Authorities searching a home in Arroyo Grande said Friday that evidence suggests human remains were present at the property connected to Paul Flores, who was convicted of killing Kristin Smart. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said at a news conference that investigators cannot yet say whether the remains are Smart’s, or whether authorities will pursue further warrants to expand the search.
The search began Wednesday after investigators served a warrant at the home in the central coast town of Arroyo Grande, more than 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles. The sheriff said scientists specializing in human decomposition and soil collected samples from the ground during the search.
Parkinson said the team is working from what he characterized 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 Friday.
Smart, then 19, went missing from California Polytechnic State University in May 1996 after returning from an off-campus party. Prosecutors alleged she was killed during an attempted rape, and that the last person she was seen with was Paul Flores, a fellow student; Smart was later declared legally dead in 2002. Authorities have spent years trying to locate her body, which has never been found.
Parkinson said investigators have not specified what prompted the Wednesday search. He also said the length and scope of the search remained uncertain, adding that Susan Flores, Paul Flores’ mother, could not return until investigators finished checking the property. “We are not leaving that house until we are sure that we have checked everything,” Parkinson said.
Parkinson said the property had changed over the years, and investigators may need to move items on the site to deploy ground-penetrating radar, which can detect anomalies. He said the operation might require multiple search warrants to dig, including excavating cement.
Tim Nelligan, an expert in soil vapor testing, 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, in general, “come up with a methodology to assess soil vapor” and its relation to “human cadaver decomposition,” but he declined to discuss the specifics of the current investigation. Soil vapor sampling involves collecting underground gas samples to detect volatile organic compounds associated with human decomposition, according to the description provided in the report.
Chris Lambert, a podcaster whose “Your Own Backyard” show has supported investigations by sharing tips and additional witnesses, said Thursday he did not know details about the search but expected it could lead to results. “This property in particular has been overlooked for quite some time,” Lambert said in front of the home, adding that past searches of Susan Flores’ property had not been thorough.
The sheriff’s remarks came as family representatives sought to emphasize hope for answers. In a statement, the Smart family said it “remain[s] hopeful that this current search will be successful” and added that they “continue to feel the amazing support of the local community which provides us with great strength to continue this journey to bring Kristin home.” The report also said attempts to reach Susan Flores for comment this week were not successful and that she has never faced criminal charges related to the case.
Paul Flores and his father, Ruben Flores, were arrested in 2021. Prosecutors alleged Smart’s remains were buried on Ruben Flores’ property and later moved; Ruben Flores was acquitted of accessory charges, and that property is different from the one currently being searched. Paul Flores was sentenced in March 2023 to prison and has been physically attacked at least twice, and in 2024 a judge ruled that he must pay just over $350,000 to Smart’s family for costs they incurred after her death.
Flores’ attorney, Harold Mesick, said in 2024 that the defense did not know where Smart’s remains are, and Flores maintains his innocence. The Smart family has said it would forgo restitution if Flores tells them where Smart’s body is.
This story has been updated to correct a word in Parkinson’s quote and the distance from Arroyo Grande to Los Angeles.