By REGINALD FIELDS and JANET SPENCER
Staff Writers

UNION, S.C. (11/3/94) -- Law enforcement Thursday afternoon searched the home of Susan V. Smith, the Union County woman who reported a carjacking and the abduction of her two sons.

Margaret Gregory, the Smith family spokeswoman, confirmed that the search took place and said Mrs. Smith agreed to the search several days ago. Gregory said Mrs. Smith viewed the search as a routine part of a complete investigation and not as an indication that she was a suspect. Gregory could not say what was taken from the Toney Road home.

The television news show Dateline showed footage Wednesday of an investigator dusting for fingerprints and coming out of a crawl space under the house. The show reported that investigators took paper bags full of stuff from the home.

Dateline also reported that Mrs. Smith was questioned all day Wednesday and that she submitted to another polygraph test. The State newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying the test was again inconclusive. Gregory would not comment on Smith being retested. Sheriff Howard Wells was not available for comment Wednesday night.

Last week Mrs. Smith submitted to a polygraph test. The results, according to unnamed sources in news reports, were inconclusive.

Also Wednesday, sheriff's officers set up a road block on Highway 49 near where the abduction reportedly took place and questioned motorists, apparently seeking a witness to the incident.

Wednesday started out as an exciting day when sheriff's officers thought they had received a solid phone tip in the early morning hours.

About 3 a.m. Wednesday, a Washington state law enforcement agency called the Sheriff's Office to report finding a child similar in age and appearance of 14-month-old Alexander Smith.

Alexander and his 3-year-old brother Michael Smith have been missing since Oct. 25 when their mother reported being carjacked while stopped at a red light on Highway 49 by Monarch Mill.

But before noon Sheriff Howard Wells had determined the child found in Seattle was not Alexander.

"Our hearts soared for awhile," said a dejected Wells during a morning news conference. "I was hoping that was the one that we had been waiting on so long, and that it was going to give us direction."

Well said the investigation will stay grounded in Union unless leads pull law enforcement attention elsewhere. He said investigators may go door to door in the neighborhood where Mrs. Smith says a man jumped in her car and later drove off with her children.

Mrs. Smith appeared at the news conference with her estranged husband, David Smith, to make a plea for the return of the boys.

"Whoever has my children ... please, please bring them to us," she said. "Michael and Alex your momma loves you so much. Your momma and daddy will be right here when you get home."

David Smith asked the public to continue looking for the boys. "Keep your eyes open," he said. "And continue to pray for me and my wife. But most of all, pray for Michael and Alex."

Mrs. Smith said the day her children disappeared, Michael told her he loved her.

"The night this happened, Michael did something he never did before," she said. "He said `I love you so much momma.' He told me he loved me before but not without me telling him first. And I am clinging to that."

The Smiths did not take questions from the media. It was their first appearance before the media since last week.

Gregory said the Smiths have not been answering questions from the media because they've been overwhelmed by the number of reporters gathered at news conferences.

Wells said the tip, which he announced early Wednesday during a live interview with a television news show, was so encouraging because of the similarities in the two cases.

He said the child in Seattle wore a jacket that was similar to the jacket Alexander wore the last time Mrs. Smith saw him. And a carseat the child in Seattle was riding in was also similar to the one Alexander rode in.

The man held in connection with the Seattle case carried South Carolina identification and drove a car with South Carolina license tags.

Wells said the man is white, while the suspect Mrs. Smith described for police is black. That led investigators to believe that possibly they were looking for more than one suspect until it was determined there was no connection.

Gregory, the Smith family spokesperson, said the initial news of a breakthrough in the investigation brightened hopes in the family home.

"There were a few more smiles this morning," Gregory said.

Investigators moved out of the Sheriff's Office Wednesday to a recreation center a few blocks away so they would have more space.

[Home] [Latest] [Nine Days in Union] [Photos] [Staff] [About]