A woman who vanished more than two decades ago has been found alive and well, marking her first public sighting in 24 years after being arrested over an outstanding 2001 DUI charge.
Michele Hundley Smith was 38 when she left her home in Eden, North Carolina, on December 9, 2001, to go Christmas shopping in Martinsville, Virginia—and never returned. Last week, authorities located her in North Carolina at an address she requested remain private, even from her family.
Officials confirmed that Smith had been living under a different identity in another state. Her discovery reportedly followed a routine records check that flagged an unresolved DUI case from the year she disappeared. The outstanding warrant ultimately led to her arrest.
Photos taken after her arrest represent the first public glimpse of Smith since her sudden disappearance nearly 25 years ago.
In an emotional interview with the Daily Mail, Smith reflected on her absence. “I know that I made the news, but I honestly 100% never knew that I was loved or wanted,” she said. “When I left, the mental state I was in, I thought it was my only choice. I was just not in the mental state to stay. My children were not abandoned; they were left with their father to care for them.”
She shared that she has reconnected with her daughter Amanda, who initiated contact. “She’s the only one right now I’m in contact with,” Smith said. “It broke my heart when I learned how long my daughter and other loved ones had been searching for me. I honestly believed I didn’t matter. When I found out, it broke me. That’s why I’m trying to rebuild something with her, because what she did shows how much I really was loved.”
Smith admitted it has been difficult missing out on so much of her children’s lives. Regarding initial reports that she didn’t want her family to contact her, she explained, “It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be contacted. I just didn’t want anyone to know where I was until I had been able to talk with everyone. I’m worn down. I can’t talk about it right now. I’ve been talking about it for days.”
After failing to appear in court on December 27, 2001, Smith left her children—then aged 19, 14, and seven—without their mother. An arrest warrant was issued and remained active until officers located her.
Robeson County officers arrested Smith, now 62, on behalf of Rockingham County at an address in Saint Pauls, North Carolina, nearly three hours from her Stoneville home. She appeared before Robeson County Magistrate Macan Singh and was granted bond on the condition she attend a March 26 court hearing in Rockingham County.
The mother of three was released from Robeson County Jail Thursday morning on a $2,000 bond, according to court records obtained by the Daily Mail.
Law enforcement sources said Smith does not appear to have been the victim of foul play, and her disappearance now appears to have been voluntary. Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding her decision to leave her family in 2001.
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