Murder is charge in 1996 vanishing

LOS ANGELES — Investigators said the “prime suspect” was arrested Tuesday in the 25-year-old disappearance of California college student Kristin Smart.

Paul Flores, 44, who was the last person seen with Smart on the California Polytechnic State University campus in San Luis Obispo before she vanished in 1996, was taken into custody in the Los Angeles area. His father, Ruben Flores, 80, was arrested as an accessory at his Arroyo Grande home, where sheriff’s investigators conducted their latest search for evidence.

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said search warrants were sealed and so he could not disclose what evidence led to the arrests, but he said Smart’s remains were not found.

“We have not recovered Kristin,” he told a news conference. “We will continue to focus on finding her remains regardless of any court action.”

Parkinson did say “forensic physical evidence was located and, yes, we believe it’s linked to Kristin.”

Smart, 19, of Stockton, vanished in May 1996 while returning to her dorm on the California Polytechnic campus after a party. She was seen with Flores, who was a student at the school at the time.

San Luis Obispo jail records showed Paul Flores was booked on a murder charge. Defense attorney Robert Sanger declined to comment, though he confirmed Flores was arrested.

Ruben Flores was booked on a charge of being an accessory after a felony, according to jail records.

The news was issued about a month after the sheriff named Flores as the “prime suspect” in the case and investigators searched his father’s home and property using ground-penetrating radar and cadaver dogs. The large home on a hill has been the subject of many searches.

Smart’s family issued a statement through a spokesman.