Investigators found possible human remains on a property linked to the mother of Paul Flores, the man convicted of killing Kristin Smart.
The discovery comes 30 years [5] after the 19-year-old [2] California Polytechnic State University student vanished from campus in 1996 [1]. For three decades, the location of Smart's body remained unknown, leaving her family without closure despite a 2022 conviction [4] of her killer.
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office and California State Police investigators served a new search warrant in early May 2026 [6]. The warrant targeted a residence in Arroyo Grande owned by the mother of Paul Flores. Officials said new forensic testing produced results consistent with human remains [7], prompting the renewed search effort.
Smart disappeared from the San Luis Obispo campus in 1996 [1]. She was officially declared dead in 2002 [3]. While Paul Flores was convicted of the murder in 2022 [4], the lack of a body had been a central point of contention and grief for the victim's family for years.
The current operation involves a concentrated search of the Arroyo Grande property to recover and identify the remains. Investigators are utilizing the positive forensic findings [7] to narrow their search area. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office is leading the effort to determine if the remains belong to Smart.
This latest development follows years of legal battles and a high-profile trial that ended with Flores' conviction. The discovery of human remains on property tied to the defendant's family provides a physical lead that was previously missing from the case.
“Authorities have reopened the Kristin Smart case after 30 years.”
The discovery of potential remains on a property linked to the convicted killer's family could provide the final piece of evidence needed to close one of California's most notorious cold cases. While Paul Flores is already convicted, the recovery of Kristin Smart's body would provide forensic confirmation of the crime and offer the family long-awaited closure.
