Paul Flores: Two suspects arrested in the disappearance of Kristin Smart say family and sources

Paul Flores: Two suspects arrested in the disappearance of Kristin Smart say family and sources

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John Segale, a smart family spokesman, told CNN the family was notified by law enforcement on Tuesday that Paul Flores and his father, Ruben Flores, had been arrested Tuesday morning.

Two law enforcement sources confirmed the arrests were made Tuesday. Paul and Ruben Flores are under the supervision of the sheriff of San Luis Obispo County, one of the sources said.

Last month, authorities searched Ruben Flores’ home in Arroyo Grande. Flores’ son, Paul, remained the main suspect in the decades-long missing case.

Reached by phone, Robert Sanger, a lawyer for Paul Flores, said he would not comment on ‘pending cases’. An attorney for Ruben Flores could not be reached immediately.

The news of the arrest sparked emotions from the Smart family, Segale said.

There were ‘many emotional moments’, he said. “Lots of prayers, surprise, excitement, happiness and of course sadness. Sad, because it’s been around for 25 years. The Smart family could not bury their daughter. There was no closure. ‘

The sheriff of San Luis Obispo County is planning a local conference at 2 p.m. (5 p.m. ET).

Smart disappeared on May 25, 1996. Police last saw her near Cal Polytechnic San Luis Obispo residence after walking home from a party.

Smart was pronounced dead in 2002.

Investigators are investigating the case of Kristin Smart, a Cal Poly student who went missing in 1996

Last year, investigators searched Paul Flores’ home and said they had found “interesting things” on the property.

At that point, Flores was detained at his home in San Pedro, California, and released after the search for his home, sheriff’s spokesman Tony Cipolla said at the time.

Officials said Paul Flores was the last person to see Smart on May 25, 1996.

Smart disappeared after she and other students walked home from a fraternity party.

Police last saw near her dormitory, but she never came to her room. Friends and family never heard from her again, authorities said.

She did not have identification, money or extra clothing when she disappeared, police said.

A massive search and repeated interviews with a student who walked with her that evening yielded no breaks, and Smart was pronounced dead in 2002.

In 2016, following clues indicating that her body was buried on campus, the FBI flew three cadaveric dogs from the training facility in Quantico, Virginia, and investigators excavated part of the hill near where the school’s trademark “P” embedded, until not utilized.

Last year, the sheriff’s office said he was working on the case and provided a list of his efforts since 2011, when the current government was in charge, including: 18 investigations at nine locations; the submission of 37 pieces of evidence for DNA testing; the restoration of ‘140 new evidence’; and conducted 91 interviews.

CNN’s Stella Chan and Ray Sanchez contributed to this report.

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