Human remains found in hunt for Kristin Smart 30 years after California college student's disappearance

By WILL POTTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 19:11, 8 May 2026 | Updated: 19:27, 8 May 2026 Human remains have been discovered at the home of a man convicted of murdering missing California college student Kristin Smart, who vanished in 1996.  Smart disappeared over 30 years ago in the town of Arroyo Grande, California, and she was declared dead in 2002 but her remains have never been found.  Following a raid on the home of her killer Paul Flores this week, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office said evidence suggests human remains were present in the property.  Sheriff Ian Parkinson cautioned that authorities have not confirmed whether the remains are those of Smart.  Cops searched the home of Flores' mother Susan on Wednesday, and investigators specializing in human decomposition and soil were seen taking samples from the ground, per Live5.  Parkinson said in a press conference that the raid marked a major breakthrough in the decades-old case. 'We believe that based on what we’re looking at evidence-wise, scientific-wise, that a human’s remains were there at one time, or still there,' the sheriff said.  'We can’t call it Kristin, but there’s evidence to support human remains.' Kristin Smart vanished in 1996, and her remains have never been found - with authorities now saying they found human remains at a home connected to her killer  Paul Flores, seen in 2006, was convicted of murdering Smart in 2022, and he is serving a life sentence in prison  Authorities are seen here conducting a search of the garage of the property on Wednesday  The search was first reported by the 'Your Own Backyard' podcast, who provided investigators with additional witnesses in the hopes of finding Smart's body. She went missing from California Polytechnic State University in 1996. She was declared legally dead in 2002. Prosecutors alleged she was killed during an attempted rape and that the last person she was seen with was Flores, a fellow student, who claimed at the time that he walked her home from an off-campus party and they parted ways.  Both Flores and his father Ruben were arrested in 2021, with prosecutors alleging that her body was buried on Ruben's property before being moved. Paul Flores was convicted of her murder and is serving a 25 years-to-life sentence, but his father was acquitted of accessory charges.  Smart's murder has puzzled investigators for decades, with the renewed search coming after scientists found volatile organic compounds in the soil in the property's neighboring backyard three years ago, according to the LA Times.  That find, the outlet reported, could be an indication that there is decomposing human remains nearby.  Prosecutors alleged she was killed during an attempted rape and that the last person she was seen with was Flores (pictured), a fellow student Flores said he walked Smart home from a party on the night she was last seen alive before parting ways Authorities are seen here conducting a search of the garage of the property on Wednesday  Following the bombshell news that human remains had been found at Flores' mothers home, an investigator revealed that his team used forensic techniques to find traces of decomposition.  Tim Nelligan, an expert in soil vapor testing, told Live5 that he was at the property this week, and said his team had 'come up with a methodology to assess soil vapor' in the grounds.  He said these tests showed evidence of 'human cadaver decomposition.'  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.