San Luis Obispo County home searched as part of Kristin Smart investigation

A home in the Arroyo Grande area of San Luis Obispo County was searched Wednesday in connection with the disappearance of Kristin Smart.

Law enforcement officers were seen at the East Branch Street home Wednesday morning. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office later confirmed that a search warrant was served at the home in connection with the Smart case.

Smart, a Stockton native and Cal Poly student, disappeared in 1996. Her classmate, Paul Flores, was convicted of her murder in 2022, but her body has never been found.

No other specific details about Wednesday's search have been released.

"The Sheriff's Office remains committed to bringing Kristin home to her family," the department said in a statement about Wednesday's Arroyo Grande search.

Investigators previously served a search warrant an Arroyo Grande home in 2020 in connection with Smart's disappearance. Wednesday's search is at a home associated with Susan Flores, Paul's mother. 

Paul Flores has maintained his innocence and has been appealing his sentence of 25 years to life in prison.