All language subtitles for How.It.Really.Happened.S04E05_English

-Look. It's Mama, Michael.
-Look.

Hey!

Whoever has my children...

Alex!

...please -- I mean,
please

We will do anything --
anything

to get them back to us.

That's just where they belong,
with their mama and daddy.

♪♪

♪♪

Welcome to
"How It Really Happened."

I'm Hill Harper.

In late October 1994,

a frantic woman appeared
at the door of a family

in a small town
in South Carolina.

Her story was horrifying.

She had been carjacked,
and her two young boys taken.

When the news of the kidnapping
broke,

the entire country
became gripped by the search

to find Susan Smith's sons,
Michael and Alex.

The mystery about
what happened that night

turned into one of the biggest
stories of the decade.

When the truth
was finally revealed,

it sent shock waves
around the world --

an ending
that no one saw coming.

This is
"How It Really Happened."

There's not one minute
that goes by

that I don't think
about these boys.

And I have prayed
that whoever has them,

that the Lord will let them
realize that they are missed

and loved more than
any children in this world.

We've just got to
get them home.

Reporter:
Union County 911 operators
received a frantic call

reporting the kidnapping
of two small boys.

Jordan:
The 911 phone call described

this young wife and mother,
Susan Smith,

and she says
that she's been carjacked

and that her two children,

a 3-year-old named Michael
and a 14-month-old named Alex,

were strapped in their car seats
in the back of the car.

So it's not just a carjacking.
This is a kidnapping.

They were crying
for their mama.

You know, it felt
really terrible to know

that I couldn't get back there
and get them, you know?

Eftimiades: Susan had run
to the nearest neighbor's house

and showed up at the door
completely hysterical,

and they were the ones
who called 911.

[ Siren wailing ]

There was total pandemonium.

I mean, she was saying her
children had just been abducted,

and they were on the phone
with the sheriff's department.

They were calling
family members.

David: I just received
a phone call at work

that Michael and Alex
were missing.

Susan was hysterical,
and I couldn't understand her.

And I just wanted to get
to where she was at

and find out what was going on.

I would probably say
that drive is

a, typically,
25- to 30-minute drive.

You know, it didn't take me
probably even half that

to get to where she was at.

When I walked in,
Susan was sitting on the couch.

She immediately stood up
and started, like,

to collapse in my arms.

She was very distraught.
She was very upset.

Well, I was concerned about her,
and, of course, I was concerned

about where Michael
and Alex were.

I just remember that I was told

that she was sitting
at a red light.

Reporter:
23-year-Old Susan Smith was
driving to a friend's house

about 9:00 last night when she
stopped at this intersection

and, suddenly, a man
appeared in her car.

In the back seat,
Smith's two boys,

3-year-old Michael
and 14-month-Old Alexander.

The media finds out about it.
A reporter named Cynthia Barnes,

who worked for a Spartanburg
news outlet called WSPA

did an interview
with Susan and David.

It was at this traffic light
at Monarch Mills

that Susan says the man
jumped in her car.

Susan:
I was stopped at a red light,
and just out of nowhere,

this black guy came up,
and he just opened the door

and jumped in the car.

And he had a gun,
and he had it pointed in my side

and told me to drive,
and so I did.

And when I tried to ask him why
he was doing this or whatever,

he just told me to shut up
or he'd kill me.

So I just kept driving,
driving.

And my babies were in the
back seat, and they were crying.

Michael's 3,
and he's very smart.

He knew something was wrong.

He directed Susan to go
down the road

that leads out
to John D. Long Lake,

and that's when
he made her get out of the car.

And he told me,
"Get out."

And I said, "Well,
can I get my children?"

And he said no.
He said...

[ Sniffles ] He said,
"I don't have time for that."

And they were just
crying and...

And then he continued
down the road

with, you know, Michael
and Alex still in the car.

When he let me go,
he took off,

I just dropped to the ground
and just cried and screamed

and, you know, hollering
for somebody to please help me.

And then I just got up
and started running,

just screaming,
you know,

"Somebody, help me,
help me," you know?

And then I got to
this lady's house,

and she called the police,

and they were there
in a matter of minutes.

