A North Carolina woman who vanished in 2001 has been found alive and well, but has requested that her location remain undisclosed to her family. Michele Hundley Smith, 38 at the time of her disappearance, was reported missing by her husband on New Year's Eve 2001 after she left for Christmas shopping in Martinsville, Virginia, and never returned.
The Rockingham County Sheriff's Office announced on Thursday that new information led them to Smith, who was located at an undisclosed location within North Carolina. Sheriff Sam Page told People magazine that Smith left her family due to alleged 'ongoing domestic issues,' though the sheriff's office had no prior records of such issues.
Amanda Smith, Michele's daughter who was 14 when her mother disappeared, expressed a mix of emotions on a Facebook page dedicated to finding her mother. She wrote that she was 'ecstatic ... pissed ... [and] heartbroken' by the news, and acknowledged her parents had marital issues but insisted her mother did not leave solely because of a bad marriage.
The sheriff's office has referred the case to local prosecutors to determine if any criminal charges, such as abandonment, should be filed. No action has been taken as of Tuesday. Amanda Smith also expressed relief that her father had been 'proven innocent' of any involvement in her mother's disappearance.
