{"id":1289,"date":"2026-06-08T14:34:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T14:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1289"},"modified":"2026-06-08T14:34:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T14:34:56","slug":"dwi-charge-dismissed-against-nc-mom-who-vanished-24-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1289","title":{"rendered":"DWI charge dismissed against NC mom who vanished 24 years ago"},"content":{"rendered":"

The DWI charge against a North Carolina woman who turned up alive after vanishing for 24 years<\/a> was dismissed in court on Monday morning. The prosecutor cited the lack of an original police file and the retirement of the arresting officer.<\/p>\n

Read more Eleven \u2018violent gun crimes\u2019 in two North Carolina counties are related, ATF says<\/a><\/p>\n

Michele Hundley Smith, 62, disappeared in December 2001, the Rockingham County Sheriff\u2019s Office said Feb. 26, a day after her arrest in Robeson County. She posted a $2,000 bond the day of her arrest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Rockingham County Sheriff\u2019s Office, after consultation with the District Attorney\u2019s Office and further investigation, identified an outstanding Order for Arrest for Michele Hundley Smith for failure to appear,\u201d the sheriff\u2019s office said in the February Facebook post.<\/p>\n

Rockingham County District Attorney Katy Gregg said in court Monday that the case \u201chas some age\u201d on it. She said she asked the Eden police if they had the original file, and it was gone.<\/p>\n

District Judge Scott Skidmore agreed to dismiss the case.<\/p>\n

Smith then shook hands with her attorney, Jason Ross. She then left courtroom.<\/p>\n

The Charlotte Observer asked Smith for comment, and she said: \u201cI am extremely happy and I\u2019m going to see my daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a brief, exclusive interview<\/a> in the courthouse after a March hearing, Smith told The Charlotte Observer \u2014 when asked why she disappeared for years \u2014 \u201cIt was personal.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cI had my own demons at the time and I was in my own head, and I had my reasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who\u2019ve been in that situation will understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Order for Arrest stemmed from a DWI charge issued by the Eden Police Department on a November 11, 2001,\u201d sheriff\u2019s officials said. \u201cMichele Hundley Smith failed to appear in court on December 27, 2001, for this charge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith registered a blood\/alcohol level of .28 when an officer stopped her on Mebane Bridge Road at 1:33 a.m. Nov. 11, 2001, according to an arrest warrant affidavit reviewed by The Charlotte Observer.<\/p>\n

The officer said Smith \u201ccrossed center line, swerved and ran (off) right side of road, red glassy eyes, had odor of alcoholic bev.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith was 38 when she vanished, according to Rockingham County District Court records.<\/p>\n

Read more Kayaker\u2019s body found near where he vanished 3 weeks ago, NC sheriff says<\/a><\/p>\n

Rockingham County is about a 105-mile drive northwest from downtown Raleigh.<\/p>\n

Smith gained international attention since the sheriff\u2019s office said a tip revealed her new life since she disappeared from her home in Eden.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn February 20 (detectives) made contact with Michelle Hundley Smith at an undisclosed location within North Carolina \u2014 alive and well,\u201d the sheriff\u2019s office said in a Feb. 20 news release.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt her request, her current whereabouts will remain undisclosed. Her family has been notified that she has been located and informed of this request as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith cited \u201congoing domestic issues<\/a> at the time\u201d as the reason she vanished, Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page told PEOPLE magazine.<\/p>\n

The New York Post<\/a> tracked Smith to a rural home near South Carolina. She was abrupt, telling the Post: \u201cMy daughter is forgiving me. We are in contact, so leave me alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Smith disappeared, her husband told deputies that she left home to Christmas shop at a KMart in Martinsville, Virginia, and never returned.<\/p>\n

Many North Carolina, Virginia and federal law enforcement agencies searched for Smith over the years, the sheriff\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n

Amanda Hundley, one of Smith\u2019s daughters, hugged her mother outside the courthouse in March.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t that she didn\u2019t want contact with us. It was never that, because she reached out to me,\u201d Hundley told reporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to hold any grudge, because she\u2019s my mom. Stuff\u2019s always going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more 5-year-old left dying in road after hit-and-run, NC police say. \u2018Heartbreaking\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 10:19 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The DWI charge against Michele Hundley Smith was dismissed in Rockingham, NC, court after a prosecutor cited lack of a file, and a retired officer as reasons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nDWI charge dismissed against NC mom who vanished 24 years ago - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1289\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DWI charge dismissed against NC mom who vanished 24 years ago - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The DWI charge against Michele Hundley Smith was dismissed in Rockingham, NC, court after a prosecutor cited lack of a file, and a retired officer as reasons.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1289\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-08T14:34:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1289#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1289\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"headline\":\"DWI charge dismissed against NC mom who vanished 24 years ago\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-08T14:34:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1289\"},\"wordCount\":655,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1289#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/625c92f2991d1a17397607345980d320.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1289#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1289\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1289\",\"name\":\"DWI charge dismissed against NC mom who vanished 24 years ago - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1289#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1289#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/625c92f2991d1a17397607345980d320.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-08T14:34:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1289#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1289\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1289#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/625c92f2991d1a17397607345980d320.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/625c92f2991d1a17397607345980d320.jpg\",\"width\":1199,\"height\":674,\"caption\":\"Michele Smith leaves the Rockingham County Courthouse in Reidsville, NC on Thursday, April 23, 2026. 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