[ Sirens wailing ]

Police are called immediately.

An all-points bulletin
is put out for this car.

Everybody's looking
for this car.

This is a 1990 Mazda Protege.

The license plate is a
South Carolina registration --

GBK-167.

He didn't ask for money,
he didn't harm her,

and he said he would not harm
the children.

We hope he's as good
as his word.

I got the call from headquarters

that there'd been
a kidnapping, a carjacking.

We spent most of the night
trying to run down,

did anybody see anything
whatsoever out of the ordinary?

Nobody had seen anything.
Nobody heard anything.

And she was on TV,
begging to bring her kids back.

If anybody sees anything
that looks unusual,

I mean,
please contact somebody

'cause I am just
so heart-sick over it.

I mean,
I miss them so much.

It was heart-wrenching.

We were hoping that the kids
were alive

and somebody
would see it on TV.

It's just a tragedy.
I mean, I just -- I can't --

I just can't believe
I'm going through it.

And I just hope and pray
for their safe return to me.

And David Smith is there,

and he looks like the proverbial
deer in the headlights.

David: I didn't know what
I was gonna do.

It's very difficult.
It's very, very hard.

It's unimaginable.

I just remember trying
to stay positive.

I just had to get
Michael and Alex back.

I really thought
that when it got daylight,

that they would find them
just in a heartbeat, but no.

We would like to believe

that he is not going to hurt
these children.

Paschal: It was something
that literally made

the hair on the back
of my neck stick up.

♪♪

Reporter: It is a mother's
worst nightmare.

[ Crying ] I can't even describe
what I'm going through.

I mean, it's -- my heart is
just so -- it just aches.

Her two children,
3-year-old Michael

and 14-month-old Alex,
were kidnapped, she says,

following a carjacking in rural
South Carolina Tuesday night.

Kids disappeared.

Everyone wanted to know what
happened to those kids

in Union, South Carolina.

Two little children --
they were so young.

If anybody sees anything
whatsoever,

please contact
your local police department.

Please.

And I think it just grabbed
everybody's heart

when they saw the pictures.

All I'm doing's just praying
and just keeping my faith

that they're gonna be okay.

She looked like
a frightened doe.

Her eyes were just wide open.

I sat down and asked her
if she was okay, and I said,

"Oh, why didn't you
lock your doors?"

Stewart: We got a call
that there'd been an abduction

of two children
in Union, South Carolina.

We sent a crew of agents
in there and a forensic artist,

tried to get a good sketch
of the person

who allegedly
committed this crime.

I received a phone call
that the kids were missing

and that there was
a carjacker.

Well, I went to Union
to do a composite sketch

of this individual.

When I first met Susan,
she was very unassuming.

She had her hair pulled back
with a scrunchie

and had an oversize sweatshirt.

She had had an opportunity
to see the carjacker.

She described him
as a black male

wearing what we often call
a stocking cap,

and he had on a plaid shirt.

Reporter: Based on
Mrs. Smith's description,

the suspect is a black male
in his 20s or 30s

wearing a plaid shirt,
blue jeans,

and a blue toboggan-style hat.

He was last seen
in the Smith car,

a 1990 maroon Mazda Protege.

♪♪

We have worked all
throughout the night,

receiving telephone information.

S.L.E.D. Agents and
investigators from this office

are now going out, and they are
running down every lead

that we received overnight.

Harris: Everybody wanted to know
where the kids were,

what are we, law enforcement,
doing to try to find those kids.

What we were trying to do

is to locate the kids
and get them alive.

And that was our goal,
and that was our purpose.

Reporter: Law-enforcement
officers and volunteers

comb the woods near
the reported abduction site.

We're about 150 feet, I think,
from where she was put out.

Charles: Everybody was looking
for the kids.

We had people sweeping
through the woods --

you know, everybody
10 feet from everybody else.

They're looking for anything
that can give them a clue

to what happened --
shoes, clothes.

Some of our helicopters
would go up there every day

and circle, looking.

And the Department of Natural
Resources had the dive team.

Reporter: Crucial evidence
may be underwater.

-See it?
-Yeah.

