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In 1996, Paul Flores was the last person to see Kristin Smart. On May 25 of that year, she vanished, seemingly without a trace. The investigation stalled out after months of searching, and Smart’s disappearance has remained unsolved. However, recently uncovered evidence has reopened her disappearance case.
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office issued a warrant for a search of Flores’ home on Wednesday. The search identified Flores as a person of interest in the case. Items of interest were recovered from his home, reigniting the search for Smart after 24 years. “The search is now concluded and we recovered some items of interest in the case,” a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told reporters.
“We are following up on leads, tips and good investigative work.”
Smart was last seen in the Spring of 1996, walking home from a party. She was outside her Cal Polytechnic San Luis Obispo dorm when she was last seen by Paul Flores. At the time, she was 19, and a freshman in college. A massive manhunt followed her disappearance, which made national news.
Her family was devastated. There was no one to blame for her disappearance: the case stalled out. There was no way to bring some justice to the case, no serious injury attorney who could be pulled on to help unravel things. She seemingly vanished into thin air.
After eight years of interviews, searches and investigative work yielded no breaks in the case, Smart was declared dead. Since the 2004 declaration, the case has been ice cold. In 2019, interest was reignited in the case thanks to a podcast. “Your Own Backyard,” which looks into Smart’s disappearance, seems to have spurred new activity in the case.
In January 2020, a former FBI agent contacted Kristin’s mother, Denise Smart. He told her to expect a big break in the case. This spun out into a major story, especially for fans of the podcast. A month later, in February 2020, a series of searches were conducted in the area surrounding Cal Polytechnic. These searches are currently sealed, indicating that this is an ongoing case.
Likewise, Wednesday’s warrant for searching Flores’ home is sealed. As such, it is unknown what items were sought, or why. However, all this activity, some 16 years after Smart was declared dead, indicates that investigators may have had a break in the case. Smart’s disappearance could get some closure after 24 long years.
