Michele Lyn Hundley Smith, the mother of three found living a secret life 24 years after she vanished, had struggled with a secret drinking problem — and was so prone to skipping out on her family, they initially waited weeks to report her missing.
Smith, who was finally located last week, had been arrested for driving under the influence just a month before she disappeared from her home in Eden, North Carolina on Dec. 9, 2001, according to court records reviewed by the Daily Mail.
The then-38-year-old mom had also recently been fired from her job at a veterinary practice for “drinking on the job,” her daughter, Amanda Hundley, previously revealed on “The Vanished Podcast.”
It was not “unusual” for Smith to leave home for long periods of time, Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page said — explaining why she wasn’t reported missing until New Year’s Eve 2001, more than three weeks after she disappeared.
Smith was stuck in an unhappy marriage with her husband, Randy — and both were having affairs, according to their daughter, who said her mom tried to keep her drinking problem a secret.
“My dad didn’t like the fact that my mom hid her drinking. I knew about it, and I was the only one and I felt, you know, I was young and I felt obligated not to say anything to betray my mom,” Hundley said in the 2018 podcast.
Her husband “suspected her of drinking” — but only found out how bad it was after she left, their daughter said. .
“He said, ‘Do you know where she kept the bottles at?’ And I showed them we had a little red building outside and it was full of rum bottles, the empties, the ones that she had already drank,” said the daughter, who was just 14 at the time.
Hundley said her parents argued often and “got physical a few times,” while calling her dad “a good man.” The sheriff said there were no records of domestic abuse.
“If she wanted to leave my dad, that’s one thing, but to leave us, I just don’t see it happening,” Hundley said of her shock at her mom leaving them to start a new life.
The missing mom, now 62, was found “alive and well” at an undisclosed location in North Carolina on Feb. 20 after officers received a tip, authorities announced.
Her bewildered family was notified — but she “didn’t want to make contact” with them, the sheriff said.
Amanda, who now has two kids of her own, told the Daily Mail she is still “processing” the news about her long-lost mom.
“As far as my opinions and feelings on my mom…I am ecstatic, I am pissed, I am heartbroken, I am all over the map!” she wrote in a Facebook post, according to the outlet.
“Will I have a relationship once more with my mom? Honestly, I can’t answer that because I don’t even know,” she continued.
“My initial reaction would be yes absolutely but then I think of all the hurt…But even then, my mom is only human just as we all are.”
Smith’s other daughter, Melissa Martin, 44, wrote on Facebook it was “great to know she’s alive after 24 years,” adding that she hoped her mom would reach out.
In the nearly quarter-century since Smith up and left, her husband has found a new partner and her children — Melissa, Amanda and son Randal, 33 — have all married and have children of their own.
Smith’s mother, Margaret, died in November after spending years searching for her daughter.
It’s not clear exactly why Smith or what she has been up to all these years.
Smith’s brothers, Gary and Kevin, told the Daily Mail in a joint statement that “all is forgiven” and they are looking forward to possibly reconnecting with their sister.
“We want Michele to know that we are so glad she is alive, we love her, we are not mad at her, all is forgiven,” they told the outlet.
“We would love to be in contact with her, but we understand that she has decided she doesn’t want contact as of now, and we respect her wishes.”
Katy Gregg, the District Attorney for Caswell and Rockingham Counties, told the Mail Tuesday her office will not be filing charges against Smith.