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Authorities conducted a fresh search of the California home belonging to Susan Flores — the mother of convicted killer Paul Flores — hoping to finally recover the remains of Kristin Smart, the Cal Poly student who vanished in 1996.

Despite extensive digging and soil testing that indicated human remains had once been present on the Arroyo Grande property, investigators announced Saturday they did not recover Kristin’s body.

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the search has concluded. Detectives are now analyzing evidence collected from the site, while reaffirming their commitment to finding Kristin and bringing her home to her family.

Promising Leads Turned Up Empty

Soil tests conducted during the search suggested that human remains had been on the property at some point, according to Sheriff Ian Parkinson. He noted this was the third search of the residence, driven by new investigative leads.

“We believe… that human remains were there at one time or still there,” Parkinson said. “So we can’t call it Kristin, but you know, we think there’s evidence to support human remains there.”

The sheriff emphasized that investigators thoroughly searched the property and left no stone unturned.

The Real Story

This latest search represents another painful chapter in one of California’s most enduring missing persons cases. Kristin Smart, 19, disappeared in May 1996 after a party on the Cal Poly campus. Paul Flores was convicted of her murder in 2022 and sentenced to life in prison. Prosecutors alleged he killed her in his dorm room and, with help from his father Ruben, buried her body under the deck at his parents’ home.

While Paul remains behind bars and Ruben was acquitted of being an accessory, Kristin’s remains have never been found — leaving her family without full closure after nearly three decades.

The fact that soil evidence once again pointed to the presence of human decomposition on the Flores property — yet no body was recovered — only deepens the mystery and frustration surrounding this case. It raises difficult questions about what happened to Kristin’s remains over the years and whether they were moved.

For Kristin’s family, the search brings renewed hope followed by more heartbreak. After 29 years, the fight to bring their daughter home continues.