ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — It was a hug 24 years in the making: a woman who disappeared in Rockingham County, embracing the now-adult daughter she left behind. The sweet moment caught on video took place outside of the Rockingham County Courthouse on Thursday morning as Michele Hundley Smith, now 62, came to court regarding a failure to appear charge stemming from a DWI she was charged with immediately before she disappeared in December of 2001. It was an emotional, raw moment for both women. For the very first time in 24 years, Smith and her daughter Amanda are holding each other.
They walked into court together. While it wasn’t the ideal meeting spot, because they couldn’t really talk as much as they wanted to, they had a hard time stopping. In court, the bailiff even had to ask them to stop talking several times, eventually asking Amanda Smith to leave. It was hard to stop talking, she said, because they had two and a half decades to catch up on. When asked if she forgives her mother for leaving, she said: “Yes, yes, I do. We all go through things. I understand. Life happens and we all go through things.” Smith had someone pick her up at court, her daughter get into the car with her and they left in a hurry, but Amanda said she’s looking forward to building a relationship with her mother after all of these years.
Source: Michele Hundley Smith: Woman found alive after being missing for 24 years reunites with daughter
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
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