After 24 Years Missing, Michele Hundley Smith Located and Booked on 2001 Warrant

Overview

• Smith was detained on Feb. 25 in Robeson County, N.C., appeared before Magistrate Macan Singh, and was released on $2,000 bond.
• The arrest stems from an outstanding failure-to-appear linked to a November 2001 DUI charge, and the underlying case remains open.
• Local authorities say they will not pursue abandonment or other charges related to her yearslong absence.
• Investigators found her living under another identity in a trailer in Saint Pauls, near the North Carolina–South Carolina line, and she requested that her location remain private.
• She told officials she left because of ongoing domestic problems and says she was unaware of the family’s searches; contact with her daughter Amanda has resumed with reported forgiveness.