Remembering Kristin Smart 30 Years After Her Disappearance

On May 25, 1996, Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart disappeared after attending a party off campus. 30 years later, her body still has not been found. 

Like most Cal Poly students, I had heard of Kristin Smart in my classes or through word of mouth. I was captivated by her story and couldn’t understand how it had taken 26 years to convict her killer. But the more I learned about her death, I realized how little I knew about her life. 

Kristin Smart was born in Augsburg, Germany on February 20, 1977. Her parents Denise and Stan had struggled to get pregnant so when Kristin was born, they knew she was a miracle. The oldest of three siblings, Kristin took on a guiding role for her younger sister and brother. For her whole life Kristin had an adventurous spirit, always travelling and looking for her next journey. She spent her last summer as a camp counselor in Hawaii, what she said was her “dream job.” 

Her friends described her as kind and caring. She was kind-hearted with a bright future ahead of her and always ready for new chapters in life. But those future chapters were taken from her by Paul Flores. 

The Smart family has fought for justice for their daughter since the day she went missing. Because of early mistakes in the handling of her case, that justice was long delayed. Due to the help of podcaster Chris Lambert, Flores was arrested for Smart’s murder in April 2021. 

Lambert grew up on the central coast of California and saw Kristin’s story on the news. As he grew up, he realized he started to hear less and less and was curious what became of her story. When he looked her up online, he was shocked to see that her case had never been solved. 

This sparked the inspiration to start his podcast about Kristin’s story. Lambert contacted possible witnesses, talked to Kristin’s parents, and dug up as much research as he could find. The podcast attracted attention and his research eventually led to Flores’ arrest. 

But despite a guilty verdict, Kristin’s body has never been found. A search at the home of Paul Flores’ mother, Susan Flores, on May 6 found possible presence of human remains but Kristin’s body was not recovered.

People like Lambert who remembered Kristin and told her story helped to bring her justice. That is why it is so important to continue to keep her memory alive. Flores may be behind bars but the Smart family is still left with so many unanswered questions. They deserve the closure of finding Kristin. There is more to be uncovered here. Kristin Smart had so much life she deserved to live. So keep asking questions and keep digging deeper. 

For more information about Kristin Smart, please visit kristinsmart.org. 

• Cal Poly
• crime
• disappearance
• Kristin Smart
• remembrance