UPDATE (7:25 p.m.) - KSBY community reporter Crystal Bermudez reached out to Susan Flores over the phone Thursday night. Susan answered and when Crystal introduced herself and mentioned she was with KSBY News, Susan responded by saying, "Not interested in giving a comment," and then hung up the phone.
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UPDATE (5:40 p.m.) - Law enforcement remained on scene at the Branch Street home of Susan Flores as of 5:30 p.m. KSBY is told the search will continue Friday.
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UPDATE (3:30 p.m.) - The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office has announced that Sheriff Ian Parkinson will hold a press conference on Friday morning to discuss the search warrant served at Susan Flores' home this week. The press conference is scheduled for 9 a.m. It can be viewed live on KSBY.com.
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UPDATE (1:59 p.m.) - Investigators remain on scene. Shortly before 2 p.m., soil scientists continued going back and forth between Susan Flores' yard and her neighbor's yard.
Samples could also be seen being collected from Susan's yard while ground-penetrating radar equipment was taken into the backyard.
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UPDATE (12:45 p.m.):
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UPDATE (10:20 a.m.): By 10 a.m., work as part of the search warrant was taking place on the far side of a home next door to Susan Flores's home. Soon after, the same process was taking place in Susan Flores' front yard.
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The execution of a search warrant at the home of the mother of Kristin Smart’s convicted killer has entered day two.
Shortly before 9 a.m. Thursday, law enforcement could be seen coming and going from the backyard of Susan Flores' home on East Branch Street in Arroyo Grande. People involved in soil testing also arrived at the scene.
The sheriff’s office first served Flores with the search warrant early Wednesday morning.
WATCH: San Luis Obispo community reacts to new developments in the Kristin Smart case
Sheriff’s officials tell KSBY that Flores is not allowed on the property while the warrant is being executed. It’s unknown when it will wrap up.
While the sheriff’s office has not elaborated on what prompted the latest search or whether anything of significance has been found, digging sounds could be heard coming from the backyard on Wednesday and various people on site, including former cold-case investigator for the sheriff's office, Clint Cole, and San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson.
Related: Sheriff, cold case investigator reflect on Kristin Smart trial and sentencing
Flores’ son, Paul, was convicted in 2022 of murdering Kristin Smart 30 years ago this month.
Investigators have said Flores was the last person to be seen with the 19-year-old Cal Poly freshman on May 25, 1996.
While Smart was later declared legally dead and Flores is now serving a 25 years-to-life sentence for the murder, her remains have never been found.
KSBY News reached out to the sheriff's office and was told that Sheriff Ian Parkinson is not doing interviews regarding the investigation; however, Parkinson did speak with local Up+Adam podcast host Adam Montiel for his Thursday morning show.
Sheriff Parkinson said this week's search is not the first since Flores' conviction. He told Montiel that nothing had changed to make them go back to Susan Flores' property, and that they've been continuing to work on the case since Paul Flores' conviction in 2023.
"Our goal is to take this wherever leads, wherever probable cause, wherever a judge signs off on our probable cause, to go until we find Kristin," Parkinson said.
He declined to provide additional details on prior searches, but said another very substantial one has been conducted since the fall of 2023.
He said that those involved in the case remain committed to bringing Kristin home and bringing anyone responsible for her death to justice.
