A mother went missing in 2001. She was just found 'alive and well'

A North Carolina mother who went Christmas shopping 24 years ago and disappeared was found alive – but said she does not want to be contacted by family – area authorities confirmed.

The woman, Michele Hundley Smith, has been found “alive and well” in an undisclosed part of North Carolina, investigators with the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office confirmed in a news release on Feb. 20.

“At her request, her current whereabouts will remain undisclosed,” the sheriff’s office said. “Her family has been notified that she has been located and informed of this request as well.”

Hundley Smith was 38 years old when she left her Greensboro-area home on Dec. 9, 2001, to go Christmas shopping at a nearby K-Mart, according to the sheriff’s office. She was reported missing 22 days later.

Here’s how the investigation unfolded.