Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Michele Hundley Smith, missing since 2001, was found alive in Rockingham County, North Carolina, recently.
- Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page credited technology and collaboration for solving this decades-old case.
- Smith faces no new charges except a 2001 DWI; court date set for March.
ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — It's a puzzle piece that was missing for two decades.
"You know what, on this particular case, that piece of the puzzle came through recently," said Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page.
Back in 2001, Michele Hundley Smith's husband told investigators she left home to travel to K-Mart in Virginia to go Christmas shopping but never returned. She was 38-year's old at the time.
Page attributes technology with helping to track her down almost a quarter century later.
"She applied for service that captured that information and alerted us," Page said. "And so again, information sharing, collaboration with local state and federal authorities, and information services working with our national database, we were able to get that information in a timely manner and act on it."
Over the span of time, extensive investigations were launched with the assistance of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI, and still Smith's whereabouts remained unknown.
"The case does not close until the person is located and we get closure," Page said. "It's not stopped, we continue to advertise, put information out, advertise for Crimestoppers, and let people know that we're trying to solve this case, we need help, we need that piece to the puzzle."
Page said Smith asked them originally not to be in contact with her family, and they honored that, but he said he understands how hard this must be for loved ones.
"It's got to be a lot, especially if you look at the kids their grown up now and what they've had to go through," Page said.
At this point, he said they are not finding any reason to add additional criminal charges outside of the DWI charges stemming from November 2001.
"The investigators and our chief investigator advised me that it didn't have substantial evidence for any criminal charges beyond that point," Page said.
He said after the finding of Smith, he has one request to the community.
"If you have someone who goes missing, time is critical, the quicker the better, and now we have more technology," Page said.
Smith was taken into custody on Wednesday at the request of Rockingham County authorities and will appear in court in March.
