SLO County sheriff searches home tied to suspect in Kristin Smart’s disappearance, car seized
Update to this story >> >> Investigators search under deck at home tied to suspect in Kristin Smart disappearance
The San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant on Monday at the Arroyo Grande home of the father of Paul Flores, the sole person of interest in the disappearance of missing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart.
Ruben Flores is the father of Paul Flores, who “remains the prime suspect” in Smart’s disappearance in 1996, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
“The Sheriff’s Office has been authorized to utilize cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar during the course of the search,” the agency said in the release. “This process could potentially take one to two days to complete.”
“Traffic in the area may be impacted with vehicle access for non-residents restricted,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
According to the agency, the search warrant has been sealed, meaning that the Sheriff’s Office is “precluded by law from disclosing any further details regarding it.”
Smart’s family issued a statement through their spokesman Monday morning.
“We are encouraged by the news of today’s search of Ruben Flores’ property,” the family wrote, according to their public relations representative, John Segale. “We appreciate the vigilance and professionalism of Sheriff Ian Parkinson and his department and our family looks forward to learning more in the hours and days ahead.”
SLO County Sheriff’s Office searches Arroyo Grande home
At the scene Monday morning, three people who appeared to be residents of the home in the 700 block of White Court in Arroyo Grande were seen standing outside as deputies walked in and out of the property with K-9s.
More than a dozen Sheriff’s Office deputies were at the house, but local reporters did not see any FBI agents present, unlike past recent searches related to the case.
A large number of those officers were searching in the rear of the property, out of sight from the street where reporters had gathered.
A tow truck also towed away a red, older model Volkswagen Cabriolet from the driveway of the home.
The car, which had a registration sticker dated October 2010 and was covered in a thick layer of dust, also had a Cal Poly decal on the rear window.
According to the DMV, the car is registered to both Ruben and Susan Flores, and was last registered as planned non-operational in October 2010.
Officials have said the search could take days, and two portable toilets were dropped off on the sidewalk in the cul-de-sac.
Search follows arrest of person of interest Paul Flores
The search of Ruben Flores’s home takes place about a month after his son was arrested in Los Angeles.
Paul Flores, a San Pedro resident, was arrested Feb. 11 in the harbor area of Los Angeles on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
“The arrest originated as a result of information obtained during our search warrants last year at the home of Paul Flores as part of the Kristin Smart investigation,” Sheriff’s Office spokesman Tony Cipolla said in a statement then.
Flores, 43, was released from Los Angeles County Jail shortly thereafter and a court date has been scheduled for June in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Search warrants served in Kristin Smart disappearance in 2020
In February 2020, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI served search warrants at several residences in San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles counties, as well as a home in Washington State, related to Paul Flores.
One of the searches took place at the Arroyo Grande home of Susan Flores, Paul’s mother. Investigators were seen leaving the house with armloads of evidence they placed in a van, including a computer, a brown paper bag and a storage bin.
They then took down the caution tape and left the scene.
At the time, Los Angeles TV news stations ABC7 and KTLA also reported that the Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at a home in the 900 block of West Upland Avenue in San Pedro.
Flores has lived in that neighborhood since 2010, according to public records databases.
Authorities also searched two vintage vehicles at the San Pedro home, the Associated Press reported then, and took “several electronic devices” out of the house.
An Associated Press photographer captured images of deputies rummaging through the trunk of what is believed to be Flores’ car, just feet away from reporters.
Flores was detained during the service of that search warrant in San Pedro, but wasn’t taken into custody.
Officials have not released details on what, if anything, of substance was found, saying the sealed warrant precludes them from commenting on the search.
Man was last person seen with missing Cal Poly student
Flores was the last person seen with Smart on an early morning in 1996 as he reportedly walked Smart back to her dorm room following a house party.
Flores has refused to cooperate with authorities since an initial interview with investigators at the time of Smart’s disappearance.
He did not reveal details in a 1996 appearance before a San Luis Obispo grand jury, nor a 1997 deposition in which he repeatedly cited his right against self-incrimination, according to Tribune archives.
“There are no other suspects,” then-Sheriff Ed Williams said in 1997.
Public interest in the long-standing case has been reignited in large part due to the popularity of “Your Own Backyard,” a true crime podcast by Nipomo resident Chris Lambert.
Since the podcast began, the Smart case was also featured on CBS TV’s “48 Hours” in November.
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 8:28 AM with the headline "SLO County sheriff searches home tied to suspect in Kristin Smart’s disappearance, car seized."