Reporter:
That's what divers believe.

Harris:
We went to John D. Long Lake.

They call that Black Bottom
down there.

Anything over 6 inches
in front of you, you can't see.

It's just muddy water
and slick bottom.

That's about it.
There's nothing else down there.

No rocks, a few beer cans.
That's about it.

And then there was reports
from time to time

that the kids had been seen,

and there was, you know,
leads that were coming in.

Should be in this area here
where...

Reporter:
Searchers, including the head

of the state law-enforcement
division,

have been focusing their efforts
along Highway 49.

But there have been reports
the car was seen this afternoon,

west of here,
in Greenville County.

We would hear things,
all these sightings.

Harris: Somebody had seen
something in a gully.

We had to look.

We've run criminal histories
on suspects,

on people who are on parole
or probation within the area.

So far, we haven't developed
a solid suspect there.

Harris:
I talked with some of the
leaders in the black community.

They wanted
good law enforcement.

They wanted us to check out
everything.

I know a couple of guys
that were questioned

and stuff like that,
but, yeah, the police had to do

what they had to do, too.

Wells: My heart goes out
to the family in this case,

but I can't get those children
off of my mind

because they're so young.

The investigation into
the abductor is secondary

to the welfare
of those children.

I asked Susan, "What do you
think should happen

to the person that did this?"
And she paused, and she said,

"I feel like when
the sun comes up,

they'll find my children,

but I know how they can get to
you when they've been crying."

Susan: They were screaming,
hollering, and crying, and --

and I'm just scared
that he just lost his patience

or something, you know?

I don't -- I don't know.
I... [ Sniffles ]

There's something
about that statement

that literally made the hair
on the back of my neck stick up.

That's the first time
I felt they were in danger.

Reporter:
He is still on the loose.

According to authorities,
he may have crossed state lines.

How long can the search go on?

Until the boys are found.
That's what the sheriff says.

But I had to get them back.

Hey, boy.

Hey, boy.

You being a good boy.
Mama's proud of you.

I can't sleep.
I can't eat.

[ Crying ] I can't do anything
but think about them.

Susan Smith's worst nightmare
began 48 hours ago.

While waiting at a stoplight
in a small town

in South Carolina with her
two young sons in the back seat,

an armed carjacker
forced his way into her car,

pushed her out.
The boys are still missing.

Michael is 3.
Little Alex is 14 months old.

It's terrifying, a carjacking
with two small children.

Any parent could put him- or
herself in that situation.

Please, let's find these kids.

Let's find the car
abandoned somewhere,

a random phone call saying,

"You can get the car here,
your children are fine."

We wanted these boys
to be found.

During that time, to put
a little context into it,

there were a lot
of very high-profile

missing-child cases --

Megan Kanka,
who Megan's Law is named after,

Amber Hagerman, which brought
in the Amber Alert.

And this one definitely
immediately rose

to a whole different level.

You commonly hear about
a single disappearance,

but two children is different.

David: I plead to the guy,
to the man.

Me and my wife plead to him

to please return our children
to us, safely and unharmed.

We love our children very much,

and we want them returned
to us safe and sound.

It's hard to do the interviews.

But we were just concerned
with finding Michael and Alex.

Reporter:
At the boys' home, meantime,
an officer remains on the scene,

presumably to receive
a hoped-for phone call

from the suspect.

The boys' toys wait unused
in the driveway.

Jordan: Susan Smith was just 23
and David 24

when their children
went missing.

They started a romance,

both working at
the local grocery store.

Susan Vaughan, as she was born,
hadn't really known David Smith

that well
when she was in high school.

David: Susan was very well-known
in high school.

She was very popular.

You know,
she was very attractive.

I'd always see her,
and then she got a job

at the same grocery store
in Union.

And, you know,
that's how we met,

and I just fell head over heels
for her right from the get-go.

They started dating,
and then after a while,

she became pregnant,
and they got married.

David: When I found out
Susan was pregnant,

that was, uh...
joyful, but terrifying.

You know, it was unexpected,

and I didn't know how I was
gonna support a family.

But I was -- I was so happy.

