Daily Mail57%
Investigators give bleak Kristin Smart update after new search at killer's mom's home sparked hope she'd be returned 30 years after disappearance 4%
By Wilko Martinez-cachero0%
5/10/2026, 12:25:33 AM
Topics: California
Keywords: Dailymail, California
BS Summary: This article contains 16 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Emotion, Framing Effect, and Optimism Bias, with Ambiguity (Equivocation) as the most egregious example at 10.9% saturation with 74 hits. Analysis detected 514 faulty-reasoning hits from 676 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 17.6% and a BS Rank of 4% (16,235 of 16,813 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 96.60% of the article peer group.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office announced Saturday that investigators have not recovered Kristin Smart at her killer's mother's home that they were searching.
Authorities confirmed they had finished searching the home of Susan Flores, the mother of convicted killer Paul Flores, in the 500 block of East Branch Street in Arroyo Grande, California.
The sheriff's office said 'we did not recover Kristin Smart' and refused to say specifically what evidence they had found.
A statement added that law enforcement remained 'fully committed to finding Kristin and bringing her home to her family.'
Detectives will now evaluate 'any evidence' recovered to continue the investigation.
Flores' Arroyo Grande property was searched on Wednesday using ground–penetrating radar technology and specialized soil testing - igniting new hopes that Smart would finally be found three decades after she vanished.
Smart disappeared more than 30 years ago while attending California Polytechnic State University and was legally declared dead in 2002.
Paul Flores, her former classmate, was convicted of her murder in 2022.
Smart's remains have never been found.
In Saturday's update, law enforcement said they would not provide any further information.
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson had said Friday that that Flores remained a person of interest in the decades–old case.
Parkinson said prosecutors could pursue charges if investigators uncovered enough evidence to build a case.
'She can still be prosecuted as an accessory if we can make that link,' Parkinson said.
He said that had happened with Flores' ex–husband, Ruben Flores.
He was charged with helping conceal Smart's body but was acquitted of being an accessory after the fact.
When asked if investigators were receiving results that were 'consistent with human remains presence,' Parkinson said, 'Correct.'
Authorities explained that they would file as many search warrants as needed.
'We're prepared to go as long as it takes until we either find Kristin, find evidence and are satisfied that everything has been searched,' Parkinson said.
The search warrant for Flores' home prevented her from re–entering until the search was complete.
The sheriff's office had access to the whole property and a portion of a neighboring yard.
Smart went missing from California Polytechnic State University in 1996 and was declared dead six years later.
Prosecutors alleged she was killed during an attempted rape and that the last person she was seen with was Paul Flores, a fellow student.
He claimed at the time that he walked Smart home from an off-campus party and parted ways.
Him and his father Ruben were arrested in 2021, with prosecutors alleging that Smart's body had been buried on Ruben's property before being moved.
Paul Flores was convicted of her murder and is serving a 25 years-to-life sentence.
Investigators again noted this week that they believed Smart's body had been moved.
'Kristin has been moved, and we don’t know how many times she’s been moved and where she’s moved,' Parkinson said.
Susan has never faced criminal charges related to Smart's death.
Smart was reported missing by a friend but a search didn't begin until days later due to the miscommunication between authorities.
Four different search dogs trained to pick up the smell of human remains led police to Paul Flores's dorm room during the investigation.
However, no evidence was found in his room.
Investigators found him with a black eye during their interview, which Flores claimed he received playing basketball with friends, who denied his account.
He later changed his story to say he bumped his head while working on his car, per court records.
The jury heard evidence that a grave was located beneath the deck of Ruben's home which is believed to have previously held Smart's body.
Additionally, two women testified that Flores subsequently drugged them and engaged in sex acts with them against their will and while they were so intoxicated that they were incapable of giving legal consent.
Flores was unanimously found guilty of Smart's first degree murder.
Analysis
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