Additional Coverage:
- Authorities investigating 1996 disappearance of Kristin Smart search home in California (nbcnews.com)
California Authorities Conduct Search Linked to Kristin Smart Case, 30 Years After Disappearance
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. – Law enforcement officials executed a search warrant Wednesday at the Arroyo Grande residence of Susan Flores as part of the ongoing investigation into the 1996 disappearance and murder of college student Kristin Smart.
Susan Flores is the mother of Paul Flores, who was convicted last year of Smart’s murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Authorities did not disclose further details about the search, but the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a superior court judge authorized the warrant as part of an additional inquiry related to the case.
District Attorney Dan Dow emphasized the commitment of his office and law enforcement to locating Smart’s remains and providing closure to her family. “While those responsible for Kristin’s death-and those with knowledge of her whereabouts-could provide answers at any time, we remain firmly committed to using every lawful tool available to locate Kristin’s remains and to support her family until she is brought home,” Dow stated.
The investigation has previously involved Susan Flores’ husband, Ruben Flores, who faced charges as an accessory after the fact. Prosecutors accused him of assisting in burying Smart under the deck of their home and later moving her remains. However, Ruben Flores was acquitted of those charges by a separate jury in 2022.
Kristin Smart, 19, vanished on May 25, 1996, after attending an off-campus party near California Polytechnic University, where she and Paul Flores were students. Prosecutors allege Paul Flores killed Smart during an attempted sexual assault in his dorm room and was the last person seen with her.
In 2021, Ruben Flores and his father were arrested amid searches of the property. Archaeologists discovered soil disturbances beneath the deck roughly the size of a casket, along with degraded human blood evidence, although DNA extraction was not possible.
Kristin Smart was declared legally dead in 2002. The case remains a poignant chapter in the community’s history as authorities continue efforts to resolve the decades-old mystery.