![\"KCRA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768910290_568_kcra.png\")
<\/p>\nKristin Smart case: Stockton native’s remains still not found, convicted killer’s mother a person of interest<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTHAT WEEKEND FORECAST AND WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT WEEK. MIKE. THANKS, OPHELIA. HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, THE SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY SHERIFF IS HOLDING A NEWS CONFERENCE TO REVEAL MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SEARCH OF A HOME TIED TO THE KILLER OF STOCKTON NATIVE KRISTIN SMART. LET\u2019S LISTEN IN. WE ARE OUT THERE DURING THE SEARCH. IT\u2019S THE SAME GPR AND OPERATOR THAT WE USED AT RUBEN\u2019S HOUSE WHERE WE LOCATED WHAT WE BELIEVE WAS A LOCATION THAT KRISTIN WAS AT ONE TIME. THE ISSUE IS, IS, YOU KNOW, WHERE IS KRISTIN? AND FOR THOSE THAT HAVE FOLLOWED IT AND KNOW THE CASE, IT\u2019S BEEN A ROLLER COASTER. THERE\u2019S ALWAYS UPS AND YOU THINK YOU\u2019RE ON TO SOMETHING AND THEN IT DROPS TO NOTHING. THAT\u2019S THE WAY THE CASE IS. AND THAT\u2019S NOT UNUSUAL FOR CASES. BUT THIS ONE IN PARTICULAR, I REMEMBER SPEAKING TO OUR INVESTIGATIVE TEAM AT ONE POINT, JUST SAYING, WE DON\u2019T SEEM TO EVER GET A BREAK. EVERY TIME WE THINK WE HAVE SOMETHING, IT IT COLLAPSES. I THINK. WE FINALLY HIT THE HIGH WHEN WE FOUND THE BURIAL SITE AT AT RUBEN\u2019S HOUSE, BUT IT DIDN\u2019T GIVE US THE ANSWER THAT WE WERE STILL SEEKING IS WHERE\u2019S KRISTIN? AND SO THAT\u2019S WHY THE SEARCH CONTINUED. I\u2019LL ONLY MENTION THAT TWO, TWO THINGS I MENTIONED GDPR ALREADY. IT WAS VISIBLE FOR THE MEDIA. IT\u2019S ALL OVER THE NEWS THAT THEY WERE DOING IT. SO THERE WAS NO SECRET WE WERE USING GR. WE ALSO ARE CONDUCTING SOIL TESTS, AND THAT\u2019S KIND OF THE SCIENTIFIC PART. I\u2019M NOT GOING TO GO INTO THE DETAILS OTHER THAN JUST TO SAY WITH SOIL TESTS, IT\u2019S ABOUT THE COMPOUNDS IN THE SOIL THAT THAT ARE RELATED TO A HUMAN DECOMPOSING BODY. AND SO THAT IS WHAT YOU SAW OR MAY HAVE SEEN WITH THE CANISTERS COLLECTING IT. THE WAY THESE WARRANTS WORK, JUST LIKE RUBEN\u2019S, AS YOU MAY RECALL, WE A JUDGE BELIEVES THAT WE HAVE PROBABLE CAUSE TO GO LOOK FOR EITHER SUSAN OR EXCUSE ME, EITHER KRISTEN OR THE REMAINS OF KRISTEN. AND ONCE WE SATISFY THAT, THEN IT BECOMES A SLOW, METHODICAL SEARCH. WE MADE THE AGREEMENT THAT INTERNALLY, THAT WE ARE NOT LEAVING THAT HOUSE UNTIL WE ARE SURE THAT WE HAVE CHECKED EVERYTHING. AND WHEN I SAY EVERYTHING IS IS WHAT IS REASONABLE, WE CAN\u2019T GO TO SOMEBODY\u2019S HOUSE REGARDLESS OF WHAT WE MIGHT BELIEVE, AND TEAR UP THE ENTIRE HOUSE. WE HAVE TO BASE IT ON. NEXT STEP. EXCUSE ME. NEXT STEP SCIENCES. AND THAT\u2019S EXACTLY WHAT WE DID IN RUBEN\u2019S HOUSE. THAT\u2019S EXACTLY WHAT WE\u2019RE DOING NOW. SO THE QUESTION IS, IS. I THINK IT\u2019S SAFE TO SAY THAT WE HAVE NOT RECOVERED KRISTEN YET. AND BUT OUR SEARCH GOES ON, AND I DON\u2019T KNOW HOW LONG WE\u2019RE GOING TO BE THERE. THE WARRANT THAT WE OBTAINED, WE OBTAINED WHAT\u2019S CALLED THAT WE REFER TO AS A KICK OUT WARRANT. THAT MEANS THE OCCUPANTS OF THE RESIDENCE, ONCE WE SERVE IT, HAVE TO DEPART AND CANNOT RETURN TO THE RESIDENCE. IT\u2019S NOT UNUSUAL. YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT A YOU DON\u2019T WANT SOMEBODY THAT COULD BE A SUSPECT IN A CASE, OR WHO MIGHT HAVE ACCESS TO EVIDENCE DESTROYING THAT ONCE WE\u2019RE THERE. BUT ALSO WE DON\u2019T HAVE THE ABILITY TO, TO, TO BABYSIT THEM AND BASICALLY HOLD THEM, YOU KNOW, HOLD THEM IN THEIR HOUSE, RESTRICT THEM FROM GOING ANYWHERE. SO THAT\u2019S NOT UNCOMMON. SO THAT\u2019S WHAT WE DID IN THIS CASE. SUSAN WON\u2019T BE ABLE TO RETURN UNTIL WE HAVE COMPLETED OUR SEARCH. DON\u2019T KNOW IF