GONE GIRL

Mother of 3 Missing for 24 Years Found Alive

“For years, we didn’t know if we were grieving or waiting,” Smith’s cousin said.

Michele Hundley Smith disappeared without a trace in December 2001, and after searching for nearly 25 years, her family has found out she’s alive. Smith, then 38, disappeared while Christmas shopping for her family in Eden, North Carolina. When she went missing, Smith’s three children were 19, 14, and 7. According to the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office, she was found in North Carolina but does not wish to have her location shared. The case has sparked national attention as Smith’s family continued their search for decades. There were even episodes of true crime podcasts dedicated to Smith’s disappearance. Her family had no idea the circumstances surrounding her disappearance, or whether she was dead or alive. “For years, we didn’t know if we were grieving or waiting,” her cousin Barbara Byrd told WFMY News. Byrd is still left questioning: “My biggest question is to her… what happened all those years ago in December? What made you leave? What happened?” A Facebook page called “Bring Michele Hundley Smith Home” posted that it would be rededicating the page to other missing people.