Amanda Smith opens up about whether she can “forgive” her mother, Michele Hundley Smith, who vanished 24 years ago and has been living a separate life since.
Amanda Smith’s mother, Michele Hundley Smith, was recently found alive more than two decades after disappearing. Police located Michele earlier this month after receiving new information in the decades-old missing persons case. She vanished on December 9, 2001, after leaving her home in Eden, North Carolina.
Her family reported her missing, prompting an intense search involving agencies across North Carolina and Virginia – an investigation that would continue for decades, and that involved the FBI. At the time, her loved ones said she “would not leave her kids by choice,” according to a missing persons poster. Her children were 19, 14, and seven years old then.
Was found “alive and well”
Now, more than two decades later, the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office announced that Michele had been found “alive and well.” At Michele’s request, her current location remains undisclosed.
“Sgt. A. Disher and Detective C. Worley made contact with Michele Hundley Smith at an undisclosed location within North Carolina, alive and well,” the sheriff’s office said. “At her request, her current whereabouts will remain undisclosed.”
Amanda Smith has spoken openly about her complex feelings toward her mother.
“I want to thank everyone for their support and at some point I will be changing this page for other missing ppl [sic], but as of right now there is too much going on to deal with everything,” Amanda wrote on her Facebook page, according to LADbible.
“I appreciate everyone’s love and support. The personal details are not going to be dived into right now, but I will say that my mother chose her new life and we know she is alive, and for now, that is enough.”
“I can’t really think straight right now to make a heartfelt post, but again, thank you all.”
Michele Hundley Smith’s disappearance
She also asked for privacy during this difficult time, noting the family is “hurting and going through a lot.”
“I am ecstatic, I am p*ssed, I am heartbroken, I am all over the map! Will I have a relationship once more with my mom? Honestly, I can’t answer that bc I don’t even know…”
“My initial reaction would be yes, absolutely, but then I think of all the hurt… But even then… My mom is only human, just as we all are.”
Amanda explains that learning her mother is alive has brought a whirlwind of emotions.
“Everything I have been through in life, I can absolutely understand taking off and leaving… I am not saying that she gets off scott free without accountability or responsibility bc she absolutely needs to do that…
“What I am saying is that I am a runner as well, and while this isn’t something to be proud of at all, it’s a part of being human.”
“Each one of us humans has our faults, we each have a shadow part, and we each deserve the chance to better ourselves and to heal from our past.”
“Nobody ever just forgets this kind of pain”
Amanda emphasized that every family member has the right to choose how they respond.
“I may completely forgive my mother at some point, or it may be too much to forgive, and I only try moving forward best I can,” she wrote. “And I may choose to forget everything completely, or I may never be able to forget…”
“Well, I mean nobody ever just forgets this kind of pain, but I mean forget it enough to go on with life… My heart, soul, and spirit say that I will forgive and I will never forget, but I will be able to see it as a pain that no longer controls me. Right now, my head says that would be insane… But as I mentioned, life is too short and we each are only human, we each make mistakes and have caused other souls pain in our time on this earth.”
