Michele Hundley Smith disappeared and was not seen again for 24 years
Mother-of-three Michele Hundley Smith has been found living a double life 24 years after she went missing.
The North Carolina parent, then 38, vanished after leaving her home in December 2001 to go Christmas shopping.
The disappearance sparked a huge manhunt across North Carolina and Virginia in the US, with the FBI failing to track her down.
A missing person flyer handed out at the time said she ‘would not leave her kids by choice’ and called her ‘endangered’.
A missing poster for Michele Hundley Smith
However, 24 years later, officers received a tip-off that led them to Ms Smith.
Cops found the mum ‘alive and well’ in North Carolina on Friday, although her current location has not been revealed.
After years of distraught searching, Ms Smith’s family were told she had been located.
Her cousin, Barbara Byrd told WFMYNews 2: ‘I kind of want to go outside and scream, “She’s alive, she’s alive”
‘My biggest question is to her … what happened all those years ago in December? What made you leave? What happened?’
‘I never thought Michele was dead. I knew she was alive. It’s just a feeling that I had my whole life.’
One of Ms Smith’s children said on Facebook that the weekend had been ‘a whirlwind of emotions’.
She wrote: ‘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?
Michele Hundley Smith’s whereabout is not yet known
‘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.
‘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!’
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