When Did Kristin Smart Go Missing? Inside College Student's Disappearance

Nearly three decades after Kristin Smart vanished from a California college campus, her family is still searching - not for answers about who killed her, but for the one thing that could finally bring them peace: her body.

Smart was killed in 1996, but her murderer, Paul Flores, wasn't convicted of the crime until 2023. After Flores lost his final appeal to overturn or reduce his life sentence, Smart's family has made it clear they aren't done fighting for justice.

In May 2026, it seemed that a possible breakthrough in the case might have happened after police obtained a search warrant for Flores' mother's home. However, Smart's remains were ultimately not found at the residence.

Keep reading to learn about the case, including when Smart went missing in the first place.

Kristin Smart Disappeared From California Polytechnic State University in 1996

Smart was just 19 years old when she was murdered on the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, campus, where she had just completed her freshman year. She was last seen on May 25, 1996, after she attended an off-campus party.

Flores, who was also a student at the school, was the last person seen with her leaving the party before she disappeared. Despite Flores being on investigators' radar from the start, more than two decades passed before authorities made an arrest.

On Us Weekly's Uncovered, investigative journalist Kristin Thornetook a deeper dive into the case while speaking with San Luis Obispo Tribune reporter Chloe Jones, who covered Flores' trial and has spoken with Smart's parents.

Jones explained that Flores "was always the person of interest ever since she first went missing." But detectives "did not treat it like a missing persons case when she first went missing."

"A lot of evidence in his room disappeared, and essentially this botched investigation led to never having enough evidence to actually convict this person," Jones said.

The Search for Kristin Smart's Body

Years after Smart died, police received a tip that allowed them to obtain a search warrant for Flores' father Ruben Flores' backyard "where they found an empty clandestine grave that had alleged evidence of human remains being there."

Jones said that evidence was "essentially a soil stain."

"They did some ground-penetrating radar and found an anomaly in the ground, and the anomaly was about the size of a grave of a human body, and then when they dug up that anomaly to see what was in there, they found essentially, like, a bathtub ring stain," she said. "They did some testing on it, and the testing of that bathtub ring tested positive for human blood."

Even with that breakthrough, Smart's body has never been recovered, and the absence weighs heavily on her family.

"They still don't have a body, and all they want to do is have her body, have that closure to lay her to rest," Jones said. "They're still in a lot of pain, they're still hurting. They still feel like, even though the trial's done, they don't have that closure that they'd like."

Jones said it remains a "big mystery" where Smart's body is, though her "family will never give up on" finding her.

Paul Flores' Arrest and Conviction in Kristin Smart's Murder

Flores was arrested in 2021, more than two decades after Smart vanished. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in March 2023 after a jury found him guilty of murdering Smart.

The trial hinged on more than just the circumstantial evidence surrounding Smart's disappearance. During the proceedings, the judge allowed two women to testify who said they had been raped by Flores.

How 2 Women's Testimonies Helped Convict Paul Flores

The testimonies proved to be a turning point in the case.

"The testimonies of the women who said that they were raped by Paul Flores after Kristin was murdered were very powerful. It really connected with the jury, and it really connected with the gallery," Jones said. "They were both extremely affected by it, and they also experienced very similar patterns of behavior, where they kind of were pursued by Paul at a bar. Paul gave them a drink. They essentially blacked out, got really dizzy and woke up at some point with Paul on top of them."

During one of the testimonies, one woman claimed she had a ball gag in her mouth when she was raped by Flores.

"I think that was testimony that was really impactful," Jones continued. "In my conversation with the jurors after the sentencing, they actually said the two women who testified did impact their decision-making in finding Paul guilty."

Amid the investigation, prosecutors obtained a search warrant and were able to go through Flores' computer. They found videos of Flores having sex with "women who appeared to be unconscious."

"Based off of the people who witnessed Kristin at the party the night that she disappeared, she was incredibly intoxicated and incredibly incoherent and unable to consent and could barely walk," Jones explained.

Paul Flores' Appeals Were Denied

Flores has consistently maintained that he did not kill Smart.

Two years after Flores' conviction, his attorneys filed an appeal to overturn the verdict, arguing that "the two women who testified" against Flores "should not have been allowed to do that" and that "the jury never should have heard that testimony."

Before the first appeal was denied in October 2025, Flores' attorneys filed a second appeal to overturn the case. The second appeal was denied in January 2026.

New Search Warrant Issued at Susan Flores' Home in May 2026

Nearly 30 years after Smart's disappearance, a new search warrant was issued in connection to her death.

On May 6, 2026, deputies with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at a house in the 500 block of East Branch Street. The home belongs to Flores' mother, Susan Flores.

The sheriff's office confirmed that the investigation stemmed from a search warrant, which was signed by a Superior Court judge and was related to Smart's disappearance.

"The Sheriff's Office remains committed to bringing Kristin home to her family," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

Two days later, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson revealed that authorities may have found human remains at the property.

"We believe that … human remains were there at one time or still there," Parkinson told reporters on May 8, 2026, per NBC News. "I'm not going to go into the details, other than just to say with soil tests, it's about the compounds in the soil that are related to a human, decomposing body."

Kristin Smart's Remains Not Found at Susan Flores' Home

On May 9, 2026, authorities announced in a press release that they concluded their search of Susan Flores' home and did not recover Smart's remains.

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office added that they will be evaluating any evidence recovered during the search as the investigation continues.

"The Sheriff's Office remains fully committed to finding Kristin and bringing her home to her family," the statement concluded.

This story was compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists.

Copyright Us Weekly. All rights reserved.

This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 3:38 PM.