‘Prime suspect’ arrested in 1996 disappearance of Calif. student

LOS ANGELES — The longtime suspect in the 25-year-old disappearance of California college student Kristin Smart was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of murder and his father was booked in jail as an accessory to the crime.

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 at his Arroyo Grande, Calif., home, where investigators conducted their latest search.

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said the arrest warrants were issued after a search of the elder Flores’ home last month using ground-penetrating radar and cadaver dogs. He said evidence was found linked to the killing of Smart but they had not yet located her body.

“Until we return Kristin to (her family), this is not over,” Parkinson said.

Smart, 19, of Stockton, Calif., vanished May 25, 1996, while returning to her dorm after an offcampus party. She was last seen with Flores, a student at the school who had offered to take her home.

Flores has been under suspicion almost from the start, but the case has picked up steam in the past couple years. New witnesses came forward and warrants allowed investigators to intercept and monitor Paul Flores’ phone and text messages and search his own home, along with those of his mother, father and sister that turned up new evidence, Parkinson said.

Smart’s family said in a statement it was a bittersweet day.

“While Kristin’s loving spirit will always live in our hearts, our life without her hugs, laughs and smiles is a heartache that never abates,” they said.

Paul Flores was being held without bail. Ruben Flores was being held on $250,000 bail.