Search finds evidence pointing to human remains at Susan Flores home tied to Paul Flores

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said Friday that evidence suggests human remains were present at a home connected to Paul Flores, the man convicted in the 1996 killing of Kristin Smart. Parkinson said investigators cannot yet confirm whether the remains are Smart’s, and he left open whether authorities would seek another warrant to expand excavation.

The search began Wednesday after authorities served a warrant at the Arroyo Grande home, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles. Investigators have not specified what prompted the warrant, but scientists specializing in human decomposition and soil took samples from the ground during the operation.

Parkinson told reporters that the department’s assessment was based on what he described as “scientific evidence.” “We believe that based on what we’re looking at evidence-wise — scientific evidence — that a human’s remains were there at one time — or still there. We can’t call it Kristin, but there’s evidence to support human remains,” he said during a news conference.

Parkinson said authorities were searching a property connected to Susan Flores and that the convicted killer, Paul Flores, had been linked to Smart’s killing in court. Smart, 19, went missing in May 1996 after returning from an off-campus party near California Polytechnic State University, and prosecutors alleged she was killed during an attempted rape. Smart was declared legally dead in 2002, and her body has never been found.

The sheriff said Friday that investigators cannot yet say whether the remains are Smart’s or whether the department will ask for another warrant to dig further on Susan Flores’ property. He said it was uncertain how long the search would last, and he added that Susan Flores would not be able to return until investigators felt they had completed their work.

Parkinson said the investigation may require additional steps as the property has changed over the years. He said investigators must move items to deploy ground-penetrating radar, which can detect anomalies, and he suggested multiple warrants could be needed, including excavating cement.

Parkinson also said attempts to reach Susan Flores for comment had not been successful and that she has never faced criminal charges related to the case. He said investigators are working with specialists, including Tim Nelligan, an expert in soil vapor testing who confirmed by phone Thursday that he was on the premises gathering samples from the yards of Flores and a neighbor. Nelligan said his team had “come up with a methodology to assess soil vapor” and its relation to “human cadaver decomposition,” but he could not discuss the current investigation.

In explaining the search methods, Nelligan’s work was described as soil vapor sampling, an evolving science that involves collecting underground gas samples to detect volatile organic compounds associated with human decomposition. That approach, along with ground-penetrating radar, is intended to identify anomalies that investigators may follow with further excavation if warranted.

Chris Lambert, the podcaster behind “Your Own Backyard,” said he did not know much about the specific details of the current search, but he told reporters Thursday that he was optimistic investigators could locate Smart’s body. Lambert also said past searches of Susan Flores’ home had never been thorough, and he previously described the property as overlooked for quite some time.

The Smart case also has a history of court actions involving the Flores family. Paul Flores and Ruben Flores were arrested in 2021, and prosecutors alleged Smart’s remains were buried on Ruben Flores’ property and later moved. Ruben Flores was acquitted of accessory charges, and prosecutors said the property currently being searched is different. Paul Flores was sentenced in March 2023 to prison, where he has been physically attacked at least twice, and a judge ordered him in 2024 to pay just over $350,000 to Smart’s family for costs incurred after her death. The family has said it would forgo restitution if Flores tells them where Smart’s body was found, and Flores’ attorney Harold Mesick said in 2024 that the defense did not know where her remains are; Flores maintains his innocence.

Smart’s family said in a statement that it remained hopeful about the search and thanked the local community for support as investigators work to determine what the evidence indicates. The sheriff said the department was still in an active, evidence-gathering stage and that it would continue until investigators felt they had checked everything.

This story has been updated to correct a word in Parkinson’s quote and the distance from Arroyo Grande to Los Angeles.