A woman reported missing more than two decades ago has been found alive in North Carolina, but authorities say she does not want her location disclosed to her family or the public.
Michele Hundley Smith, who was 38 when she disappeared in 2001, was located last week and is “alive and well,” according to the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office, citing reporting by NBC News.
“At her request, her current whereabouts will remain undisclosed,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement Friday. Authorities also said her family has been notified she was found but informed of her wishes for privacy, NBC News reported.
Sheriff Sam Page said Smith did not explicitly forbid family members from contacting her, but officials were not aware of any communication between Smith and relatives after she was located. He added the family would need time to heal and offered prayers for them, according to NBC News.
Investigators said Smith indicated she left on her own due to “domestic issues,” though the sheriff’s office reported no documented complaints related to such issues prior to her disappearance, NBC News reported. Detectives are coordinating with the district attorney’s office while conducting a full review of the case.
Smith left her Rockingham County home after 8 p.m. Dec. 9, 2001, telling family members she was going Christmas shopping in nearby Virginia, authorities said. She was officially reported missing Dec. 31, 2001, according to NBC News.
She has two daughters and a son. Over the years, relatives continued advocating for renewed searches, including efforts to examine wooded areas between their home and the shopping destination in Virginia, NBC News reported.
Family members expressed mixed emotions after learning Smith was safe. In previous interviews, daughter Amanda Smith acknowledged the possibility her mother may have voluntarily started a new life, according to NBC News.
In a statement posted to a Facebook page dedicated to the case, Amanda Smith described a “whirlwind of emotions” and uncertainty about whether a relationship with her mother would be restored, NBC News reported.
Authorities said the investigation remains under review.
