Mom of three who vanished 24 years ago after going Christmas shopping found ‘alive and well,’ police say

Almost 25 years ago, a woman in North Carolina was Christmas shopping when she disappeared.

Now, after decades of quiet, Michelle Hundley Smith has been found “alive and well,” authorities have revealed.

The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office announced on February 20 that Smith, now 62, was found after their detectives received “new information” about the circumstances of her disappearance, the New York Post reports.

Investigators reportedly made contact with Smith at an undisclosed location in North Carolina after receiving the tip.

“I kind of want to go outside and scream, ‘She’s alive, she’s alive,’” Barbara Byrd, Smith’s cousin, told WFMYNews 2. “My biggest question is to her … what happened all those years ago in December? What made you leave? What happened?”

Smith, who was 38 at the time, was reported missing by her husband after she failed to return home from a Kmart shopping trip in Martinsville, Virginia, in December 2001. Numerous state and local agencies joined with the FBI to search for Smith, but she was never found.

During an interview with NBC News in 2020, Amanda Smith, Michelle’s daughter, recalled her mom kissing her and her siblings goodnight and then leaving the house around 8:30 p.m. on the night she disappeared.

When Smith vanished, she left behind Amanda, 14, an 8-year-old son, and a 19-year-old daughter who had already moved out of the house.

Amanda told the broadcaster that her mom was caring, present, and not overly strict while still being a good parent.

A missing person’s flyer from the time of her disappearance insisted that she was “endangered” and “would not leave her kids by choice.”

Her current whereabouts will not be disclosed, although her family have been notified about her situation, police said. No charges are expected, WFMY 2 reports.

Investigators did not share further detail about the nature of Smith’s disappearance or why she did not reach out to her family after more than two decades away.

On Sunday, one of Smith’s children — who runs a Facebook page dedicated to finding her mother — acknowledged the discovery and described the last few days as a “whirlwind of emotions.”

“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?” they wrote. “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,” they added.

Even though Smith’s child acknowledged that their mother “chose” a new life, they still shared fond memories of her.

“When my mom was a part of my daily life, she showed me a love and bond that will never ever be forgotten. 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!” they wrote.

They also pushed back against online sleuths who suspected her father of having some involvement in Smith’s disappearance.

“My father has been through so much and I want it made clear that while their marriage had issues (just as many marriages go through) that my mom did not leave simply [because] of a bad marriage,” Smith’s child wrote. “Everyone is entitled their opinions but please remember that my father has been proven innocent.”