Michelle Hundely Smith found alive after being missing for nearly 24 years. Rockingham County detectives confirm the 2001 disappearance case is now resolved.
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, NC — After nearly 24 years of questions, rumors, and dead-end leads, a woman reported missing on New Year’s Eve 2001 has officially been located — alive and well.
The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Michelle Hundely Smith, who vanished in December 2001, has been found safe inside North Carolina.
The Day She Disappeared
According to investigators, Michelle Hundely Smith was reported missing on December 31, 2001, after allegedly leaving her home at 4794 Price Road in Eden, North Carolina, to go Christmas shopping at a K-Mart in Martinsville, Virginia.
She was 38 years old at the time.
Her husband told authorities she left on December 9, 2001 — and never came back. What followed was an extensive, multi-agency investigation as detectives chased leads across state lines.
For more than two decades, Smith’s whereabouts remained a mystery.
Fast forward to February 19, 2026. The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division received new information related to Michelle’s disappearance and detectives moved quickly.
On February 20, 2026, Sgt. A. Disher and Detective C. Worley made direct contact with Michelle Hundely Smith at an undisclosed location in North Carolina.
She was located alive and well.
Authorities say she has requested that her current location remain private.
Her family has been notified.
So… Where Has She Been?
That’s the question everybody is asking. Law enforcement has not released details about where she has been for the past 24 years, whether she left voluntarily, or what circumstances led to her disappearance.Â
What they are saying at this moment is that the case is now considered resolved.
We’ll keep you updated!
1 thought on “Missing For 24 Years– Found Alive: The Michelle Hundely Smith Mystery Finally Solved”
Well I understand if she felt her life was in danger, I feel like she owes her loved ones who I’m sure worried about her all these years. And not to sound mean but what about all the money spent looking for her? Taxpayers paid the salaries of those in law enforcement who worked this case. And not just the money, these officers could’ve been assisting someone else instead of working on a case of a missing person who’s only missing from her old life.
People worried about this lady for 24 years just to find out she living a new life.
I hope theres a followup or at least a somewhat decent explanation given.