23.02.2026 19:45
In 2001, Michele Hundley Smith, a mother of three, left home saying she was going Christmas shopping and was missing for 24 years. Authorities revealed that Smith is alive, and her family experienced both joy and shock with the news after years of uncertainty.
Michele Hundley Smith, a mother of three who went missing from her home in December 2001 in North Carolina, USA, has been found alive.
FOUND 24 YEARS LATER
Smith had told her children, aged 7, 14, and 19, that she was going Christmas shopping but never returned. Her disappearance had been the subject of extensive investigations at both local and federal levels. Comprehensive search efforts were conducted by both state police and the FBI, but no concrete results were achieved for many years.
After 24 years, the police in the Rockingham area where Smith's abandoned home is located announced that the woman is "alive and well." Authorities stated that the location where Smith was found would not be disclosed to the public at her request.
FAMILY IN SHOCK
According to a report in The New York Post, Smith's family remains in shock. The woman's cousin, Barbara Byrd, stated in an interview with a local news outlet that they are astonished. Byrd expressed that they do not know whether they mourned or waited with hope over the years, and she mentioned that the question "What happened in 2001?" still awaits an answer.
EMOTIONAL MESSAGE FROM HER DAUGHTER
Smith's daughter Amanda stated in a social media post that she is experiencing mixed emotions. Expressing that she feels both happiness and anger as well as resentment, Amanda said she is unsure whether she can rebuild a relationship with her mother. However, Amanda added, "Still, my mom is a person just like all of us."