I just knew that
somehow it was --

it was gonna be okay.

When Michael was born,

from the moment
I first held him,

I knew he was part of my heart.

I enjoyed, you know,
watching him change

and watching him discover,

you know,
his hands and his feet and...

You know, and it was --
it was fantastic, being a dad.

Susan was a great mother
from the beginning.

[ Baby crying ]

[ Laughs ]

It's about good.

[ Crying continues ]

Huh?

Unfortunately, you know,
our marriage --

the good times were
very short-lived.

Right from the start,
their relationship was volatile.

They both cheated on each other,
and one of the neighbors said

you could just see him
moving furniture in and out

and you never knew if they were
together or if they had split.

And at one of those good
moments in their marriage,

Susan gets pregnant again.

And this produces
their second son, named Alex.

David: Getting pregnant
with Alex was unexpected.

We both were very scared

because we were struggling
already with our marriage.

But then there was so much
enjoyment with Michael,

and we knew it would
just now be times two.

Go for it!
Go for that cake!

Look! Mmm, mmm!
Get into it.

Ooh, there's your toy.

Cool!
Don't look.

When Alex was born,

I mean, Michael --
he became,

you know, very protective
of Alex right from the start.

Unfortunately for me and Susan,

our marriage
was degrading rapidly.

David and Susan were estranged.
They had split up.

They were getting divorced.

I asked her, I said, "How are
you and David doing?"

She said, "We're separated,
and I do have a boyfriend.

In fact,
this is his sweatshirt."

After me and Susan separated,
I still spent as much time,

you know, with Michael and Alex
as I could.

They were always excited
when I picked them up.

And I won't say that they were
sad when I dropped them off,

because they weren't, you know?

They loved their mom, too.

ButI
[ Chuckles ]

I know I was a lousy husband,
but I was -- I was a good dad.

I was a great dad.

[ Laughs ]
That feel good?

These two precious boys,
who they loved,

are now missing,
and no one knows where they are.

David: Susan and I were staying
at her parents' home because,

even though we were separated,

I wanted us to be together
in case

any of the law-enforcement
agencies needed us.

It would just be quicker for us
if we were together.

Our 911 center has received
a call from a subject stating

that these two young boys
from down in South Carolina

may be in the area here
where we're located now.

Reporter:
The reported sighting of a man

roughly matching the description
of the suspect in a wooded area

10 miles from the reported
abduction didn't pan out,

despite an intensive search.

Charles: We got every policeman
in the country

looking for that guy
and that car and those kids,

and nobody's ever found
hide nor hair of any of them.

Susan: And they've got people
everywhere looking for them.

I mean, you know, you can hear
the helicopters in the air.

And, but they haven't seen
anything.

It's crazy.

O'Dell: I don't know.

We just tried everything
that we could know to try.

Jordan:
But as the days wore on,

we know that the chances
of Michael and Alex

being found alive
were extremely low.

The report is nationwide.

Anytime you put out a report
on a missing vehicle,

it goes nationwide.

The sheriff himself had
press conferences

like twice daily
to keep the media up to date.

It was like a circus.

There has been
no breakthrough

since the last time
I talked with you.

Harris:
Would be hundreds of people

that listened
to the press conferences

to hope that we had something
that we could follow up on.

This is the hardest type
of abduction case to work

because we have not developed
a definite suspect

in this case as of yet.

Right now,
we do not have anything

but an incident location.

Jordan: We wanted these boys
to be found,

and I remember eating
in the shopping mall

and seeing two little kids
who looked like her kids

and hoping against hope
that maybe it was them.

Reporter:
How long can the search go on?

Until the boys are found.
That's what the sheriff says.

But he knows that as the days
turn into a week and longer

without any promising
developments,

the intensity of the search
will fade, as will hope.

Sheriff Wells and I were talking
back and forth

on a minute basis.

Reporter:
Law-enforcement authorities say

they are looking
at all possibilities.

We left that interview,
and I was thinking,

"Nah, he's got to be
mistaken about that."

That's when the suspicions
absolutely started to rise.

I want to say to my babies

[sobs] that your mama
loves you so much,

and your daddy and this
whole family loves you so much.

