{"id":765,"date":"2026-05-07T18:32:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T18:32:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/07\/kristin-smart-search-underway-at-slo-county-home-of-killers-mother\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T18:32:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T18:32:49","slug":"kristin-smart-search-underway-at-slo-county-home-of-killers-mother","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/07\/kristin-smart-search-underway-at-slo-county-home-of-killers-mother\/","title":{"rendered":"Kristin Smart search underway at SLO County home of killer\u2019s mother"},"content":{"rendered":"

Update, Thursday 9:30 a.m.:<\/b><\/p>

The search at Susan Flores\u2019 Arroyo Grande home continued into a second day on Thursday. See updates from that day at our new story here.<\/p>

Read more Need last minute dinner reservations for Mother\u2019s Day? Try these Sacramento spots<\/a><\/p>

Original story:<\/b><\/p>

Sheriff\u2019s investigators served a search warrant in the Kristin Smart case Wednesday morning at the Arroyo Grande home of convicted killer Paul Flores\u2019 mother Susan Flores.<\/p>

The new search comes after scientists using a special soil vapor analysis said they found evidence of human decomposition near Susan Flores\u2019 yard in June 2023.<\/p>

Paul Flores was convicted in 2022 of killing Smart when she was a first-year student at Cal Poly. Smart went missing nearly 30 years ago on Memorial Day weekend of 1996. Her body has never been recovered.<\/p>

Susan Flores has never been charged in connection with the Smart case.<\/p>

Follow The Tribune for live updates from the scene:<\/p>

Search of Arroyo Grande home will continue another day, Sheriff\u2019s Office says<\/h2>

The Sheriff\u2019s Office will continue executing its search warrant of the Branch Street property on Thursday, the agency announced Wednesday evening.<\/p>

Further details on the search were not released.<\/p>

Search continues at Arroyo Grande home<\/h2>

Update, 3 p.m.:<\/b><\/p>

The search of Susan Flores\u2019 home on Branch Street in Arroyo Grande continued into Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>

Sheriff\u2019s Office representatives and soil investigators could be seen walking the area around the home and a neighboring yard as of 2:50 p.m.<\/p>

Sheriff\u2019s Office spokesman Tony Cipolla told The Tribune he could not share how long the search was expected to take.<\/p>

He did confirm that the last time the Sheriff\u2019s Office searched the outside of the property was in 2000. A 2020 search of the home was for digital media only, he said.<\/p>

Smart family aware of search, spokesman says<\/h2>

Update, 1:10 p.m.:<\/b><\/p>

John Segale, spokesman for the Smart family, said they were made aware of the search this morning.<\/p>

Segale did not offer any additional comment from the Smart family on the search at this time, instead directing The Tribune to the Kristin Smart Scholarship to honor her life.<\/p>

Denise Smart, Kristin Smart\u2019s mother, has previously said that despite Paul Flores\u2019 2022 conviction, the case will not be over for the family until her daughter\u2019s remains are found and returned home.<\/p>

\u201cThere\u2019s no finality for us,\u201d she told The Tribune in January following Paul Flores\u2019 final appeal being denied.<\/p>

Sheriff\u2019s Office releases photos from Kristin Smart search<\/h2>

Update, 1 p.m.:<\/b><\/p>

The Sheriff\u2019s Office released additional photos from the search on Wednesday, showing law enforcement as they canvassed the Branch Street home of Susan Flores.<\/p>

The pictures showed cold case Det. Clint Cole, Sheriff Ian Parkinson and others as they inspected the property, looking at the patio, yard and inside a cluttered garage.<\/p>

The Sheriff’s Office has issued a press release regarding a search warrant related to the Kristin Smart investigation.The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff\u2019s Office is conducting an additional investigation into the property in the 500 block of East Branch Street in Arroyo Grande.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/mWK4iL2Ccy<\/p>\u2014 SLO County Sheriff (@SLOSheriff) May 6, 2026<\/blockquote> <\/div>

Kristin Smart podcaster watches search at Flores home<\/h2>

Update, 12:45 p.m.:<\/b><\/p>

Among those at the scene watching the latest developments was Chris Lambert, the creator of the popular true-crime podcast \u201cYour Own Backyard,\u201d who called the property \u201coverlooked\u201d in the scope of the search for Smart\u2019s remains.<\/p>

\u201cKristin\u2019s parents have been waiting all this time to learn what happened to her remains \u2014 regardless of where they are today \u2014 to just know where they ended up and what happened to them,\u201d Lambert told The Tribune. \u201cSo hopefully, every time a search like this happens, the hope is that they are going to finally recover her, and if they don\u2019t, then something they recover here will lead them to those answers.\u201d<\/p>

See more on what Lambert and onlookers said at the link below:<\/p>

Scientists previously said they found human remains evidence near Flores yard<\/h2>

Update, 12:15 p.m.:<\/b><\/p>

In recent years, Susan Flores\u2019 Arroyo Grande home has become a prominent point of interest in the ongoing push to find Kristin Smart\u2019s remains \u2014 especially after a group of scientists in 2023 announced a soil vapor sampling study saying they had discovered evidence of a \u201chuman decomposition event\u201d emitting from the property\u2019s yard.<\/p>

The group \u2014 which included environmental engineer and Cal Poly grad Tim Nelligan and environmental chemist and one-time Cal Poly lecturer Steve Hoyt \u2014 in 2020 tested the soil near the back fence of a home on East Branch Street which abutted the Flores\u2019 yard.<\/p>

During that test, they said they found several volatile organic compounds consistent with a decomposing human body concentrated at the border of the yard.<\/p>

The group in 2023 told The Tribune it was working with law enforcement to share its findings. It is unclear if any of their data gathered played a role in Wednesday\u2019s search warrant.<\/p>

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A soil vapor probe for vapor intrusion testing could be seen plugged in front of a home near the Flores property on Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>

District Attorney\u2019s office \u2018firmly committed\u2019 to finding Kristin Smart\u2019s remains, DA says<\/h2>

Update, 11:40 a.m.:<\/b><\/p>

On Wednesday, District Attorney Dan Dow said his office remains \u201cfirmly committed\u201d to finding Kristin Smart\u2019s remains.<\/p>

\u201cSince the jury convicted Paul Flores for the murder of Kristin Smart, the District Attorney\u2019s Office has continued working in coordination with the Sheriff\u2019s Office to fulfill our shared commitment to the Smart family and this community: to bring Kristin home,\u201d he said in a statement to The Tribune.<\/p>

Dow said the District Attorney\u2019s Bureau of Investigation was assisting with Wednesday\u2019s search, and Assistant District Attorney Eric Dobroth \u201csupported the Sheriff\u2019s Office in advance of their obtaining judicial authorization for this warrant.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cWhile those responsible for Kristin\u2019s death \u2014 and those with knowledge of her whereabouts \u2014 could provide answers at any time, we remain firmly committed to using every lawful tool available to locate Kristin\u2019s remains and to support her family until she is brought home,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>

Sheriff\u2019s Office searches Flores home in Arroyo Grande<\/h2>

Original story:<\/b><\/p>

In a news release, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff\u2019s Office said it was conducting an additional investigation into the property in the 500 block of East Branch Street in Arroyo Grande as of Wednesday morning.<\/p>

The investigation was \u201cthe result of a search warrant signed by a Superior Court judge,\u201d the release said.<\/p>

\u201cThe Sheriff\u2019s Office remains committed to bringing Kristin home to her family,\u201d the release said, noting that further details were not expected to be released Wednesday.<\/p>