Search Warrant in Cold Case Disappearance of Kristin Smart Served at Home of Former Classmate

Kristin Smart disappeared in 1996 while returning from a party in San Luis Obispo, where she attended California Polytechnic State University.

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Authorities served another search warrant Wednesday morning at the San Pedro home of a former classmate of Kristin Smart, a California college student who disappeared in 1996. 

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement that it served a search warrant at the home of Paul Flores, who is considered a person of interest in Smart’s disappearance. The LA County Sheriff’s Department assisted in Wednesday’s investigation. 

Warrants were previously served at the Flores home in February. No arrests have been reported. 

Details about what items of evidence were sought were not immediately available. The warrant is sealed by the court. 

NBC4 has reached out to the FBI for details. 

Smart, who attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, vanished while returning from a party in the central coast city. The 19-year-old from Stockton, California, had been seen with another student, Paul Flores, but he was never arrested or charged in the case. Smart was seen with Flores, who also was a student, but he has never been arrested or charged in the case.

The Sheriff's Office has described the investigation as active and ongoing.

Interest in the disappearance has been revived at times, including when investigators conducted digs on the college campus in 2016, and most recently due to a locally produced podcast focusing on the case.

New developments came to light in the case of Kristin Smart, a college student reported missing more than 20 years ago. John Cádiz Klemack reports for the NBC4 News at 5 on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016.
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