I just feel in my heart
that you're okay.

Welcome back.

While the country
held its breath,

waiting for news
on the whereabouts

of young Michael and Alex Smith,
searchers scoured the area,

looking for the boys
and their kidnapper.

Three days into the search,

there was no trace
of the suspect or the car.

People were continuing
to worry

and beginning to wonder what
really happened to those boys.

Reporter: The eyes of the world
are on this case.

Man: It's turned this place
upside down.

I mean, Union's never seen
anything like this.

Klaas: Two little boys
having been kidnapped,

and just leaving
this poor mother stranded

by the side of the road.

The whole country was looking in
on Union, South Carolina,

and was invested in
the recovery of those two boys.

Reporter: A command center
at the sheriff's department

in Union, South Carolina,
is taking calls on the case

around the clock
from all around the country.

In town, posters of the
children adorn the storefronts.

Yellow ribbons call
for their return.

Wherever they are,
God loves them,

and we want them back.

Wells: We've had another day
of aerial search,

water search,
a horseback patrol,

to try to develop leads
in this case.

Reporter: Searchers don't know
what happened.

All they know is, somewhere,
there has to be evidence

of the missing boys and the car.

Time is passing by.
Our hope is not diminished.

Our frustration has grown some

because of a nationwide
search of this magnitude,

with this type of coverage,
we could find the car.

Weshould

Not only is it possible --
that's my hope right now.

If he's still driving around,
that gives us more opportunity

to find the vehicle
and the children.

The entire United States
was very focused on this case.

They wanted the answers, and
they wanted these boys found.

When there's
a high-profile case,

a lot of times people,
to show support,

who have been through
the same thing, will reach out.

And Marc Klaas, of course,
has his own organization

and has done
a tremendous amount

after the murder
of his daughter.

Reporter:
Polly Klaas was abducted
at knifepoint from her bedroom

the night of October 1st,

as she and two girlfriends
overnighted at her house.

Klaas: We started
the KlaasKids Foundation

to keep Polly's memory alive.

And in the ensuing years,
we have been involved

in thousands of cases
of missing kids.

I did get a call from David's
grandfather, Jim Martin.

He lived in
the San Francisco Bay Area

and was very well aware,
I guess,

of who we were
and what we were doing.

He asked me if I could
get involved

in David's case somehow.

I called the Polly Klaas
foundation to see

if there was anything
I could do.

I just want the kids back.

Now, simultaneously with that,

I was also working with
a television production company

at the time
on missing-child cases,

and they asked me
almost immediately

if I would fly to South Carolina

and do something
with the Smith case.

And working with
David's grandfather,

we had arranged to do an
interview with David and Susan.

When I showed up
for that interview,

I was told that
it wasn't happening.

They weren't talking to anybody.

They just had this woman
talking to the cameras.

I have a statement here,
written by Susan and David,

and I want to read
this to you.

Reporter:
Their parents initially made
a few pleas last week

for the return
of their children,

but have since avoided
the public.

Instead, a spokesperson
now speaks for them.

Within a few days,
they kind of shut down

and had a family spokesperson,
Susan's cousin,

speak on their behalf instead.

It is so hard to explain
how much we love

those two little boys
and how much we miss them.

The hardest part is not
knowing where they are.

When you have a missing child
in your family,

you're much better
getting rid of this woman

who's speaking on your behalf

and getting out in front
of the cameras yourself.

Your children's
best spokesperson is you.

David and Susan
have been through a tragedy

that is unimaginable
to most of us.

And it has just been
extremely difficult for them

to be able to gather
the emotional strength

they need to face this.

You would expect
desperate parents

to do whatever needed
to be done.

So, for them to stonewall
America at this point --

that started to lead
to some suspicions.

There were so many things
that didn't really make sense.

Susan had reported
that she had been carjacked.

She had been driving along
with her kids in the car.

The black man ran up to her
at a stoplight,

forced his way into the car,

and forced her to drive down
Highway 49 towards the lake,

and forcing her out of the car,
leaving the kids in the back.

Most carjackers
who would take a car

not realizing there are children
in the back seat

will immediately abandon
that car.