IT\u2019S GOING TO CONCLUDE TODAY. AS I MENTIONED, IT\u2019S A METHODICAL STEP. EACH EACH TIME WE GET SOMETHING, WE GO IN ANOTHER DIRECTION. WE GET SOMETHING, WE PURSUE THAT. AND SO IT IS UNTIL WE\u2019RE DONE, WE\u2019RE DONE. AND WE PLAN TO BE THERE UNTIL WE CAN WALK AWAY, EITHER FINDING KRISTEN OR ALL THE EVIDENCE WE CAN FIND AND MOVING TO THE NEXT STEP. I\u2019LL TELL YOU ONE OTHER THING THAT HAS BEEN MY MANTRA WITH STAN. AND HE\u2019S SMART, AND I HAVE A VERY GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM. I SPEAK TO THEM ALL THE TIME. I TOLD THEM AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE CASE WHEN I CAME INTO OFFICE, THAT I WOULD COMMUNICATE WITH THEM. THEY COULD CALL ME ANYTIME THAT I WANTED TO SHARE WHAT I COULD. BUT JUST LIKE WITH YOU, I CAN\u2019T SHARE EVERYTHING. WE HAVE TO PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF THE CASE. AND, AND I THINK SOMETIMES PEOPLE DON\u2019T FULLY UNDERSTAND THAT IF I LET OUT AN INFORMATION THAT COULD JEOPARDIZE A NEXT STEP OR OUR NEXT DIRECTION, THAT WOULD BE DAMAGING MY, MY RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SMARTS IS I WILL TELL YOU IN ADVANCE. SO THERE\u2019S NO SURPRISES THAT WE\u2019RE DOING SOMETHING. IN SOME CASES, I CAN BE SPECIFIC THAT WE\u2019RE GOING TO A LOCATION AND OTHERS IT\u2019S FAIRLY VAGUE UNTIL WE\u2019RE ACTUALLY THERE. YOU GUYS DO OBVIOUSLY, A TREMENDOUS JOB OF FINDING WHERE WE ARE AND KNOWING OUR LOCATION AND KNOWING WHAT WE\u2019RE UP TO. YOU KNOW, THAT NEIGHBORHOOD ON BRANCH STREET? I AM QUITE CONVINCED THAT MANY PEOPLE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD WERE CALLING THE MOMENT WE PULLED UP IN FRONT OF THAT HOUSE. TOTALLY UNDERSTANDABLE. BUT WE STILL HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT ANYTHING WE\u2019RE PURSUING IS NOT IS NOT TAINTED OR IS GETTING OUT BEFORE IT NEEDS TO GO OUT WHERE IT\u2019S GOING TO DAMAGE THE FUTURE OF THE CASE. IT GOES FOR LOCATIONS THAT WE\u2019VE SEARCHED BEFORE. WHAT WE DON\u2019T KNOW, AND PROBABLY A SIMPLE ANALOGY FOR THAT IS IF WE GO AND TALK TO A WITNESS TODAY AND THAT WITNESS SAYS THEY SAW NOTHING, THEY LOOKED AWAY WHEN ALL, ALL IT ALL HAPPENED. AND THEN WE FIND OUT A WEEK LATER THAT THAT WAS NOT TRUE. THEY HAD TOLD PEOPLE THAT THEY WITNESSED EVERYTHING. SO JUST BECAUSE SOMEBODY WAS INTERVIEWED, JUST BECAUSE THE LOCATION WAS SEARCHED DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE HAVE CHECKED IT OFF OUR BOX. WE HAVE A VERY LARGE COUNTY WITH MANY RURAL PARTS TO IT. AND AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, IF FOR THOSE WHO ARE AROUND, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY NOW. A DOZEN YEARS AGO, TEN, 12 YEARS AGO, WE SEARCHED THE HILLSIDE OUTSIDE OF CAL POLY, WHERE THE BIG P WAS. THAT TOOK TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK. AND, AND WE, WE BARELY WE BARELY HIT THAT FULL HILLSIDE. I MEAN, WE IT WAS A, PROBABLY AN EIGHTH OF THAT HILL THAT WE HIT BASED ON. SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE THAT PUT US THERE. SO I THINK WHEN, WHEN IT COMES TO DIVULGING CERTAIN THINGS, I CAN\u2019T DIVULGE, BUT UNDERSTAND THAT I HAVE THE SAME RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FAMILY. I THINK THE PROBLEM WITH THIS CASE FROM THE VERY BEGINNING WAS MOST PEOPLE THAT HAD READ THE CASE BELIEVE THEY KNEW ABOUT THE CASE. IT WAS ALWAYS THERE. FEELING WAS ALWAYS BASED ON BELIEF. AND AS I REPEATED TO THE SMARTS MANY TIMES, IT\u2019S NOT WHAT WE BELIEVE, IT\u2019S WHAT WE CAN PROVE. AND AND THAT\u2019S OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM. AND THAT\u2019S, THAT\u2019S WHY I THINK OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM IS SOUND. YOU PEOPLE SHOULDN\u2019T WANT LAW ENFORCEMENT ARRESTING SOMEBODY ON A BELIEF. THERE SHOULD