A woman who vanished for nearly a quarter of a century was apprehended on Wednesday due to an unresolved DUI charge from years ago.

Michele Hundley Smith, aged 38 at the time, left her Eden, North Carolina residence on December 9, 2001, heading to Martinsville, Virginia, for Christmas shopping. However, she never returned.

Last week, authorities located Smith in North Carolina, residing at an undisclosed location at her request, choosing to keep her whereabouts hidden even from her distressed family.

Smith revealed that she has reconnected with her middle daughter, Amanda, following her arrest at 62. After posting bail, she returned to her residence in Saint Pauls.

In an exclusive statement to the Daily Mail, Smith shared, “She has forgiven me, acknowledging my humanity, like anyone else.”

Amanda, 39, campaigned tirelessly to keep the spotlight on her mother’s missing person case over 24 long years, creating a Facebook page and giving several interviews. She described her mother as her ‘best friend’ before she disappeared on December 9 2001.

But in a heartbreaking admission, Smith tells the Daily Mail: ‘I know that I made the news, but I honestly 100% never knew that I was loved or wanted.

‘When I left, the mental state I was in, I thought it was my only choice.

Michele Hundley Smith is seen in a mugshot after she was arrested for DUI earlier this week. She abandoned her children to start a new life in 2001 and was recently rediscovered

Smith pictured before her disappearance. The discovery of the mom-of-three has shocked America 

‘I was just not in the mental state to stay. My children were not abandoned, they were left with their father to care for them.

‘My main thing is I want everybody to know, I’m in contact with my daughter Amanda. I’m starting with Amanda because she is the one reaching out to me and she  wants to start with her.

‘She’s the only one right now I’m in contact with.’

Smith failed to appear for her December 27, 2001 court date, having gone missing, leaving her children then aged 19, 14, and seven without their mom. 

An arrest warrant was then issued when she failed to appear, which has remained outstanding until officers finally caught up with her.

Robeson County officers arrested Smith, now 62, on behalf of Rockingham County at an address in Saint Pauls, North Carolina, almost three hours from the Stoneville home she vanished from.

She appeared before Robeson county Magistrate Macan Singh and was granted bond on the condition she appear at a March 26 court hearing in Rockingham County, police said.

The mother-of-three was released from Robeson County jail Thursday morning on a $2,000 bond, court records obtained by the Daily Mail show.

A photo of Smith taken shortly before her disappearance in 2001. She had been due to attend court on a DUI charge when she vanished

In her mugshot obtained by the Daily Mail, Smith looks worlds away from the last seen photos of her included on the missing posters circulated when she disappeared.

Her previous dark locks are now grey and were tied back.

Smith will face no charges over her disappearance, Katy Gregg, District Attorney for Caswell and Rockingham County, told the Daily Mail.

She said she met with detectives on Tuesday and based on their investigation, they have decided there will be no charges.

‘I support their decision,’ said Gregg.

After Smith was discovered alive last week, her cousin Barbara Byrd spoke of her utter shock. 

‘I kind of want to go outside and scream, “she’s alive, she’s alive”,’ Byrd told WFMYNews 2.

‘For years, we didn’t know if we were grieving or waiting… My biggest question is to her, “What happened all those years ago in December? What made you leave? What happened?”‘

‘I understand and respect that she doesn’t want any of us to contact her,’ Byrd told the outlet.

‘I’m not angry…The biggest answer I had today was she was alive. Nothing else matters right at this moment.’

On Facebook, Smith’s daughter Amanda wrote a lengthy statement responding to the news that her mother had been found.

‘As far as my opinions and feelings on my mom…I am ecstatic, I am p***ed, I am heartbroken, I am all over the map! Will I have a relationship once more with my mom? Honestly I can’t answer that because I don’t even know. My initial reaction would be yes absolutely but then I think of all the hurt…But even then, my mom is only human just as we all are,’ she wrote. 

‘When my mom was a part of my daily life, she showed me a love and bond that will never ever be forgotten. There were mother daughter arguments of course, but right now all I can remember are the smiles we shared, the times together that were happy and the love I felt!’

‘My dad has been in my daily life all of my life, and he shows me love and we have a life that will never be forgotten! There were father daughter arguments as well but all I remember are the smiles we have, the love I feel and the bond we share!

‘Both my dad and my mom deserve to have their choices and their feelings respected as well.’

A missing poster for Smith that sought information after her disappearance. Smith has yet to comment on why she fled or what she has been doing in the ensuing years 

Smith’s disappearance haunted her family for years, leaving them with many unanswered questions.

‘I don’t know what exactly happened. I’m not even sure til this very day if you are still here on Earth or if you have passed,’ her daughter wrote on Facebook in 2024.

‘All I do know is that you left a hole in people’s hearts! I cry and mourn for a relationship that will never again be, I cry and mourn for a relationship that was never had …and we will never know, will we?’

‘I love you and I miss you and that’s every single day. I’m angry because of the hurt but I’m mostly angry that my brother and sister had/have to feel hurt and pain. If I were to find you in life, if I was to find out that you did simply run away from everything… I am sure that I would still love you just the same,’ she said, adding that she believed she would still be angry for the pain her siblings also had to endure.

A Facebook page, Bring Michele Hundley Smith Home, said that Smith had been driving her forest green 1995 Pontiac Trans Sport van which was never found when she disappeared.

‘Michele would have never left her children by choice. We are desperate for answers and we are asking for community support and assistance in trying to find the truth on what happened to Michele and why she mysteriously vanished never to be seen again,’ the page said.

‘There has been no real investigation into her disappearance to this day almost 20 years later…Lets try and end this nightmare for Michele’s loved ones and bring her home.’

The page is set to be repurposed for other missing persons cases.