NC mom missing for 24 years arraigned in court Thursday after she turned up alive
A missing North Carolina woman who turned up alive after 24 years was arraigned Thursday on a driving while impaired charge dating to when she disappeared.
Michele Hundley Smith, 62, missed a court appearance after vanishing in December 2001, the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office said Feb. 26 on Facebook, a day after her arrest in Robeson County. She posted a $2,000 bond the day of her arrest, court records show.
“The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office, after consultation with the District Attorney’s Office and further investigation, identified an outstanding Order for Arrest for Michele Hundley Smith for failure to appear,” the sheriff’s office said in their February Facebook post.
Smith appeared in the Rockingham County courthouse on Thursday morning, where she asked District Judge Christine Strader for a court-appointed attorney. Strader appointed attorney Jason Ross to represent her and set the next court date for April 23.
In a brief, exclusive interview in the courthouse after the hearing, Smith told The Charlotte Observer — when asked why she disappeared for years — “It was personal.”
She added: “I had my own demons at the time and I was in my own head, and I had my reasons.
“People who’ve been in that situation will understand.”
Smith left the building and then left in a car, declining to answer questions from reporters waiting outside.
Her car ran off the road, officer said
“The Order for Arrest stemmed from a DWI charge issued by the Eden Police Department on a November 11, 2001,” sheriff’s officials said. “Michele Hundley Smith failed to appear in court on December 27, 2001, for this charge.”
Smith registered a blood/alcohol level of .28 when an officer stopped her on Mebane Bridge Road at 1:33 a.m. Nov. 11, 2001, according to an arrest warrant affidavit reviewed by The Charlotte Observer.
The officer said Smith “crossed center line, swerved and ran (off) right side of road, red glassy eyes, had odor of alcoholic bev.”
Smith was 38 when she vanished, according to Rockingham County District Court records.
Rockingham County is about a 105-mile drive northwest from downtown Raleigh.
“Whereabouts will remain undisclosed”
Smith gained international attention since the sheriff’s office said a tip revealed her new life since she disappeared from her home in Eden.
“On February 20 (detectives) made contact with Michelle Hundley Smith at an undisclosed location within North Carolina — alive and well,” the sheriff’s office said in a Feb. 20 news release.
“At her request, her current whereabouts will remain undisclosed. Her family has been notified that she has been located and informed of this request as well.”
Smith cited “ongoing domestic issues at the time” as the reason she vanished, Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page told PEOPLE magazine.
The New York Post tracked Smith to a rural home near South Carolina. She was abrupt, telling the Post: “My daughter is forgiving me. We are in contact, so leave me alone.”
After Smith disappeared, her husband told deputies that she left home to Christmas shop at a KMart in Martinsville, Virginia, and never returned.
Many North Carolina, Virginia and federal law enforcement agencies searched for Smith over the years, the sheriff’s office said.
Daughter discusses case
Amanda Hundley, one of Smith’s daughters, hugged her mother outside the courthouse on Thursday.
“It wasn’t that she didn’t want contact with us. It was never that, because she reached out to me,” Hundley told reporters.
“I’m not going to hold any grudge, because she’s my mom. Stuff’s always going to happen.”
This story was originally published March 26, 2026 at 10:45 AM.