ROCKINGHAM, NC — A North Carolina mom-of-three who vanished in 2001 has been pictured for the first time since she was found last week after being arrested for failing to appear in court.
Michele Hundley Smith, 62, was photographed after being taken into custody near the South Carolina border after investigators determined she had an active arrest warrant for failing to appear in court over a drink driving charge in November 2001 — a month before she vanished while Christmas shopping, WFMY reported.
Her mug shot shows her now haggard, and teary eyed. after 24 years on the run from her family and the law.
She was arrested at the request of Rockingham County authorities and later posted bond ahead of a scheduled appearance in the county’s district court on March 26.
It comes just days after Smith was tracked down to a North Carolina address on Friday. almost a quarter of a century after abandoning her husband and three children in Rockingham County.
She told her family she was heading out to go Christmas shopping at a Kmart in Martinsville, Virginia, but never came back and, despite a multi-agency search, appeared to have vanished without a trace.
Smith told authorities she ditched her family over 24 years ago because of “ongoing domestic issues at the time,” Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page said recently.
However, her daughter, Amanda Smith, previously said her mother had a drinking problem and had been fired from a veterinary practice for “drinking on the job.”
No prior domestic reports were found on file, and there was no evidence of foul play, authorities said.
Since her mother was found, Amanda still wants a family reunion, despite her conflicted emotions.
“I am ecstatic, I am pissed, I am heartbroken, I am all over the map!” wrote Amanda, now 38, on social media on Sunday.
