By GARY HENDERSON
Staff Writer

UNION, S.C. (10/28/94) -- After two days of the most intense police investigation in Union County history, police are no closer to learning who abducted two small children during a carjacking earlier this week.

There's not one new lead.

"In 20 years of law enforcement, I've never worked a case that had so little to work with," said Union County Sheriff Howard Wells. "But there's not any more that can be done."

Meanwhile, the story of the young mother and the abduction of her sons, 3 and 14 months old, has become the talk of the nation with almost every major news organization airing stories Thursday.

Thursday afternoon, the boys' father, David Smith, used the national media to make a passionate plea for the return of his sons.

"I plead with the man to return our children safe and sound," Mr. Smith said to the hoard of reporters assembled outside the courthouse. "It gets harder as time goes by to deal with this."

Smith ended his plea to the abductor by saying his 14-month-son needed a bottle before he goes to bed at night.

Susan Smith, 23, of Toney Road, in Union, said a man carjacked her 1990 burgundy Mazda Protege at a Monarch Mills intersection about 9:15 Tuesday evening. She said the man forced her to drive about five miles northeast of Union, and then forced her out of the car near John D. Long Lake. He then took off with Smith's sons, 3-year-old Michael and his brother, Alexander Smith.

Thursday morning, police closed the roads leading to the lake while divers searched the area.

"I'm confidant the car is not in the lake," Wells said. "We did it to rule out any evidence that we might have overlooked there."

Wells said investigators have interviewed at least 25 potential suspects.

"We're not ruling out anybody, including the parents," Wells said.

Susan Smith and her 24-year-old husband, David, spent the last two days being interviewed by Union County sheriff's officers. Wells would not say if the parents had taken a polygraph test.

According to records at the Union County Courthouse, Susan Smith filed for divorce from her husband on September 22. She listed adultery as the reason for wanting a divorce.

Mr. Smith declined to answer questions about his relationship with his wife.

But Wells said he didn't believe a domestic dispute was the reason for the boys' disappearance.

Wells said investigators are working 24 hours a day to develop a suspect list from information on known violent offenders. He said information about the abduction was given to a national police computer network shortly after the children were taken from their mother.

"We've received offers from help from all over the United States," Wells said. "Police from several areas of South Carolina have offered to provide manpower."

Wells said a behavior specialist is also being used to develop a profile of the individual who abducted the children.

Margaret Frierson, executive director of the Adam Walsh Center in Columbia, said her organization is assisting the family by getting out flyers and photographs of the children.

She said about 112 children had been reported missing this year in South Carolina. Frierson said most of them had been either runaways or family abductions -- but never a carjacking.

"I never experienced anything like this before," Frierson said.

Wells said he welcomes the national attention, which could help solve the case. He appeared on NBC's Today Show Thursday morning and CNN's Larry King Live Thursday night.

"I hope the suspect will see this and notify us where to pick the children up," Wells said.

The sheriff said more than 1,000 calls offering information have been received at the Union command center since the search began Tuesday night. Additional phone lines were installed at the Union County Courthouse Wednesday to handle the huge volume of calls.

"We are waiting for that call that will tell us where the children are located," Wells said Wednesday afternoon. "We've had reports of many sightings, but none that are credible, so far."

Officials have ruled out a reported sighting of the car in Greenville.

A burgundy car was reported used in a Thursday convenience story hold-up in Salisbury, N.C. Officials are still investigating, and it's unclear if there is any connection with the Union County incident.

Wells said sightings have been called in from as far away as upstate New York.

"We'll be looking in every direction," Wells said.

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