She Left For Christmas Shopping, Then Disappeared For 24 Years. Until Now

A North Carolina mom of three disappeared over 24 years ago when she supposedly left her home in Eden to do Christmas shopping at a Kmart in Virginia. After finally being tracked down by law enforcement officials, Michele Lyn Hundley Smith has revealed that she left due to “ongoing domestic issues”.

Smith, now 62, was found “alive and well” at an undisclosed location in North Carolina.

The Rockingham County Sheriff's Office said that Smith, first reported missing on December 31, 2001, was found after officials received new information about her. Her family has been notified of her current status and her request to keep her whereabouts undisclosed.

What Michele Lyn Hundley Smith Said About Her Disappearance

Smith's husband was the first person to report her missing back in 2001, as per People. She left her home to go Christmas shopping at a K-Mart in Martinsville, Virginia, on December 9 and never returned.

Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page told People that there were no allegations of anything criminal regarding Smith's disappearance. He explained, “But according to Ms. Smith, she said she left... due to ongoing domestic issues at the time.” However, the 62-year-old did not elaborate on what issues she faced before she vanished.

Page added that there was no record of any domestic incidents in the household.

Smith's disappearance in 2001 led to a search by multiple agencies across North Carolina and Virginia, including the FBI, The NY Post reported.

A missing-person flier distributed at that time said she “would not leave her kids by choice” and should be considered “endangered”.

What Smith's Daughter Said On The Matter

Once the news broke, one of Smith's shocked children posted a lengthy Facebook statement on Sunday. The post stated that the past few days were a “whirlwind of emotions”.

“As far as my opinions and feelings on my mom … I am ecstatic, I am p*ssed I am heartbroken, I am all over the map!” the unidentified daughter said in the statement on an account dedicated to finding Smith.

“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,” she wrote.

She also recalled the toll the case had taken over the family, especially the accusations against her father. She clarified that while her parents' marriage did have issues, her mother did not leave simply because of that.

In the statement, Smith's daughter said she was unsure if she would be able to forgive her mother at some point. “My heart, soul and spirit says that I will forgive and I will never forget but I will be able to see it as a pain that no longer controls me,” she explained.

What Happens Next?

After Smith was located on February 20, officials referred the case to the local district attorney's office to see if there was scope for “any charges along the lines of abandonment or anything like that.”

According to People, no charges have been filed so far. The District Attorney for the Twenty-Second Prosecuting District, Katy Gregg, told the outlet that the case is ongoing and no decisions have been made at this time.