Investigators are once again searching a home in San Luis Obispo County tied to the 1996 disappearance of Kristin Smart. The property in Arroyo Grande belongs to Susan Flores, the mother of convicted killer Paul Flores. Three years ago, Flores, who had been living in San Pedro, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of murdering Smart, even though her body has never been recovered. Authorities say investigators are also examining a neighboring property during the renewed search effort. Scientists previously detected volatile organic compounds at that location three years ago, findings that investigators said could be linked to decomposing human remains. The renewed investigation comes nearly three decades after Smart vanished while attending California Polytechnic State University, a case that has drawn national attention and left her family still searching for answers and closure in California’s most notorious missing persons cases ever.