BE PROVED TO IT. SO THAT\u2019S WHAT MAKES IT HARD FOR EVERYBODY SAYING, I WANT THIS. I WANT TO SEE THAT BRADSTREET IS PARTICULARLY HAS COME UP FROM THE VERY BEGINNING AS A LOCATION. BUT WHEN IT\u2019S BEEN SEARCHED ALREADY, WE HAVE TO HAVE NEW EVIDENCE IN ORDER TO GO BACK. A JUDGE JUST DOESN\u2019T SAY, WELL, YEAH, YOU HAD THE WARRANT. YOU DIDN\u2019T. YOU DIDN\u2019T FEEL A THOROUGH ENOUGH JOB WAS DONE BACK THEN. IT\u2019S NOT NOT FRESH INFORMATION. THE INFORMATION IN THE SEARCH WARRANT HAS TO BE FRESH, RELEVANT, AND HAVE THE THRESHOLD OF PROBABLE CAUSE. SO THAT\u2019S WHAT WE PURSUED. THAT\u2019S WHAT WHY WE\u2019RE THERE TODAY. WE ARRIVED JUST BEFORE SEVEN ON WEDNESDAY TO SERVE THE SEARCH WARRANT. AND WE\u2019RE PREPARED TO GO AS LONG AS IT TAKES UNTIL WE EITHER FIND KRISTEN, FIND EVIDENCE AND ARE SATISFIED THAT EVERYTHING HAS BEEN SEARCHED. OKAY, OKAY. YOU WERE JUST LISTENING TO AN UPDATE GIVEN BY THE SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY SHERIFF. COUPLE OF THINGS THAT HE MENTIONED IS THAT INVESTIGATORS ARE CONTINUING TO SEARCH THE HOME OF SUSAN FLORES, THE MOTHER, OF COURSE, OF PAUL FLORES, WHO\u2019S CONVICTED OF KILLING KRISTIN SMART IN 1996. THAT\u2019S WHEN SHE WAS LAST SEEN AS A STUDENT AT CAL POLY. BOTTOM LINE IS, THE SHERIFF SAYS THAT THEY HAVE NOT RECOVERED KRISTEN JUST YET. BUT THE SEARCH CONTINUES. THEY\u2019RE USING GROUND PENETRATING RADAR AND SOIL TESTS TO FIND ANY POTENTIAL TRACES OF A DECOMPOSING BODY. OF COURSE, WE\u2019LL HAVE MORE OF TH\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Kristin Smart case: Stockton native’s remains still not found, convicted killer’s mother a person of interest<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tUpdated: 10:03 AM PDT May 8, 2026\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\tEditorial Standards \u24d8<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\tDays after authorities began searching a home in connection with the 1996 murder of college student and Stockton native Kristin Smart, officials said her remains have yet to be found.Paul Flores, who was a student alongside Smart at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, has been convicted of her murder. But San Luis Obispo Sheriff Ian Parkinson said during a Friday news conference that they have not stopped searching.On Wednesday, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office searched an Arroyo Grande home that belongs to Paul’s mother, Susan Flores.Parkinson said that when investigators first searched Susan’s home in 1996, they used a ground-penetrating radar (GPR). But he explained that GPRs 30 years ago were not as advanced as they are now, including the one they’re using now to search Susan’s home.Soil tests are also being conducted to search for any compounds in the soil that are related to a human’s decomposing body, Parkinson said.”We are not leaving that house until we’re sure we checked everything,” Parksinson said.The sheriff said he does not know how long they are going to be searching the home, but that the type of warrant they obtained prevents occupants from returning to the home. When asked if Susan is a person of interest or is allowed to leave the state as part of the search warrant, Parkinson said Susan is currently a person of interest “as always has been.” However, he said they have no lawful reason to detain her at this point.Similar to what prosecutors tried with Paul’s father, Ruben, Parkinson said Susan can be prosecuted as an accessory if they can make that connection.Smart disappeared over Memorial Day Weekend in 1996. Prosecutors argued that Paul Flores killed Smart during an attempted rape in his dorm room. He was the last person seen with her as he walked her home from an off-campus party.In March 2023, Paul Flores was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. He has maintained his innocence.Ruben was found not guilty of being an accessory after the fact for allegedly helping to conceal the crime. Prosecutors argued that Smart’s remains were buried on Ruben Flores’ property and later moved.