Maliciously Missing | Michele Hundley Smith & Royal 'Scoop' Daniel III

Maliciously Missing | Michele Hundley Smith & Royal 'Scoop' Daniel III

Author: True Crime Society March 5, 2026 Duration: 56:18

Skip straight to the case: (11:37)

Welcome back to another episode of the True Crime Society Podcast.

In this episode, we discuss two separate cases where missing people have been found ALIVE years after their disappearance, in crazy circumstances.

  • In December 2001, North Carolina woman Michele Hundley Smith told her three children that she was going Christmas shopping.  She never returned.  Over the next two decades, Michele’s husband faced scrutiny and many wondered if he may have been involved in her disappearance.  In February 2026, Michele was found to be alive and living in a trailer park, two hours from the home of her family.  She asked that her location not be disclosed to them.
  • Colorado attorney Royal ‘Scoop’ Daniel III went to the office of his law practice one morning in April 2007.  When other staff arrived, Scoop’s dog was left in the office alone and there was no sign of his owner.  An investigation into Scoop’s disappearance revealed that he was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.  Scoop was found alive in 2011 when he attempted to cross from Mexico back into the US, using his own passport.  He was arrested and sentenced to 12 years in prison.


Read our blog for these cases - https://truecrimesocietyblog.com/2026/03/01/missing-people-found-alive-michele-hundley-smith-and-royal-scoop-daniel-iii/

Be sure to join us on Patreon for weekly exclusive episodes and all episodes are ad-free - Patreon.com/truecrimesociety

Join us on Instagram for the latest crime news - Instagram.com/truecrimesociety

This episode is sponsored by:

  • IQBAR is offering our special podcast listeners twenty percent off all IQBAR products—including the Ultimate sampler pack—plus FREE shipping. To get your twenty percent off, text CRIME to sixty-four thousand. Message and data rates may apply. See terms for details.


There's a particular chill that runs down your spine when a story feels too close to home, when the details of a case ripple out and touch the ordinary world we all inhabit. True Crime Society, hosted by the team at True Crime Society, digs into that exact space where shocking crimes intersect with our everyday social and cultural fabric. This isn't just a chronological retelling of grim events; it's an exploration of the communities left in the wake of tragedy, the societal conditions that allow certain stories to unfold, and the cultural obsessions that turn real-life pain into public narrative. Each episode carefully examines how a crime influenced, or was influenced by, the world around it-from media frenzies and legal shifts to neighborhood gossip and lasting urban legends. You'll hear deep dives into cases that changed laws, defined decades, or exposed hidden fractures in our systems, all discussed with a focus on context and consequence rather than sheer sensation. Tune into this podcast for a thoughtful, layered perspective that asks not only "what happened," but "why did it happen here, to these people, and what does that tell us about ourselves?" It's for anyone who feels true crime is more than a guilty pleasure-it's a lens on society itself.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

True Crime Society
Podcast Episodes
The 'Wife Swap' Murders | The Stockdale Family [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:59
Timestamps:(7:58) - Stockdale Family In 2008, the Stockdale family from Ohio appeared on the reality TV show ‘Wife Swap.’ Kathy and Timothy Stockdale were raising their four sons in a very strict, conservative manner. Th…
Vanished Without a Trace | Siblings Lilly & Jack Sullivan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:32
In this episode of the True Crime Society Podcast, we discuss the disappearance of siblings Lilly and Jack Sullivan. Did the children wander off into the woods or have they been involved in foul play?