A new billboard has gone up on Hwy 1 seeking information on the whereabouts of missing Cal Poly freshman, Kristin Smart, who vanished some 30 years ago. Photo by Neil Farrell
Hoping to finally solve the mystery of where is Kristin Smart, the Sheriff’s Department served a search warrant at the home of the mother of the man convicted of her murder hoping to finally locate her remains, but apparently came up empty.
Sheriff’s spokesman Tony Cipolla announced on May 9 that the department was serving a search arrant at the Arroyo Grande home of Susan Flores, mother of Smart’s convicted murderer Paul Flores.
“The Sheriff’s Department,” Cipolla said, “is conducting an additional investigation into the property in the 500 block of East Branch Street in Arroyo Grande. This investigation is related to the Kristin Smart disappearance. This activity is the result of a search warrant signed by a Superior Court Judge.”
Smart was a 19-year-old Cal Poly freshman who disappeared over Memorial Day Weekend in 1996. Though numerous searches have been conducted trying to locate Smart over the ensuing 30 years, her body has never been found.
In 2022, Paul Flores, who was the last person Smart was seen alive with on the night she went missing, was convicted of her murder and sentenced to life in prison.
His father, Reuben Flores, was also charged as an accessory, accused of helping his son dispose of her body. The father was acquitted of all charges in his trial, which was held concurrent with his son’s trial after being moved to Monterey County in a change of venue due to excessive pre-trial publicity.
The case had been speculated about and talked about for over 25 years before Flores was arrested. In the end the case prosecutors presented at trial was essentially the same story that had been the theory of the crime from the beginning — that Paul Flores had killed her and his father helped him dispose of her body.
The case seemed to languish unsolved for decades, even though the younger Flores was almost immediately under suspicion and no one else has ever been named as even a person of interest.
It was the true crime podcast, “Your Own Backyard,” with Chris Lambert who began digging into the case uncovering new witnesses that brought the case back into the spotlight.
The Sheriff’s Department arrested Paul and Reuben Flores — Paul in Southern California where he lived and his father at his home in SLO County — in April 2021.
They went on trial in July 2022. Paul was convicted and Reuben acquitted in October 2022.
Paul Flores has been in State Prison since his conviction and has already lost one appeal. With the criminal case now seemingly over, the mystery of where is Kristin Smart continues, and this latest chapter appears to not have turned up much in the way of clues to where her remains are now.
One of the reasons Reuben Flores was arrested was because a Sheriff’s Department search of his residence located traces of human remains in a shallow grave underneath his back porch, however, the trace amounts were not enough to be positively identified that it was actually Smart who had been buried there.
That’s why the elder Flores was acquitted. However, the son could not escape justice, as the evidence against him, while purely circumstantial, was enough to win conviction.
Paul Flores, now in his 40s, was sentenced to 25-years to life in State Prison.
So what did they find in the search of Susan Flores’ home? “We did not recover Kristin Smart,” Cipolla said. “Detectives will be evaluating any evidence we have recovered to aid in the investigation.”
Though clearly disappointed that the search, which included the use of ground penetrating radar but apparently no actual digging, the Sheriff’s Department isn’t giving up on trying to find Kristin Smart and bring closure to the department’s most infamous unresolved case and some peace to her family.
“The Sheriff’s Office remains fully committed to finding Kristin and bringing her home to her family,” Cipolla said.
District Attorney Dan Dow, whose office prosecuted both of the Flores men said, “Since the jury convicted Paul Flores for the murder of Kristin Smart, the District Attorney’s Office has continued working in coordination with the Sheriff’s Office to fulfill our shared commitment to the Smart Family and this community: to bring Kristin home.
“The District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation is assisting with today’s search, and Assistant District Attorney Eric Dobroth supported the Sheriff’s Office in advance of their obtaining judicial authorization for this warrant. 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.”
Both agencies continue to ask for the public’s help in finally putting to rest this enigmatic mystery. “If you have any information, no matter how small, please submit your tip to San Luis Obispo County Crime Stoppers (anonymous): 1-800-549-STOP (7867).
Crime Stoppers has also erected a new billboard on ranchlands adjacent to Hwy 1 between Kansas Avenue and the California Men’s Colony. The billboard features the now famous photo of Smart as a freshman college student full of life, and information on where to send tips. There is still a $100,000 reward being offered by the Smart Family for information that leads to her whereabouts.
