Live Updates: Kristin Smart search continues at SLO County home of killer’s mother
The search of the Arroyo Grande home of convicted killer Paul Flores’ mother continued on Thursday as part of the ongoing investigation into the Kristin Smart case.
Paul Flores was convicted in 2022 of killing Smart when she was a first-year student at Cal Poly. Smart went missing nearly 30 years ago on Memorial Day weekend of 1996. Her body has never been recovered.
On Wednesday, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at 529 East Branch St., the home of Susan Flores. Throughout the day, law enforcement could be seen entering and exiting the home, as well as a neighboring property’s yard, as scientists set up equipment to take samples of soil vapor.
The search continued into Thursday, with Sheriff’s Office investigators once again at the scene as of 9 a.m. and some form of ground sampling taking place again.
Follow The Tribune for live updates throughout the day:
Ground radar rolled into backyard of Arroyo Grande home
Update, 4:20 p.m.:
Though the scene had quieted and Det. Clint Cole had left, Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Tony Cipolla told The Tribune the search was still active around 4:20 p.m. and would most likely will continue Friday as well.
Update, 2:15 p.m.:
Shortly after 2 p.m., Sheriff’s Office investigators could be seen rolling what appeared to be a ground penetrating radar into the backyard of Susan Flores’ home. The radar was also seen being wheeled into the yard during Wednesday’s search.
The Sheriff’s Office has also announced it plans to hold a press conference on the search Friday morning in San Luis Obispo.
Mother of Paul Flores has not commented on home search
Update, 1:10 p.m.:
The Tribune has called both Ruben and Susan Flores’ lawyers multiple times to request a comment on the search and gotten no response as of Thursday afternoon.
When a reporter went to Ruben Flores’ Arroyo Grande home seeking comment, Susan Flores told the reporter to leave and did not offer further comment on the situation.
On Wednesday morning, Susan Flores was seen being served paperwork at her front door just before 8 a.m. She left the house soon after and has not appeared to be on site for the past two days.
Scientists testing soil around Flores home for human-specific organic compounds
Update, 12:35 p.m.:
Environmental chemist Steve Hoyt spoke with The Tribune from the scene on Thursday, explaining more of the science behind what he and a group of assembled soil scientists are working on there.
Hoyt confirmed the group, which also includes father-and-son Timothy and Jacob Nelligan, Brian Eckenrode and Edward Bentil are looking for human-specific volatile organic compounds.
Their method, which involves probing the ground at a depth of between 5 and 6 feet, tests for gas molecules in soil known as volatile organic compounds, certain types of which can be emitted from the natural decomposition process of living organisms — including human bodies.
The science that he and the group have been pioneering could indicate if there was a body buried in the vicinity of the Branch Street home.
“You know, it just worked out that the timing was right and that ... we had presented some information to the sheriff’s department,” Hoyt told The Tribune. “They had some concerns and questions, so we went back and reworked it, answered those concerns and questions, so they decided to move forward.”
Hoyt said results from the roughly 20 on-site probes will likely take between 24 and 48 hours to come back from the lab.
Dan Dow: ‘Most important thing’ is to bring Kristin Smart home
Update, 10:15 a.m.:
As Sheriff’s Office investigators returned to the Arroyo Grande home of Susan Flores on Thursday, other local law enforcement representatives gathered at Mission Plaza in downtown San Luis Obispo for the annual San Luis Obispo County Peace Officers Memorial.
From there, District Attorney Dan Dow reaffirmed to The Tribune that his office is committed to finding Kristin Smart’s remains.
“We’re looking for any clues about the whereabouts of Kristin’s remains,” Dow said. “That’s the most important thing for both the sheriff and my office, is our commitment to the Smart family and our community to bring Kristin home.”
Dow also clarified that the “one centrally large” search warrant served at 529 East Branch St. does encompass various locations around the area, but declined to share further details as the investigation is still ongoing.
Sheriff says search could last up to 3 days on morning podcast
Update, 9:40 a.m.:
In a Thursday episode of the “Up + Adam” podcast with host Adam Montiel, Sheriff Ian Parkinson said the search at Flores’ home could last two to three days, or however long it takes to “overturn every rock humanely possible.”
Parkinson also confirmed to Montiel that the new search at Susan Flores’ home was launched due to new innovations in science and technology, pointing to evolutions in ground-penetrating radar over the last 25 years.
He said the Sheriff’s Office believed that Smart’s body was at “one time” on Paul Flores’ father’s property.
“We know she’s been moved, so where is she moved to? So we’re hunting that down,” Parkinson said. “I think my gut tells me that all we can do is everything we can do and continue to try to follow everything and not be disappointed and never give up until Kristen has returned.”
Parkinson told Montiel that the Sheriff’s Office had completed another search since Flores’ conviction but did not disclose any other details besides that it was “very substantial.”
What to know about Kristin Smart case, Arroyo Grande house
Original story:
In a news release Wednesday, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office said it was conducting an investigation into the property in the 500 block of East Branch Street in Arroyo Grande.
The investigation was “the result of a search warrant signed by a Superior Court judge,” the release said.
“The Sheriff’s Office remains committed to bringing Kristin home to her family,” the release said.
Denise Smart, Kristin Smart’s mother, has previously said that the case will not be over for the family until her daughter’s remains are found and returned home.
“There’s no finality for us,” she told The Tribune in January following Paul Flores’ final appeal being denied.
The Smart family has not issued a statement about the latest search as of Thursday morning.
In recent years, Susan Flores’ Arroyo Grande home has become a prominent point of interest in the push to find Kristin Smart’s remains — especially after a group of scientists in 2023 announced a soil vapor sampling study saying they had discovered evidence of a “human decomposition event” emitting from the property’s yard.
On Wednesday, a soil vapor probe for vapor intrusion testing could at one point be seen plugged in front of a home near the Flores property and a group of people including environmental engineer Tim Nelligan could be seen conducting sampling tests of the soil.
Susan Flores has never been charged with a crime associated with the Kristin Smart case.
The Sheriff’s Office has not released specific information on the extent of this week’s search, nor on what investigation activities are ongoing at the site.
On Thursday, much of the scene appeared quiet, with a few Sheriff’s Office investigators walking to the home.
This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 9:13 AM with the headline "Live Updates: Kristin Smart search continues at SLO County home of killer’s mother."
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