In the spring of 1996, Kristin Smart, a 19-year-old college student, left a party off campus in San Luis Obispo, California, and walked to her residence.
She was never seen again. No remains were found.
But on April 13, 2021, after an investigation that spanned nearly a quarter of a century, authorities announced that two men in California – Paul Flores (44) and his father, Ruben Flores (80) – had been arrested in connection with her disappearance.
In a statement, the Smart family describes a long wait for ‘this bittersweet day’.
“It is impossible to put into words what this day means for our family,” they said. “We pray that this is the first step in bringing our daughter home.”
Here is a timeline of the Smart case.
May 25, 1996
The disappearance
Mrs. Smart, a native of Stockton, California, was a first-year student at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. On May 25, 1996, friends dropped her off at an off-campus party. She leaves around 2 a.m. and is accompanied by Paul Flores, who was also a student at Cal Poly. He later told investigators he walked her to his dormitory, where they were separated.
A report of missing persons was submitted to the campus police on 28 May.
The following month, the sheriff of San Luis Obispo province took over from Cal Poly police as the chief investigators.
1996-1997
The search
The search for Mrs. Smart, nicknamed “Roxy”, took many forms. Shortly after her disappearance, a sheriff’s search party combed remote parts of the Cal Poly campus on horseback, an archive video of KCRA TV shows. Helicopters were used to cover the area. Police searched her dormitory in Muir Hall, found her purse and memories of handing in instructions. Cadaver dogs were sent to Paul Flores’ dormitory.
Paul Flores was identified early in the case as a ‘person of interest’. He denied any involvement.
Missing posters and billboards offering rewards have appeared along roadsides and in other public places. There is an interview with me. They described that she had dropped her off at the party at an unofficial fraternity and said that when it was over, she needed support to walk while being escorted home by Paul Flores.
The Smart family filed a $ 40 million lawsuit against Paul Flores in 1997, but he was not immediately charged in the case. He refused to answer questions during a deposit in November 1997, citing the fifth amendment.
2002-20
The Inquiry
Me. Smart’s family declared her legally dead in 2002, but the investigation and the investigation continued. In 2004, the family sought donations to stop billboards along Highway 101 to raise awareness, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Cadaveric dogs trained to detect human decomposition have been deployed by the FBI to search on and near the Cal Poly campus. One of the areas was a hill above campus. In 2016, landslides dug into the ground there, but did not pick up any remains.
The investigating officers of the sheriff and forensic specialists involved in the case of Mrs. Smart was assigned, executed 18 warrants, filed 37 articles collected in the early days of the case for DNA testing, obtained 140 new evidence and conducted 91 interviews from 2011 to 2020, the office said.
Authorities began describing Paul Flores as a “main suspect” in the case. Two trucks belonging to members of the Flores family in 1996 were taken as evidence. In February 2020, authorities executed and recovered search warrants at four locations in California and Washington State that described the sheriff of San Luis Obispo province as ‘interesting’. One place was the home of Paul Flores in Los Angeles, reports KCAL-TV.
In March 2021, investigators used carcass dogs and ground-penetrating radar to search the property of Ruben Flores in Arroyo Grande, California.
Paul Flores was arrested on April 13, 2021 at his home in the San Pedro ward of Los Angeles and charged with murder. Ruben Flores, 80, was arrested at his home on the same day and was allegedly charged with being an accessory.
The next day, Dan Dow, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney, said that Paul Flores “killed” Ms. Smart ’caused’ in the commission of rape, or attempted. “Ruben Flores helped hide her remains,” he said.
Me. Smart’s family released a statement after the arrests were announced.
“We now trust the legal system and move forward,” they said, “comforting in the knowledge that Kristin was held in the hearts of so many people and that she was not forgotten.”