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tSAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Days after authorities began searching a home in connection with the 1996 murder of college student and Stockton native Kristin Smart, officials said her remains have yet to be found.<\/p>\n Paul Flores, who was a student alongside Smart at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, has been convicted of her murder. But San Luis Obispo Sheriff Ian Parkinson said during a Friday news conference that they have not stopped searching.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office searched an Arroyo Grande home that belongs to Paul’s mother, Susan Flores.<\/p>\n Parkinson said that when investigators first searched Susan’s home in 1996, they used a ground-penetrating radar (GPR). But he explained that GPRs 30 years ago were not as advanced as they are now, including the one they’re using now to search Susan’s home.<\/p>\n Soil tests are also being conducted to search for any compounds in the soil that are related to a human’s decomposing body, Parkinson said.<\/p>\n “We are not leaving that house until we’re sure we checked everything,” Parksinson said.<\/p>\n The sheriff said he does not know how long they are going to be searching the home, but that the type of warrant they obtained prevents occupants from returning to the home. <\/p>\n When asked if Susan is a person of interest or is allowed to leave the state as part of the search warrant, Parkinson said Susan is currently a person of interest “as always has been.” However, he said they have no lawful reason to detain her at this point.<\/p>\n Similar to what prosecutors tried with Paul’s father, Ruben, Parkinson said Susan can be prosecuted as an accessory if they can make that connection.<\/p>\n Smart disappeared over Memorial Day Weekend in 1996. <\/p>\n Prosecutors argued that Paul Flores killed Smart during an attempted rape in his dorm room. He was the last person seen with her as he walked her home from an off-campus party.<\/p>\n In March 2023, Paul Flores was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. He has maintained his innocence.<\/p>\n Ruben was found not guilty of being an accessory after the fact for allegedly helping to conceal the crime. <\/p>\n Prosecutors argued that Smart’s remains were buried on Ruben Flores’ property and later moved.<\/p>\n See more coverage of top California stories here<\/a> | Download our app<\/a> | Subscribe to our morning newsletter<\/a> | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kristin Smart case: Stockton native’s remains still not found, convicted killer’s mother a person of interest THAT WEEKEND…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":631273,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[272901,4,450,119846,236104,2310,451,2976,272902,698,3,16178,9585,272903,17711,37698,2103,86785,6826,20464,272905,272904,452,453],"class_list":["post-631272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-arroyo-grande","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-cal-poly-san-luis-obispo","tag-college-student","tag-friday","tag-headlines","tag-home","tag-kristin-smart","tag-murder","tag-news","tag-office","tag-official","tag-paul-flores","tag-property","tag-prosecutor","tag-remain","tag-san-luis-obispo-county","tag-search","tag-smart","tag-stockton-native-kristin-smart","tag-susan-flores","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}