It all started in the tiny town of Union, South Carolina.
A rural community with just a few traffic lights, where church-going neighbors waved to each other on their morning walks.
Not the kind of place where dark things happen.
That was, of course, until the brothers went missing.
Michael Smith, age 3, and his little brother, Alex, just 14 months.
According to their mother, Susan, the boys been kidnapped in a carjacking.
Everyone was looking for them.
First, their city.
Then, the whole state.
Soon, the entire nation was praying those little boys would be found alive.
It took nine days to get an answer.
It was not one anyone had hoped for.
In fact, it was far worse than anyone could have imagined.
To find out what happened, watch the full episode “Return to the Lake” on Peacock now.
You can also watch on the NBC app or listen to it on our podcast.
When you’re done with the episode, you can watch Michael and Alex’s father, David Smith and his wife, Tiffany, reflect on the brothers’ short lives. And, for the first time in 25 years, David returns to the lake memorial created by the community to honor his sons.
You can also listen to this week’s episode of Talking Dateline with Craig Melvin and Josh Mankiewicz, in which they go behind the scenes of the episode. Josh also speaks with Dateline producer Carol Gable to discuss the letters she and Susan Smith have exchanged for the last 20 years and answer your questions from social media.