Search Ends at Susan Flores Home, Kristin Smart Still Missing

After nearly three decades, the search for Kristin Smart continues to hit dead ends—literally. Investigators wrapped up operations on Saturday at a property in Arroyo Grande belonging to Susan Flores, mother of Paul Flores, the man convicted of Smart’s 1996 murder. Despite bringing in specialists in soil analysis and human decomposition to comb through the Central Coast home, authorities confirmed that any human remains discovered during the dig did not belong to the missing college student.

It’s a frustrating turn in a case that’s already been marked by decades of dead silence. Paul Flores was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2022—a conviction that came 20 years after Smart vanished and 26 years after she was last seen alive. Flores attended school with Smart and was the last person known to see her. Yet conviction and closure aren’t the same thing. Smart was declared legally dead in 2002, but her family and investigators have never located her remains.

The search itself was fueled by hope. Officials said evidence suggested human remains may once have been present on the property, enough to justify the extensive dig and specialist analysis. That investigators were willing to expend these resources speaks to the weight of the case and the possibility they believed they were close. But possibility and reality diverged once again.

What makes this particularly difficult is what it represents: a murder with a name, a face, a conviction—but no body. Smart’s family can’t lay her to rest. Investigators can’t provide the physical closure that often comes with finding remains. And the public, who’ve watched this case unfold across decades, must sit with the uncomfortable reality that sometimes justice and answers don’t arrive together. The sheriff’s office says investigators remain dedicated to finding Smart. The search may have ended at Susan Flores’home, but the hunt for Kristin Smart goes on.