Authorities are releasing additional information about a four-day search that took place in Arroyo Grande earlier this month in connection with the 1996 disappearance of Kristin Smart.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office says the search of Susan Flores’ property along the 500 block of East Branch Street yielded the recovery of “several items considered evidentiary in nature” but did not result in the recovery of any human remains.
The search began the morning of May 6 after the sheriff’s office served Flores with a search warrant for her home and property.
Related: SLO County Sheriff: Results of soil testing at Flores home consistent with human remains
Flores is the mother of Paul Flores, who is currently serving a 25 years-to-life sentence for the Cal Poly freshman’s murder.
While Smart has been declared legally dead and Flores found guilty of her murder, Smart’s body has never been found.
During the search at Susan Flores’ home earlier this month, the sheriff’s office says multiple investigative resources and techniques were used, including ground penetrating radar (GPR) and soil vapor science.
“Soil scientists identified an area along the side yard of the property that produced results consistent with the possible presence of human remains,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release.
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said during a May 8 press conference that the initial search warrant secured for the latest search did not cover excavation of the property, and that if any digging or excavation needed to happen, additional search warrants would need to be secured.
One was secured on May 8, according to the sheriff’s office, allowing for excavation of a specific area.
The press release states large concrete pavers along the side yard of Flores’ home needed to be moved for the work, which continued into May 9, “with investigators carefully sifting through the excavated soil for any evidence related to Kristin.” The sheriff’s office states items recovered during the process are being analyzed as part of the ongoing investigation into Smart's disappearance.
“The Sheriff’s Office remains fully committed to finding Kristin and bringing her home to her family,” the press release stated, adding that no other information related to the investigation will be released at this time.
May 25 marks 30 years since Kristin was last seen.
