A mum who disappeared just before Christmas in 2001 was found 24 years later with her children reeling from living their lives without their mother – and her explanation was strange.
A mum who vanished without a trace 24 years ago after going Christmas shopping was found alive more than two decades later – and had a chilling explanation for her disappearance.
Michele Hundley Smith left her three children, then aged seven, 14 and 19 alone and they did not see her again for over two decades. Michele’s disappearance from North Carolina, was investigated by police and the FBI.
Earlier this year, Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed she was “alive and well”.
Her shocked family were left wondering what happened back in 2001, as it’s been revealed she’s been leading a double life, with an eerie reason for leaving, according to the The Guardian.
Speaking to local broadcaster WFMYNews2, her cousin Barbara Byrd said: “I kind of want to go outside and scream ‘she’s alive, she’s alive’. For years, we didn’t know if we were grieving or waiting… My biggest question is to her ‘What happened all those years ago in December? What made you leave? What happened?”.
In an official statement, the Sheriff’s Office confirmed Smith had asked for her location to be kept private. Barbara added: “I understand and respect that she doesn’t want any of us to contact her. I’m not angry. The biggest answer I had today was she was alive. Nothing else matters right at this moment.”
Federal law enforcement agencies in North Carolina and Virginia had been searching for Michele and found her disappearance “troubling” but got nowhere with her case.
Then, on 19 February, the Rockingham sheriff’s office said it received a tip about Michele. Michele’s daughter, Amanda, took to Facebook, writing a lengthy post following her mother’s reappearance in February.
She said: “As far as my opinions and feelings on my mom…I am ecstatic, I am p*****, I am heartbroken, I am all over the map. Will I have a relationship once more with my mom?”.
“Honestly I can’t answer that because I don’t even know. My initial reaction would be yes absolutely but then I think of all the hurt…But even then, my mom is only human just as we all are.”
Amanda discussed the bond she had with her mother, saying it “will never be forgotten”. She went on: “There were mother daughter arguments of course, but right now all I can remember are the smiles we shared, the times together that were happy and the love I felt.”
She said that both her parents “deserve to have their choices and their feelings respected”.
Amanda said her mother’s disappearance had traumatised the family and haunted them for years, leaving them with a list unanswered questions swimming around their heads.
Investigators made contact with Michele in another community of North Carolina, and announced that they had found her healthy and safe. Rockingham’s sheriff, Sam Page, said Michele had told him unspecified “domestic issues” led her to flee and she did not want the details of her new life exposed.
A Facebook page created for her disappearance – “Bring Michele Hundley Smith Home” – confirmed that she had been driving a forest-green 1995 Pontiac Trans Sport van, which was never found.
The page said: “Michele would have never left her children by choice”. It continued: “We are desperate for answers and we are asking for community support and assistance in trying to find the truth on what happened to Michele and why she mysteriously vanished never to be seen again.
“There has been no real investigation into her disappearance to this day almost 20 years later. Lets try and end this nightmare for Michele’s loved ones and bring her home.”
However, come March, after Amanda and her siblings were reunited, Michele’s daughter had a different message for her mother and offered her forgiveness. As the pair hugged in front of a courthouse she said: “I know everything is not black and white – there’s a whole gray area. And so I mean, look – life’s too short for me to hold a grudge against her because she’s my mom.”
She said her and other family members had chosen to “make individual decisions about the relationship they want to have with” her mother. Amanda added: “We only get one life – and I want my mom in it.”
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