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Michele Hundley Smith<\/strong> opened up to authorities about the reason that she disappeared from her family\u2019s lives and started a second life of her own nearly 25 years ago. <\/p>\n Hundley Smith<\/strong> was 38 when she left her home in Eden, N.C. on December 9, 2001. Her two youngest children and husband believed that she was going for a shopping trip across state lines in Virginia, according to a 2020 Dateline<\/a> interview with her daughter Amanda<\/strong>. <\/p>\n However, that was the last time that the mom of three was seen by her family and loved ones for more than 24 years. <\/p>\n On Saturday (February 20), the Rockingham County Sheriff\u2019s Office issued a news release on Facebook<\/a>, confirming that Hundley Smith<\/strong>, now in her 60s, had been found \u201calive and well.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n In a new interview, the local sheriff opened up about a conversation that the department had with the recovered woman, in which she alleged a reason for her disappearance. <\/p>\n Keep reading to find out more\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLet me just say there were no allegations of any foul play regarding to her leaving,\u201d Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page<\/strong> told PEOPLE<\/a>. \u201cBut according to Ms. Smith, she said she left\u2026 due to ongoing domestic issues at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n The sheriff stated that Hundley Smith \u201cdid not elaborate\u201d on her allegation and stated that there were no official police records about responding to previous domestic issues before she left the home. <\/p>\n In their news release, the sheriff\u2019s office stated that Hundley Smith<\/strong> wanted her location to \u201cremain undisclosed,\u201d seemingly even to her remaining family members. <\/p>\n However, she does still reside somewhere in North Carolina. Additional details about her second life have not been revealed to the general public at this time. <\/p>\n Speaking to PEOPLE, Page<\/strong> added that she \u201cwas in good health.\u201d <\/p>\n He commented on the conclusion to the decades-long missing person case, saying that \u201cthe family has closure and they know she\u2019s okay\u201d after years of uncertainty. <\/p>\n However, there are some questions that will still be answered. Page<\/strong> told PEOPLE that the case was sent to the local district attorney\u2019s office, which might decide to press charges against Hundley Smith<\/strong>. <\/p>\n \u201cOf course, the question was, she had three children when she left, they were with the dad,\u201d he explained. \u201cOur detectives have been in contact with the district attorney\u2019s office, if there are any consideration for any charges along the lines of abandonment or anything like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Katy Gregg<\/strong>, District Attorney for the Twenty-Second Prosecuting District, told the outlet that \u201cthe case is ongoing and no decisions have been made at this time.\u201d <\/p>\n During her interview with Dateline, Amanda<\/strong> said that her mother \u201chad left\u201d their home before after she and her father \u201chad an argument or something.\u201d <\/p>\n However, she stated that Hundley Smith<\/strong> \u201cwould just go to my grandma\u2019s house and come back the next day.\u201d <\/p>\n Speaking about her father, who has since remarried, she said, \u201cHe believes she just took off and left him, and us, that night.\u201d <\/p>\n