NC Mom Missing for 24 Years Reunites with Daughter After Arrest on Old Warrant [WATCH]

A North Carolina woman who vanished more than two decades ago reunited with her daughter in an emotional meeting outside a courthouse after authorities located her living under the radar following a long-standing legal issue, as reported by The New York Post.

Michele Lyn Hundley Smith, now 62, was found by authorities in February after being missing since 2001. Her disappearance began shortly after she was charged with driving while impaired, a case that remained unresolved for years.

Officials said she was tracked down on Feb. 20 after receiving a tip about her location, where she had been living a separate life roughly three hours away from her family.

She Left For Christmas Shopping, Then Disappeared For 24 Years. Until Now https://t.co/FXPQE4P6EP pic.twitter.com/ou0bbiEDs0

— NDTV WORLD (@NDTVWORLD) February 25, 2026

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The long-awaited reunion took place Thursday morning outside the Rockingham County Courthouse in Wentworth, North Carolina. Smith embraced her daughter, Amanda, in a moment captured on camera after years of separation.

“Where is she?” Smith asked reporters shortly before seeing her daughter for the first time in person since her disappearance.

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Amanda attended the court appearance to support her mother as she addressed the decades-old DWI charge. The two had communicated in the weeks leading up to the hearing but had not seen each other face-to-face until that day.

*****UPDATE*****

NC WOMAN MISSING FOR MORE THAN 24 YEARS HAS NOW BEEN ARRESTED

A North Carolina woman who was missing for more than 24 years and was found alive has now been served with an order for arrest from an incident in 2001. Michele Lyn Hundley Smith was taken into… pic.twitter.com/3XkUZQ2OaE

— NC SBI (@SBI1937) February 26, 2026

“We’ve talked a few times and texted. Nothing too personal cause it was over the phone, but she knew I was coming today,” Amanda said prior to the reunion.

Smith’s disappearance dates back to late 2001, when she left her family without warning just before Christmas. At the time, her children were 19, 14, and 8 years old.

Authorities described the situation as unusual and concerning, prompting a multi-agency search effort.

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