North Carolina woman who vanished 24 years ago tearfully reunites with daughter outside court

A North Carolina woman who vanished more than two decades ago, and was found alive earlier this year, tearfully reunited with her daughter on Thursday.

Michele Hundley Smith appeared before a Rockingham, North Carolina County judge on Thursday related to a DWI charge in November 2001.

Following her initial appearance, Smith was seen quickening her pace to tearfully embrace her daughter, Amanda Hundley, outside of court.

The pair had not been together since the now gray-haired 63-year-old vanished from her husband and three children 24 years ago.

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"Amanda?" Hundley Smith could be heard saying. "Your hair wasn’t this length. We walked right by you. I didn’t recognize you."

Hundley Smith was located on Feb. 20 in an undisclosed location within North Carolina after detectives received new information about her case, the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office previously confirmed to Fox News Digital.

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Sheriff Sam Page said Smith told investigators she left her family of her own accord and cited "ongoing domestic issues" as the reason for her disappearance. Page did not elaborate on those issues, and investigators have said there is no evidence of foul play.

Smith was 38 when she disappeared after leaving her three children at an Eden, North Carolina, home on Dec. 9, 2001, to go Christmas shopping at a K-Mart in Martinsville, Virginia. Her vehicle was never found, and she did not return home. Her husband reported her missing later that month.

Over the ensuing decades, local, state and federal agencies participated in efforts to locate her. Despite periodic appeals and flyers distributed in the region, her whereabouts remained unknown for 24 years.

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The New York Post reported it had located Smith in a trailer in a rural community near the South Carolina state line. Smith told the outlet she is trying to make amends with her daughter and the family she walked out on decades ago.

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"My daughter is forgiving me. We are in contact, so leave me alone," she told the outlet.

Smith's neighbors said she had "been here for years and years" and mostly keeps to herself.

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Smith appeared in court Thursday to answer to a DWI charge from November 2001.

On Nov. 11, 2001, the Eden Police Department issued a DWI charge. Smith failed to appear in court Dec. 27, 2001, for that charge, the statement said.

On Feb. 25, 2026, Smith was taken into custody by the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office at the request of Rockingham County authorities. She later posted a $2,000 bond. Her next hearing is April 23. 

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