They understand
that turns it into a kidnapping.

There's a reason
they call them a carjacker --

'cause they're looking
for the car.

In the hierarchy
of carjacker needs,

you know, you have the car,
you may have money.

You could perhaps
have the female --

you know, the adult female.

He in no way abused her,

touched her, molested her
in any way at all.

While they were driving,
her purse was in the floorboard

next to his feet.

He asked for no money.
He did not go through her purse.

Pope: Nowhere in that hierarchy
do you see taking children.

This is not adding up.

The rumblings started.

People began to look at
Susan Smith in a whole new way.

Klaas: We started doing
some interviews,

and we ultimately
found something

that turned out
to be very relevant.

And it was with the neighbor
across the street

from the little home that
Susan lived in with the boys.

And she had said
that she had left home,

I believe, at 8:30 that night.

And he goes,
"Oh, no, no, no.

She left much earlier than that.

She left probably
at 6:00 or 6:30."

And we asked how he knew that,
and he said,

"Well, I saw her leave.
I watched out the window."

I was thinking, "Nah, he's got
to be mistaken about that,"

but it turns out
he was right-on.

Eftimiades: Susan changed
her story multiple times.

When they asked her what
she had been doing that night,

she had different accounts.

One of them was that she was
going to visit a friend.

Susan:
He lives in Monarch,

and it wasn't far
from where the red light was.

I only had maybe a mile to go,
if even that long, and --

but I didn't make it.

But when they checked with the
friend, he wasn't expecting her.

She had never gotten
to the friend's house.

We questioned the friend
and found out he wasn't at home.

He wasn't even home that night.

So then she changed
and said that she had been

in Walmart, walking around.

But then they checked
at Walmart,

and no one remembered
seeing her.

And this is a small town,
and people know each other.

David: All the little details,
all those discrepancies --

you know,
I didn't really put any thought

into that kind of stuff,
because this is what my wife,

Michael and Alex's mother,
told me had happened.

I believed her 100%.

There were just so many
nagging questions

about her version
of the story.

The number-one thing that
bothered investigators

was that intersection where she
said the carjacking occurred.

That could not have happened
where she said that it happened.

That's when the suspicions
absolutely started to rise.

I was stopped at a red light,
and just out of nowhere,

this black guy came up

and he just opened the door
and jumped in the car.

Pope: She was saying she was
sitting at a traffic light

when the carjacker
gets into her car.

And on Highway 49, the light
stays green all the time

for traffic 49 east to west.

The only time it turns red on 49

is when another car
comes up to it.

So there would have been
a witness.

I talked with Susan
at the sheriff's office --

"Well, tell me
about the other car."

She said,
"It was no other car."

I said, "Are you sure?"
She said, "I'm positive."

She insisted,
"There were no other cars.

There were no other witnesses.
It happened just like I said."

I knew there was something wrong
with her answer.

Law-enforcement authorities say

they have no good,
credible leads yet.

They are looking
at all possibilities,

including the possibility

that the mother might not
be telling the truth.

Reporter:
David and Susan Smith have been
questioned again by the sheriff.

They kept interviewing Susan.

I was thinking all along,

"If she doesn't
tell us what happened,

we may never find out."

Reporter: Halloween '94
in Union, South Carolina.

The children take to the streets
downtown with their parents.

Trick or treat!

Christopher:
I talked to some kids.

A couple were literally scared
because they knew

that something had happened
to some other kids.

Reporter:
Michael and Alex Smith,

missing since
last Tuesday evening

in a reported carjacking.

They haven't been seen since.

We're trying to find a motive
for this crime.

We have had no ransom demand.
We have had no revenge motive.

Jordan: As the case wore on,
tensions were very high

because there were no breaks,
there were no leads.

What makes it unusual is
the fact that most kidnappings

don't occur as a result
of a carjacking.

People were demanding answers.

We do not have a car.
We do not have the children.

We do not have a suspect.

We have telephone tips,
reports matching descriptions.

We have information coming in
from friends,

from relatives, from psychics,
from general crackpots,

but we've got to go
through all of it.

Man: We will have a prayer
for Michael and Alex.

