Buenos Aires - The search for the Argentine woman who had an affair with a prominent US politician kept local media busy Thursday.

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, a Republican once considered a potential presidential candidate, admitted Wednesday to an affair with an Argentinian woman, ending a bizarre mystery that began with his sudden disappearance from his home state last week.

A day after Sanford admitted to the relationship and US media named the woman, journalists in Argentina were trying to track her down.

They staked out her home in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Palermo, although by late evening they still didn't manage to talk to her.

The woman - Belen Chapur, 43 - is reportedly divorced and has two teenaged sons. Her neighbours describe her as an attractive dark- haired woman. Transcripts of her romantic email exchanges with Sanford were a huge hit in the Argentine media.

Sanford vanished on June 18 without telling either his family or staff where he was headed. On Tuesday, a statement from his office said he was spending the week hiking the Appalachian Trail, which runs along the East Coast of the United States.

In a press conference after his return Wednesday, he said he went to Buenos Aires to visit an Argentinian woman with whom he'd had an affair for about a year.

"The bottom line is this: I've been unfaithful to my wife," Sanford said with tears in his eyes. "I hurt you all. I hurt my wife, I hurt my boys."

Sanford's observation that he had chosen Buenos Aires for an "exotic" break upset some Argentinians, although the media stressed that he did also call it "a great city."(dpa)