New Insights into Kristin Smart’s Disappearance: Police Investigation and Latest Developments

The disappearance of 19-year-old Kristin Smart, a freshman at California Polytechnic State University, has remained a haunting mystery since her vanishing on May 25, 1996. Smart was last seen after attending an off-campus party, where she was found partially unconscious on a neighbor’s lawn. Two students, including one of her friends, offered to help her return to her dorm in Muir Hall, but it was freshman Paul Flores who ultimately volunteered to walk her home.

Smart was never seen again after that night. The next afternoon, when she failed to show up for a study session, her friend alerted campus police, who did not fully investigate her disappearance until days later when classes resumed. The initial suspicion was that Smart might have gone on an unannounced vacation, but this theory was quickly dismissed as police interviewed those who had last been with her, including Flores.

Flores claimed to police that he had gotten Smart to the sidewalk near his dorm in Santa Lucia Hall and that she walked off on her own back to her dorm. However, during the interview, police noticed abrasions on Flores’ knees and a fresh black eye. Flores attributed these injuries to a basketball game two days after Smart’s disappearance, a story that investigators found suspicious. His roommate, who was out of town that weekend, described Flores as ‘weird and quirky’ and reported that Flores had mentioned being with the missing student when he returned home. Flores’ response to questions about his involvement, including a joke about Smart having lunch with his mother, raised further concerns among investigators.

The case has been the subject of a decades-long investigation, and recent developments are highlighted in the upcoming People Magazine Investigates episode ‘Where Is Kristin Smart?’ airing on Investigation Discovery and streaming on Max. This special delves into the details of Smart’s disappearance and the ongoing efforts to uncover what happened to her.