NC Mom ‘Missing’ for 25 Years Found ALIVE in Shocking Twist

A North Carolina mother who mysteriously disappeared during a Christmas shopping trip in 2001 has resurfaced nearly a quarter-century later — and the shocking twist involves an old DUI charge that never went away.

Michele Hundley Smith, now 62, was taken into custody last week near the South Carolina border after investigators discovered she had an active warrant for failing to appear in court back in November 2001. The charge stemmed from an alleged drunk driving case — just weeks before she vanished without a trace.

For 25 years, her husband and three children were left with questions. Now, they’re left with answers that are stirring up just as many emotions.

Smith was photographed following her arrest, marking the first public glimpse of her since she disappeared in December 2001. Authorities say she had been living quietly in North Carolina under the radar. After her arrest at the request of Rockingham County officials, she posted bond and is expected to appear in district court on March 26.

Back in 2001, Smith told her family she was heading to a Kmart in Martinsville, Virginia, to do some Christmas shopping. She never returned home. A multi-agency search followed, but there were no signs of foul play — and no clues as to where she had gone.

According to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page, Smith recently told investigators she left because of “ongoing domestic issues at the time.” Authorities say there were no prior domestic violence reports on file and no evidence suggesting a crime had been committed against her.

Her daughter, Amanda Smith, now 38, has spoken out publicly about the emotional whirlwind of learning her mother is alive.

“I am ecstatic, I am pissed, I am heartbroken, I am all over the map!” she wrote on social media.

Amanda previously alleged that her mother struggled with alcohol and had lost her job at a veterinary practice for drinking on the job before she disappeared.

The case, once considered a haunting missing persons mystery, has now become a story of disappearance, reinvention — and unresolved family pain.

After 25 years of silence, the woman who walked away before Christmas is finally facing court — and the family she left behind.