ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA — Michele Hundley Smith, missing since December 2001, was reunited with her daughter Amanda Smith outside the Rockingham County district courthouse on March 26, 2026. Smith was found alive and well in February 2026 in North Carolina following a tip, according to the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office.

Smith was reported missing in December 2001 in Rockingham County, North Carolina, when she was 38 years old, according to the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office. After being located, Smith was arrested on an outstanding order for failing to appear in court related to a 2001 charge, according to the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office.

During the reunion, Smith walked toward her daughter with open arms and held her in a long, tight embrace. Smith complimented her daughter's hair and kissed her. Amanda Smith accompanied her mother to her arraignment on March 26, 2026.

"Oh, I know everything is not black and white. There's a whole gray area. Life's too short for me to hold a grudge against her because she's my mom," Smith said.

Local authorities tracked down Michele Lyn Hundley Smith on a decades-old driving while intoxicated warrant. The outstanding order was in connection with a driving while intoxicated charge issued on November 11, 2001, by the Eden Police Department, according to the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office.

During the hearing, Smith requested a court-appointed attorney, according to the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office. Smith's next court date is set for April 23, 2026, according to the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office.

Smith requested that her location not be disclosed to her family members, according to the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office. After being found, Smith told authorities that she left on her own accord due to domestic issues, according to Rockingham County Sheriff's Capt. Jonathan Cheek.

Smith ran a Facebook page asking for information about her missing mother for over 20 years. "We only get one life, and I want my mom in it," Smith said.

Smith was last known to have left home on December 9, 2001, headed to a K-Mart in Martinsville, Virginia, for Christmas shopping, according to the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office. At the time of her disappearance in December 2001, Michele Lyn Hundley Smith's children were aged 19, 14, and 8. Michele Lyn Hundley Smith is 62 years old.