Nearly three decades after California college student Kristin Smart vanished, investigators searching a home belonging to the mother of her convicted killer say they have found evidence that human remains were, or still are, on the property.
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson announced the finding after authorities served a search warrant Wednesday at the home of Susan Flores, the mother of Paul Flores, who was convicted in 2022 of murdering Smart. Forensic specialists in human decomposition and soil spent days collecting ground samples from the yard and a neighboring property, the Daily Mail reported.
Parkinson was careful to stop short of confirming the remains belong to Smart, whose body has never been recovered despite a murder conviction and a case that has stretched across three decades of investigation.
"We believe that based on what we're looking at evidence-wise, scientific-wise, that a human's remains were there at one time, or still there."
He added: "We can't call it Kristin, but there's evidence to support human remains."
The search at Susan Flores's home marks a new chapter in a case defined by delayed action and missed opportunities. Chris Lambert, the podcaster behind "Your Own Backyard", a show credited with reviving public interest in the Smart case and providing investigators with additional witnesses, was outside the home as authorities carried out the search Wednesday.
Lambert told The Tribune that the Flores family owned the house at the time Kristin went missing, and that it had never been thoroughly examined.
"The Flores family owned this house at the time that Kristin went missing, and it was never very thoroughly searched."
He called the property "definitely overlooked," noting that Ruben Flores's property, about a mile away, was the one searched in 2021, which led to the trials. Lambert suggested investigators were likely scanning the ground for anomalies beneath the surface, looking for signs that soil had been disturbed, dug up, or replaced.
He also pointed to evidence never recovered in the original investigation: "The clothing she was wearing that night was never found. The clothing that Paul wore that night was never recovered. And so those things could be here as well."
The fact that a property owned by the Flores family since the time of Smart's disappearance went largely unsearched for nearly thirty years raises hard questions about the pace and thoroughness of the original investigation. Missing-persons cases that go cold often reflect early failures in follow-through, a pattern that, as seen in other high-profile disappearances, leaves families waiting years or decades for answers.
The search relied on specialized forensic techniques. Tim Nelligan, an expert in soil vapor testing, told Live5 he was at the property this week. He said his team had developed a methodology to assess soil vapor in the grounds and that tests showed evidence of "human cadaver decomposition."
Newsmax reported that scientists specializing in human decomposition and soil collected samples during the search, including soil-vapor testing designed to detect compounds associated with cadaver decomposition. Authorities scheduled a public news conference for Friday to update the community on the findings.
The Los Angeles Times, as cited in the coverage, reported that scientists had found volatile organic compounds in soil in the property's neighboring backyard roughly three years ago, compounds that could indicate decomposing human remains nearby. That earlier finding may have helped build the case for this week's warrant, though authorities have not publicly explained what specific evidence prompted the search now.
Forensic investigations of this kind, where experts attempt to locate remains through ground-penetrating technology and chemical analysis rather than traditional excavation, have grown more common in cold cases. The question is whether the science here can deliver what decades of conventional police work could not.
Kristin Smart disappeared in 1996 in the town of Arroyo Grande, California. She was a student at California Polytechnic State University. The last person seen with her was Paul Flores, a fellow student who told investigators he walked her home from an off-campus party and that they parted ways.
Smart was reported missing two days later by a friend. A search began only after what has been described as a miscommunication between authorities, another early stumble in a case riddled with them. Four different search dogs led police to Flores's dorm room, but no arrest followed for more than two decades.
Smart was declared dead in 2002, six years after she vanished. Yet it took until 2021 for Paul Flores and his father, Ruben Flores, to be arrested. Prosecutors alleged Smart was killed during an attempted rape and that her body was buried on Ruben Flores's property before being moved.
When law enforcement agencies pursue long-missing persons cases, the gap between suspicion and action often stretches far longer than the public expects, or than justice demands.
At trial, the jury heard evidence of a grave beneath the deck at Ruben Flores's home. Two women also testified that Paul Flores had drugged them and engaged in sex acts with them against their will and while they were too intoxicated to give legal consent. Paul Flores was convicted of Smart's murder in 2022 and is now serving a sentence of 25 years to life.
Ruben Flores was acquitted of accessory charges. Susan Flores has never faced criminal charges related to Smart's death.
In 2024, a judge ruled Paul Flores must pay just over $350,000 in restitution to Smart's family. That same year, Harold Mesick, Flores's attorney, stated that the defense did not know where Smart's remains are.
It is worth noting that the Kristin Smart case reached a courtroom in large part because of work done outside official channels. The "Your Own Backyard" podcast, run by Lambert, is credited with bringing new witnesses forward and generating the public pressure that pushed investigators to act after years of inaction.
That a podcaster accomplished what law enforcement could not, or would not, for a quarter century is not a feel-good media story. It is an indictment of institutional failure. Families of victims should not have to rely on independent media to keep their cases from being forgotten.
The pattern is not unique to this case. Across the country, investigations into missing persons have stalled for weeks, months, or years, leaving families to fill the gaps themselves or plead publicly for answers.
Several questions hang over this week's developments. Authorities have not confirmed whether the evidence found at Susan Flores's home includes physical remains or only chemical and forensic indicators that remains were once present. They have not said whether any recovered material has been sent for DNA testing or how long identification might take.
The specific evidence that led investigators to Susan Flores's property at this point, after decades of the home going largely unsearched, has not been disclosed. Breitbart reported that the sheriff's office scheduled a public update for Friday, which may provide additional clarity.
It also remains unclear whether the search could lead to new charges against anyone. Susan Flores has not been charged, and Ruben Flores was acquitted. Paul Flores is already serving 25 years to life.
For the Smart family, the discovery, whatever it ultimately reveals, represents another chapter in a case that has demanded more patience than any family should have to summon. Kristin Smart has been missing for more than thirty years. She was declared dead more than twenty years ago. Her killer sits in prison. And still, her family waits to bring her home.
Cases like these remind us that forensic evidence can take investigators down long, uncertain roads, and that the system owes victims' families more than patience and press conferences.
Thirty years is not a cold case finally warming up. It is a failure finally being addressed. The Smart family deserved answers a generation ago. The least the system can do now is finish the job.
