WOMAN MISSING SINCE 2001 IS FOUND, DOESN’T WANT TO COME HOME – Feb 24

A North Carolina mother of three who went missing 24 years ago while going Christmas shopping has been found “alive and well.” Michele Hundley Smith was first reported missing Dec. 31, 2001. Smith was 38 years old at the time of her disappearance. She had left her home on Dec. 9 to go Christmas shopping at a Kmart about 17 miles from her home and never returned. Her husband was the first person to report her missing back in 2001. She was found after detectives received new information about her disappearance. Authorities made contact with Smith at an undisclosed location in North Carolina. At her request, her current whereabouts will remain undisclosed. Officials said Smith’s family was notified that she had been located and were informed about her request to keep her whereabouts undisclosed.
* After three kids and a husband, I’m sure she said, “Can I just have 24 years to myself for once???!!!”
* Maybe she bought a winning lottery ticket and decided this was her chance.
* Plus, divorce is so complicated! And all that paperwork!
* I know the checkout lines at Kmart were slow, but 24 years?
* And now Kmart is gone and she’s still here. Ironic, somehow.
* “Kids – our worst fears are realized. She DID leave because of us.”