Kristin Smart: Investigators Reveal Results From The Arroyo Grande Hunt

Last week, true crime followers heard that investigators seemed quite convinced that human remains, possibly those of Kristin Smart were somewhere on the property of Susan, the mom of convicted murderer, Paul Flores. Read on for the updated outcome.

News About The New Hunt

Some news floated around the internet that Kristin Smart’s remains were found on a property in the central coast town of Arroyo Grande, northwest of Los Angeles. Well, Chris Lambert from the Your Own Backyard podcast assured true crime followers that was incorrect.

At the time, he told his followers that the search went on for a day and was expected to continue. Apparently, a tip arrived and detectives took samples from the ground. Finally, it seemed that closure might come for the family.

Not Kristin

On Monday, The SLO County Sheriff confirmed that Kristin was not located. Part of the post on X by the Sheriff’s office said, “We did not recover Kristin Smart. Detectives will be evaluating any evidence we have recovered to aid in the investigation.”   

Of course, because it sounds like they found something, folks wonder what or who they discovered. After all, why evaluate evidence if there’s nothing there to indicate someone was buried in the yard?

Folks Have Questions

Might there be another body? Of course, that sort of wording always makes true crime followers interested. However, the post also said that there won’t be any further announcements or updates on “this investigation.”

Some people genuinely wonder if Paul Flores really killed Kristin Smart, as a body was never recovered. Plus, his dad was arrested as possibly assisting in the disposal of Kristin’s body. But he ended up acquitted.

Meanwhile, despite the family begging Flores to tell them where the remains might be found, he denied he had any knowledge about that.

Those folks who think Flores is the wrong man definitely sit in the minority. However, others now speculate on what was actually found in the recent search.

Starting More Speculation

On TMZ’s Instagram, one person wrote, “They found evidence of remains but have not gotten the results.”

Here are a few more responses from the discussion:

• So whose remains were the ones found?
• So is there a new investigation?
• Whose remains were there?
• So Paul was a serial killer???

While the last comment found some sarcastic answers, it’s not beyond unreasonable for some folks to wonder if there were traces of human remains on the property. If there are, is it all that silly to wonder if more than one person was murdered and buried?

Unfortunately, it seems the SLO Sheriff’s Office won’t be clarifying anything else. So for now, those questions are likely to remain as fuel for more speculation.

Kristin’s Disappearance

Kristin Smart disappeared in 1996, and true crime followers know that she attended California Polytechnic State University. She was last seen in the company of Paul Flores who escorted her on her way home. He was convicted of killing her in 2022.

What are your thoughts? Are you sad that Kristin’s remains were not discovered? What about it looking like an investigation is ongoing? Is there something suspicious, or was it just a poor wording choice by the sheriff’s office?

Let us know in the comments below, and remember to come back here often for all your true crime news and updates.  Plus, we have a crime channel on TikTok.