Kristin Smart podcaster watches search at Flores home. ‘Today was a big surprise’
In an unexpected twist in the Kristin Smart murder case, Sheriff’s Office investigators searched the Arroyo Grande home of Susan Flores, mother of convicted killer Paul Flores, on Wednesday morning.
And among those at the scene watching the latest developments was Chris Lambert, the creator of the popular true-crime podcast “Your Own Backyard,” who called the property “overlooked” in the scope of the search for Smart’s remains.
Paul Flores was convicted in 2022 of killing Smart when she was a first-year student at Cal Poly in 1996, but her body was never recovered.
“Today was a big surprise for everyone,” Lambert told The Tribune at the scene.
Authorities have searched the home before, most notably in February 2020 ahead of Paul Flores’ arrest. The backyard in particular has been the subject of attention, especially after scientists said they found evidence of human decomposition near Susan Flores’ yard.
Now, three and a half years after Paul Flores was found guilty of murdering Smart and nearly 30 years to the date from her disappearance on Memorial Day weekend of 1996, investigators have apparently found a reason to take another look at Susan Flores’ home.
“As far as Flores properties, the Flores family owned this house at the time that Kristin went missing, and it was never very thoroughly searched,” he said. “... It’s definitely overlooked. Ruben’s property was the one searched in 2021, which led to the trials.”
Lambert was among a small crowd of onlookers who gathered around the home Wednesday morning as a radar crew rolled ground scanner equipment over Susan Flores’ driveway.
He pointed out ground penetrating radar operator Phillip Hanes and geologist Cindy Arrington, who both testified in the 2022 trial about their search at Reuben Flores’ house, where they found a soil stain underneath the deck. Investigators had also found traces of human blood in the soil in Reuben Flores’ yard, according to unsealed court records.
“I would assume what they’re doing here is the same thing they did here, which is scanning the ground to look for anomalies underneath, where soil may have been disturbed, dug up, replaced or anything,” Lambert said.
At this point, however, Lambert said it’s likely all that would be left to find would be bone and maybe any physical objects buried along with a body, such as a blanket or sheet it could have been rolled in, hair or personal belongings.
“The clothing she was wearing that night was never found. The clothing that Paul wore that night was never recovered,” he said. “And so those things could be here as well.”
Whatever is found, Lambert said he was hopeful for good news.
“Obviously they wouldn’t have returned without new evidence, so waiting to see what that is,” Lambert said.
Former classmate of Paul Flores ‘knew to stay away from him’
At the scene, The Tribune also spoke with Arroyo Grande resident Melody Avant, who went to high school with Paul Flores and was in his graduating class.
“(I) kept my distance from him, but all my friend groups knew of him, and knew to stay away from him, even back then,” she said of the convicted killer, who was also accused of multiple rapes.
She said over the years, the house has been relatively quiet as the Floreses kept to themselves, aside from the occasional car honk or Susan “flipping off” onlookers.
Cassandra Booth, also a life-long Arroyo Grande resident, grew up with the case. Her dad worked in the Sheriff’s Office when Smart was murdered, and even though he didn’t work directly on the case, he had his theories, she said.
“I grew up listening to him all the time telling me, ‘I know where she is. She has to be under the concrete slab,’” referencing Susan Flores’ sideyard patio that investigators were inspecting during Wednesday’s search, she said.
Avant believes that Smart’s body was hidden at the home “at one point or another,” and she said she now prays for closure for the community and the Smart family.
“As a community, we’ve all suffered enough,” she said. “I think we’re all just ready for some closure for that family.”
This story was originally published May 6, 2026 at 12:23 PM.
