SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (Court TV) — Three decades after Kristin Smart disappeared, investigators say a new search warrant may have brought them closer to finding her body.
FILE – This undated photo released by the FBI shows Kristin Smart, the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo student who disappeared in 1996.(FBI via AP, File)
Smart was 19 years old and a freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo when she disappeared over Memorial Day weekend in 1996. Her remains have never been found, but she was declared dead in 2002.
Paul Flores, 49, who was the last person to be seen with Smart, was arrested and charged with her murder in 2021. He was convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in March 2023.
On Wednesday, deputies with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office announced they were doing a renewed search at a property owned by Flores’ mother. On Friday, Sheriff Ian Parkinson revealed that the search had already been successful in revealing possible human remains. “We believe, based on what we’re looking at, evidence-wise,” Parkinson said, “That a human’s remains were there at one time, or are still there. We can’t call it Kristin, but there’s evidence to support human remains.”
At trial, prosecutors said that Smart was murdered when Flores attempted to rape her after walking her home from an off-campus party. “This case was very challenging from the very beginning, because if you recall, you know suspect Paul Flores had moved out of the dorm, the dorm room had been cleaned, so you’re missing physical evidence,” said Parkinson.
Detectives served a search warrant in connection with the disappearance of Kristin Smart. (San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office)
Parkinson inherited the case when it was already 14 years old and was responsible for hiring a cold-case detective whose work is credited with leading to Flores’ conviction. But Parkinson said his work isn’t done yet. “It was my goal to bring Kristin home.”
This isn’t the first time the Flores’ property has been searched. In 1996, the same property was searched with ground-penetrating radar, the same technology being used today. But that technology has advanced in the last 30 years, allowing them to identify new compounds in the soil related to a human decomposing body.
Investigators haven’t said how long they will be searching the property. “We made the agreement internally that we are not leaving that house until we check everything,” Parkinson said.
