Sheriff’s deputies searching adjacent Arroyo Grande homes in connection with Kristin Smart disappearance Wednesday

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (KEYT) – Deputies served a search warrant at a home in the 500 block of East Branch Street Wednesday in connection with the 1996 disappearance of Kristin Smart.

According to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office, the search is related to the Kristin Smart case and was authorized by a Superior Court Judge.

Your News Channel reporter Dave Alley is on the scene as law enforcement search the home of the mother of the man convicted for Smart's death, Paul Flores, as well as a neighboring home.

Chris Lambert of the Your Own Backyard podcast, which covered the disappearance and subsequent trial connected to Smart's disappearance, shared with Your News Channel that Flores' mother was the one who received the search warrant Wednesday morning.

The countywide law enforcement agency stated it would not be providing any additional details at this point in its investigation, but did share the images used in this article.

In October of 2024, Paul Flores, a fellow student at Cal Poly at the time of Smart's disappearance and the last person seen with her, was convicted of her murder despite her body never being recovered.

Flores' parents homes in Arroyo Grande were both part of the search for Kristin Smart, even years after her disappearance and a contributing factor as to why his father, Ruben Flores, was charged as an accessory in Smart's murder.

Ruben Flores was found not guilty during the same trial that found his son guilty of Smart's death.

"The Sheriff's Office remains committed to bringing Kristin home to her family," stated a press release Wednesday about the investigation.

In October of last year, Flores' second appeal of his conviction was denied and the California Supreme Court declined his request for a review of his case and appeals in January of this year.

According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Paul Flores remains incarcerated at California State Prison Corcoran and is next eligible for parole in June of 2037.

Your News Channel is on the scene and will add additional information to this article as it is received.