A North Carolina woman who left her family more than 24 years ago was reunited with her daughter during an emotional meeting outside the Rockingham County courthouse Thursday.
Michele Hundley Smith was found alive and well in February after being reported missing in 2001.
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Hundley Smith went on a shopping trip in December 2001 and never went home. She was 38 at the time and married with three children. Her family reported her missing.
The Rockingham County Sheriff's Office found Hundley Smith last month, and relayed to her family that she was alive and well, and that she asked them not to tell family members where she was or had been for all those years.
On Tuesday, daughter Amanda Smith met her at the courthouse where she had a hearing on a November 2001 DWI charge.
According to Rockingham County District Court records, Smith was issued a citation for driving while impaired and civil revocation of her driver's license. An arrest warrant was issued for her on Dec. 27, 2001.
WXII reported that after she appeared in court for the DWI charge, she and Smith met outside the courthouse and embraced.
"We only get one life, and I want my mom in it," Amanda Smith told WXII.
Amanda said she was the only one present to support her mom at this hearing, as the family agreed to make individual decisions about the type of relationship they wanted to have with Michele.
"Everything is not black and white," Amanda said. "Life is too short for me to hold a grudge against her. I mean, she is my mom."
In a Facebook response to her mother's reappearance, Amanda had written, "I am ecstatic, I am pissed, I am heartbroken."
WXII reported that Michele was issued a court-appointed attorney to defend her on the DWI charge. She is scheduled to appear in court again on April 23.