Brackett:
Everybody wants to believe

that these kids are out
there somewhere,

and if we just look hard enough
and keep the pressure up,

we're gonna find them.

Stewart: You have to do
everything you possibly can

within your power and
within your capability.

And we began working
on the family situation,

to see what, if anything,
was going on there.

Brackett: When you're conducting
an investigation

into something like this,

you always have to explore
along every possible avenue.

You can't just focus on one
and just say,

"Well, she must be
telling the truth."

You have to sit there and go,
"What if?"

I haven't ruled out anyone
as a suspect.

We would meet with
law enforcement.

Reporter:
David and Susan Smith have been
questioned again by the sheriff.

They had interviewed me
early on

and given me a polygraph
and ruled me out.

But they kept
interviewing Susan.

We've had questions
about her story.

That's why we've talked
to her more than one time.

When the sheriff kept bringing
her in for more interviews,

and her story just never
stayed the same.

She took several
polygraph tests.

Stewart: We had an FBI
polygraph examiner.

He would interview her, then
polygraph her on what she said.

The first day, I didn't do
any polygraphs at all.

I talked to her.

She was a little bit hesitant
to start with.

I asked her to recite
some of the exact details

of the guy
getting in the car,

and she said that,
"I've already repeated it.

I'd rather not repeat it now."

And that makes you think, "Well,
is she being honest about it?"

And that's why the next day

I ran the polygraph
for the first time.

Polygraph examinations
are a very important tool

in the tool box
for investigators.

We're not actually trying to
figure out what the truth is.

We're trying to figure out
what the deception is.

Logan:
Generally, I like to go right
to the heart of the problem.

Are you intentionally lying
about the carjacking?

Are you intentionally lying
about that black man

taking your children?

Essentially, trying to find out

if she was being honest
about what happened.

Physiologically speaking,
you have certain things

that manifest if you lie --

breathing, what we call
the galvanic skin response,

and the cardio activity.

And, well, generally, those
three things will tell you

if she's being deceptive
or being truthful.

David: I remember having
discussions with her

on how to pass
these polygraphs --

you know, not that I've got
some kind of expertise,

but when she's having
a tough question,

to maybe think of something
that would,

you know, kind of
calm her back down.

Because I wanted them
to get past her

and get more focus on, you know,
finding Michael and Alex.

And when Susan is hooked up
to a polygraph machine,

which she voluntarily did
three different polygraph tests,

she failed
every single one of them.

Logan:
And we in the polygraph section
don't call people liars.

We call them -- that she was
deceptive in her responses.

I am just so
heart-sick over it.

I mean,
I miss them so much.

I've been around long enough
to realize

that I like to trust
my polygraph charts.

She was not telling the truth.

And I was thinking all along,

"If she doesn't tell us
what's going on

and what happened,
we may never find out."

Reporter:
Early in the day, the sheriff
reported a break in the case,

a possible sighting of one
of the boys in Washington state.

I never gave up hope.

Updating our top story,
a dramatic development today

in the disappearance
of two little boys.

Reporter: The mother and father
are arriving at this point --

David and Susan Smith.

-♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
-It was a happy birthday

for little Alex Smith
just about two months ago --

his first birthday,

and he celebrated
with his older brother, Michael.

Now, almost like they fell off
the end of the Earth,

they have disappeared.

Their mother, Susan,
reported last Tuesday night

that they had been carjacked
by a stranger.

But local newspaper reports
now indicate

that she was given
a polygraph test

and results proved inconclusive.

Police could tell that she was

answering their questions
with deception.

She had something to hide.

They wouldn't talk to me.
They had shut down, really.

They weren't talking to anybody.

Everyone needs to understand
that Susan and David

have been put through such
an emotional tragedy right now,

and it's very difficult
for someone to come out here

and face this onslaught of media
that has descended upon them.

They had been so standoffish
for so long,

for reasons that were
incomprehensible to me.

For many
armchair criminologists,

the introduction
of a family spokesperson

automatically breeds suspicion.

David:
All the media attention --
it was all overwhelming.

But I also knew that we needed
their help desperately.

