Michele Hundley Smith mysteriously disappeared in 2001, leaving behind her husband and three children. The mother of three was finally found 24 years later, and... in the same region: she had simply started a new life, according to the New York Post and TF1.

Amanda Smith is “overjoyed,” but also “furious” and “devastated.” Her mother, who disappeared without explanation in the winter of 2001, was finally found safe and sound on February 20 in North Carolina, at the age of 62, the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office announced. She was found in the same southeastern state where she had mysteriously vanished on December 9, 2001, after leaving her home in Stoneville alone “to go Christmas shopping” in Martinsville, Virginia, about a 30-minute drive away. She was 38 years old, married, and had three children, aged 19, 14, and 7. She will never return.

Local police, in collaboration with federal judicial authorities, have finally concluded their lengthy investigation and located Michelle Hundley Smith on February 19th at a secret location in North Carolina. Her whereabouts were not disclosed to the public or even to her family, as her disappearance was voluntary and she did not wish to re-establish contact. Within her family, there is relief, but also consternation and sadness. While her ex-husband may finally be exonerated after 24 years of suspicion, her children are heartbroken and deeply affected by this sense of abandonment, a whirlwind of emotions: "I'm ecstatic, I'm angry, I'm heartbroken, I'm completely lost," Amanda, the youngest daughter, shared on Facebook.

The reasons for her departure are unknown, or were not disclosed at her request by the judicial authorities. It is unclear whether she has remarried or had other children. Her daughter, Amanda, doesn't know if she will ever see her again but hasn't completely ruled it out, although she is still too shaken by this unexpected turn of events to offer a definitive opinion on this unusual family situation.