A mother who was found “alive and well” after going missing 24 years ago has finally revealed her motivation for skipping town.
On Monday, BizPac Review reported on the shocking story of a North Carolina woman who was discovered alive after being considered missing and “endangered” for nearly a quarter of a century. Michele Lyn Hundley Smith disappeared in December 2001 while allegedly making a trip to Kmart for Christmas gifts, leaving behind her husband and three children. But what could prompt a wife and mother to abandon her own family without a trace?
According to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page, who spoke to People, Smith left due to “domestic issues.”
“Let me just say there were no allegations of any foul play regarding to her leaving. But according to Ms. Smith, she said she left… due to ongoing domestic issues at the time,” he said, adding that the mother “did not elaborate on that.”
Page noted that this office has no records of any reports related to domestic issues at the Smith house or involving Michele Lyn Hundley Smith prior to her disappearance. He commended the detectives who found Smith and brought closure to a family that has been hurting for over two decades.
“They went and found this young lady that [has] been missing for many years, 20-plus years. And we don’t see a lot of the missing person cases like that. But now at least the family has closure and they know she’s okay.”
One of the Smith children publicly reacted to their mother being found after so many years of uncertainty.
“I am ecstatic, I am pissed, I am heartbroken, I am all over the map!” they said. “Will I have a relationship once more with my mom? Honestly, I can’t answer that bc 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 huma,n just as we all are.”
“Everything I have been through in life, I can absolutely understand taking off and leaving… I am not saying that she gets off scott free without accountability or responsibility bc she absolutely needs to do that… What I am saying is that I am a runner as well and while this isn’t something to be proud of at all, it’s a part of being human. Each one of us humans have our faults, we each have a shadow part and we each deserve the chance to better ourselves and to heal from our past,” they wrote, expressing a lot of grace given the shocking situation. “I may completely forgive my mother at some point or it may be too much to forgive and I only try moving forward best I can, and I may choose to forget everything completely or I may never be able to forget… Well I mean nobody ever just forgets this kind of pain but I mean forget it enough to go on with life… My heart, soul and spirit says that I will forgive and I will never forget but I will be able to see it as a pain that no longer controls me. Right now, my head says that would be insane… But as I mentioned above, life is too short and we each are only human, we each make mistakes and have caused other souls pain in our time on this earth.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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