According to reports, the woman was 38 years old when her husband reported her missing after she failed to return home from a shopping trip to a K-Mart in Martinsville, Virginia, at the end of 2001. She reportedly left him and their three children behind.
Court records from Rockingham County District Court reportedly show that the woman had been issued a citation for driving while impaired on November 11, 2001, along with a civil revocation of her driver’s license. Authorities reportedly issued an arrest warrant on December 27, 2001, after she failed to appear in court.
For years afterward, local, state, and federal authorities, including the FBI, searched for the woman.
Earlier this month, the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office received new information about her possible whereabouts. Detectives eventually made contact with her at an undisclosed location in North Carolina. According to reports, she asked the authorities not to reveal where she was living, and they later informed her family that she was alive and well.
The woman was taken into custody last week in Robeson County for failing to appear in court on the 2001 charge. She was given a $2,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court next month.
Family members later indicated publicly that the woman does not wish to reconnect with relatives. During an interview in 2020, one of her daughters said the family had considered the possibility that her mother could have voluntarily left and started a new life.
According to the Rockingham County sheriff, the district attorney has also requested a formal review of the case to determine whether any additional charges may be filed.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a criminal offense, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.