Reporter:
As you can see, we are in the
midst of a live news conference.

A bit of chaos at this point,
but we are now awaiting --

we are now awaiting the family.

The mother and father
are arriving at this point --

David and Susan Smith.

I knew the more news outlets
that were there

would get the word out,
would help try to find them.

Reporter:
After six days of seclusion,
David and Susan Smith appeared

at the county courthouse
in Union

to again plead for the return
of their children.

I just wanted to get them back,
whatever it took.

I would like to say
to whoever has my children

that they please --

I mean,please,
bring them home.

That's just where they belong,
with their mama and daddy.

Police may have their suspicions
about Susan Smith,

but their job
is to investigate the story

that she has told them.

Christopher:
Criminal specialists said,

"Well, the kids could be
anywhere by now."

There was a lot of leads coming
in from all over the country.

Wells:
The new developments in the case

are being checked out
as we speak.

They are turning out
not to be as promising

as first anticipated.

Reporter:
In Macon, Georgia,

officers and deputies searched
a cemetery

and the surrounding area
after a 60-year old resident

reported he saw a burgundy Mazda
similar to the missing car.

The tipster said the vehicle's
South Carolina license plate

had two numbers
that matched the Smiths' plate.

The FBI questioned him and his
family extensively last night,

and I really don't know

if this has anything to do
with South Carolina or not.

It's just something
you got to do.

There had been one false alarm,
where there was a child

that matched Alex's description
in another state,

and they were
very excited about it.

Reporter:
Early in the day, the sheriff
reported a break in the case --

a possible sighting of one
of the boys in Washington state.

I was hoping that was the one

that we've been
waiting on so long,

that was going to
give us our direction,

to give us some breathing room
that the children were okay

and that we could
possibly recover them

and get them back home.

Our hearts soared for a while
that we were close

to recovering
the children in this case.

That did not happen.

The entire nine days
that we were looking

for Michael and Alex,

my only concern
was getting them back.

David: Please do not give up
on these two little boys.

Continue to look
for this car, our children,

and for the suspect
himself,

that you continue
to keep your eyes open.

I never gave up hope.

Continue to pray for me
and my wife and for our family.

But most of all,
that you continue to pray

for Michael and Alex,

that you pray
most of all for them

and that they are being taken
care of and that they are safe.

Tell your mama hey.
You look at mama.

Yeah. Mama, hey.

-Tell her hey.
-Look!

David: I couldn't accept,
in my mind's eye,

any other outcome
but them coming home.

I didn't even consider,
you know,

something worse
happening to them.

It just seems so unfair

that somebody could take
such two beautiful children.

Jordan: As time went on
and the boys weren't recovered,

we started looking
very carefully at Susan Smith.

Charles: And the police knew
from the get-go

that her story
had a big hole in it.

They didn'tsay
about that.

There was just too many things
that didn't add up.

Jordan: How many carjackers are
coming up in rural America

in the middle of the night
and taking a Mazda

and forcing the mom out and
taking these two little kids?

Wells:
We've followed every lead.

We've had people go in
every other state

where there's been a tip,

and as none of those
have developed,

we've come right back here

'cause this is where
the incident occurred.

The truth is going to come out.

Paschal: I talked to
the sheriff, and I said,

"I have reason to believe that
Susan's not telling the truth."

She was having a relationship
with a young man.

She just told me
that she was so ashamed,

that she was so ashamed.

Reporter:
A dramatic development today

in the disappearance
of two little boys.

After nine days, she told the
sheriff what really happened.

We're going to make
a brief announcement.

You could just hear this gasp
in the crowd.

I'll never forget that.

Brackett: Just a horrifying
moment of realization

that this is really happening.

My life had just --
as I knew it, had just stopped.

I had no idea what to do
from that point on.

After nine long days
and an extensive

cross-country search
for Michael and Alex Smith,

there was finally a break
in the case.

The boys had been found.

But the circumstances
surrounding their disappearance

and recovery
would shock the world

and shake young David Smith
to his core.

Betrayal, deception,
and discovery,

in Part Two of
"How It Really Happened."

I'm Hill Harper.
Thanks for watching.