A woman who disappeared decades ago has been found living a double life more than 20 years later. Michele Hundley Smith left her three children in December 2001 when she went out Christmas shopping, never to return.

She vanished without a trace, leading to a missing persons investigation which was carried out by the police and the FBI. Smith's three children, who were seven, 14 and 19 at the time and her disappearance from North Carolina, USA. Now, Rockingham County Sheriff's Office has announced she is "alive and well." Her shocked family has been left wondering what happened back in 2001.

Speaking to local news station WFMYNews2, her cousin Barbara Byrd said: "I kind of want to go outside and scream 'she's alive, she's alive'.

"For years, we didn't know if we were grieving or waiting... My biggest question is to her 'What happened all those years ago in December? What made you leave? What happened?"

The Sheriff's Office said Smith had requested her location not be shared, in a statement released to the public.

Ms Byrd added: "I understand and respect that she doesn't want any of us to contact her. I'm not angry.

"The biggest answer I had today was she was alive. Nothing else matters right at this moment."

Smith's daughter, Amanda, took to Facebook, writing an extensive statement after the news broke that her mother had been found.

She wrote: "As far as my opinions and feelings on my mom...I am ecstatic, I am p***ed, 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 because 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."

She added: "There were mother daughter arguments of course, but right now all I can remember are the smiles we shared, the times together that were happy and the love I felt."

She said both her parents "deserve to have their choices and their feelings respected."

Amanda said Smith's disappearance haunted her family for decades and has left them with many unanswered questions.

The Facebook page dedicated to her disappearance - "Bring Michele Hundley Smith Home" - said she had been driving a forest-green 1995 Pontiac Trans Sport van. The vehicle was never found.

The page said: "Michele would have never left her children by choice".

It read: "We are desperate for answers and we are asking for community support and assistance in trying to find the truth on what happened to Michele and why she mysteriously vanished never to be seen again.

"There has been no real investigation into her disappearance to this day almost 20 years later. Lets try and end this nightmare for Michele's loved ones and bring her home."

Amanda said the bond she had with her mother "will never be forgotten".