to look at evidence the solicitor’s office will present in court.

“On behalf of Mr. Harmon’s family, they express their remorse and their sorrow for the disappearance and the fact that Ms. Smith has not been located at this time,” he told USA TODAY on Wednesday.

Kimberly Kite is a former police officer and the founder of the Broken Link Foundation, a nonprofit that searches for missing people. She has been involved in the search for Smith, as well as Maylashia Hogg, a pregnant teenager who was found dead in February.

“Jamilla is a 30-year-old beautiful mom, with two children, and has a family that loves her more than anything … A young Black missing mother,” Kite told USA TODAY on Tuesday.

Kite said the sheriff’s office has done a good job investigating Smith's case but the goal is to find her. Smith has been missing for over four months and her body has yet to be found, Kite said. A search is planned for Friday.

“We are praying very hard for her family," she said. "We are praying very hard that the second suspect is going to reveal where she is. Jamila deserves to be brought home.”

Missing mother had relocated to Florida and was in South Carolina to buy a car

Tina McCraw is Smith’s mother and said the 30-year-old moved to Florida in July 2023 to stay with her family. 

In early December, Smith headed back to South Carolina to get a car after her previous one was stolen.

“She was headed that way and she called me on FaceTime from Daniel’s phone saying he had thrown her phone out of the car,” her mother said.

Smith's phone was somewhere on the interstate. Her family had access to her phone’s location due to previous incidents, so they guided her to her own phone. Smith planned to stay at her ex-boyfriend's house that night and texted her mom to thank her for helping her find her phone.

“That's the last time I spoke to her,” her mother said, adding that she tried to call her daughter Sunday morning and she didn’t answer. On Monday, she called again to no avail. When she checked her Smith’s location, it came up as her ex-boyfriend’s home. 

She found out Smith hadn’t picked up her oldest son, so she called police to ask for a wellness check.

“She would never not text her child back,” her mother said. “When I'm talking to the police officer, he says ‘I was out there … There was a 911 call.’”

She asked the officer to go back to Harmon’s home. There, the officer found Smith’s keys. That’s when her mother knew she needed to file a missing person’s report. She was eventually able to file one a few days later, court records show.

Court records also show that on Dec. 2, Smith called 911. She said her ex-boyfriend broke into her house and was chasing her down the street. The dispatcher recalled hearing the 30-year-old sound breathless before an engine revved and she screamed.

A male could be heard in the background telling her to get in the car so he can take her to the emergency room. Smith screamed more during the call 911 and told the male not to hurt her, court records show.

"You hit me," Smith said, telling the male to leave her alone. 

Smith’s mother recalls eventually getting a call from an investigator saying they’d found Harmon but not her daughter.

Missing mom's family is still finding out about ways she pleaded for help

Smith’s mother said the family is just now starting to uncover what their daughter was going through. When she moved to Florida in July 2023, she told her family Harmon was cheating on her and doing drugs.  

“It was more of a trauma bond,” her mother said about their relationship. “For two years, there had been several 911 calls from my daughter."

She said both of her grandsons, one of whom Smith shares with Harmon, now suffer from PTSD.

After her daughter’s disappearance in December, she also saw that Smith had emailed someone from the Aiken County Sheriff's Office on Nov. 11, just two days after calling police. Her email went unanswered.

The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office said the email that was sent to the deputy contained two photos that were related to a domestic violence case against Harmon. The photos were sent to the deputy to be used in his case against Harmon. Once Smith sent the email, the deputy obtained a warrant for domestic violence in the second degree, the sheriff's office said.

But even the night of her daughter’s disappearance, her mother feels police failed her.

"She was on her phone when he hit her with the car," McCraw said. "They should’ve been over there.”

The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office said Smith’s call on Dec. 2 came in at 8:41 p.m.

The call was dispatched via radio at 8:42 p.m. and by 8:50 p.m., two patrol units were in the area. 

“Call responses can vary depending on where the call is located versus where the responding deputy is located at the time of the call,” a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said to USA TODAY Thursday afternoon. “In this particular call, the dispatcher/call-taker dispatched the call within one minute.  The deputies arrived in the area within 8 mins.”

Smith's mother said she loved traveling and meeting new people. She wasn't the oldest child but acted like it, she said. She was opinionated and loved the beach, camping, singing, dancing and talking. 

She was "an amazing nurturer to not only her children but her niece, brothers and sister," her mother said. She was hilarious and often sent scriptures to family members, as well as memes to get a laugh out of loved ones. Smith was also writing a book for her sons Noah and Moses that her mom hopes to get published.

McCraw, Smith's mother, thinks the second man arrested, Hampton, knows more than he has revealed.

An arrest warrant for Hampton shows that authorities believe he knew about Smith's death and once he found out, helped his cousin "with the intent of assisting the felon to avoid consequences of his crime."

The warrant goes on to state that he is believed to have provided transportation, bought cell phones and helped dispose of Smith's remains.

“He has the answers to where my daughter’s body is,” Smith's mother said.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at@SaleenMartin or email her at[email protected].