For nearly a quarter of a century, Michele Hundley Smith was a mystery.

The North Carolina woman vanished in December 2001 after telling her family she was heading to a K-Mart in Martinsville, Virginia — just 18 miles from her home in Eden. She never came back. Her husband reported her missing weeks later, on December 31, and for 24 years, her disappearance remained unsolved.

Then, in a stunning twist, authorities announced on February 20 that Smith, now 62, had been located alive and well at an undisclosed location in North Carolina.

But the story didn’t end there.

Just five days after confirming she was safe, law enforcement officers arrested her — not for disappearing, but for a decades-old failure to appear in court.

According to the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office, Smith had been charged with driving while impaired in November 2001, just weeks before she vanished. She was scheduled to appear in court on December 27 of that year — but never showed up.

While misdemeanor charges like DWI can eventually fall under statutes of limitation, failure to appear warrants do not expire. That meant even after 24 years, the warrant was still active.

Working with the District Attorney’s Office, investigators revived the old warrant and had Smith arrested in Robeson County. She posted a $2,000 bond shortly afterward and is scheduled to appear in court on March 26.

Authorities have released few details about where Smith has been for the past two decades — or why she left in the first place. At her request, her current location has not been disclosed. Officials said her family has been informed and made aware of her wish for privacy.

For her loved ones, the emotional aftermath is far more complicated than the legal one.

In a heartfelt Facebook post on a page dedicated to finding her mother, Smith’s daughter Amanda shared a mix of joy, anger and heartbreak.

“I am ecstatic, I am pissed, I am heartbroken, I am all over the map,” she wrote. She admitted she doesn’t yet know whether they will rebuild a relationship, acknowledging both the pain of the past and the reality that “my mom is only human just as we all are.”

Authorities have not explained why Smith’s husband waited three weeks to report her missing back in 2001. They also have not indicated that Smith committed any crime by leaving voluntarily.

For now, what began as a decades-long missing persons case has transformed into a legal proceeding over an unresolved court date from 2001 — and a deeply personal reckoning for a family grappling with unanswered questions.

As the March court appearance approaches, one thing is certain: this is a story that few saw coming, even after 24 years.