Michele Hundley Smith, who went missing from Eden, North Carolina on December 9, 2001, has been found alive. The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office says detectives made contact with her in North Carolina on February 20, 2026 and that she was located alive and well; she was later reunited with her daughter outside the Rockingham County courthouse on March 26, 2026.

Reports say she was taken into custody by Robeson County deputies at the request of Rockingham County for a 2001 DWI charge and appeared in Rockingham County District Court in late March. Investigators said a new lead helped locate her, and family members have said Michele asked that her whereabouts during the missing years remain private.

I’m relieved to hear she’s alive after so many years, it must have been overwhelming for her daughter and the family to finally get this answer.

I wonder what compelled her to just dip out of her life? She has 3 kids and only one was an adult. I just can't imagine. How awful for her kids. My heart goes out to them.