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6-20-2000
Flores Home Searched
Yesterday Sheriff's officers searched an Arroyo Grande house for further clues in Kristin's disapearence.
Follow these links for more information:
5-24-2000
A Note of Hope and Appreciation from Kristin's family
May 25, 2000 marks the four year anniversary of Kristin's disappearance. As the days and years unfold it becomes increasingly clear that not only is Paul Flores guilty of taking our daughter's life, he is guilty of kidnapping and harboring information about her whereabouts.
Our life without Kristin continues to be a pain so deep that there are no words to describe it. Having a child precede you in death is without a doubt the worst heartache anyone can be asked to endure.
Losing a child to a violent crime only exacerbates the pain, because you know it was NOT God's will and that it was not meant to be.
But NOT knowing where your child is the greatest pain and heartache of all.
Having the knowledge that there is another human being (and that is a generous description) along with his families support REFUSES to cooperate with law enforcement and divulge the whereabouts of our daughter is like being an ever deepening chasm of despair.
Another truly difficult fact for our family to accept is that, Paul's refusal to cooperate with law enforcement is undermining not only his life but his families as well. He too appears to be in an ever-deepening spiral of failure. As evidenced by his ongoing battle with alcohol and other problems. We are hoping that he and his family are beginning to understand that we will not go away and WE WILL NOT GIVE UP until Kristin is found!
Certainly our family has moved forward in the last four years. Kristin's younger brother and sister have had outstanding academic success as well as distinguished themselves in the world of swimming. (Both have qualified for the US Olympic Swimming Trials.) But, because of the actions of Paul Flores on the night of May 25, 1996 and his subsequent and ongoing actions our family has been changed forever. Never again will any of us experience unqualified joy and happiness. Each family special occasion, personal milestone, or accomplishment is celebrated with joy, but 'if only' is the preface that will be with each of us for the rest of our lives.
If he were to come forward now and provide us with the information to find Kristin, the reality is that he would serve a short sentence (nothing new for him) and could for all intensive purpose bring some semblance of meaning to his life. Most importantly for our family, we could lay our beloved daughter to rest in peace and surround her with the love of her family. She deserves nothing less. She did not deserve to lose her life, her future and her dreams. Paul Flores has broken our hearts forever and the ongoing torture of our lives can never bring Kristin home alive. How he can continue to live with himself is beyond our comprehension.
We will spend tomorrow near the ocean, relaxing and enjoying the fresh air and sun and thinking about our girl. Just knowing that the ocean was her passion helps us feel closer to her during these difficult times. Her absence has left such a huge scars on our hearts, that at times like this, it is only her memories that keeps us afloat.
It is important to add here, that the community of support from so many people both in and away from the central coast continues to keep our hope and faith alive. the renewed commitment from the sheriff's department, particularly detective Steve Crawford and the ongoing support and counsel of our attorney and his wife, Jim and Garin Murphy are the pillars of our strength.
To each of our friends and supporters, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for sharing our commitment to finding Kristin. She would be so overwhelmed and humbled by your actions.
And as always if there is anyone reading this who feels that they have information or might be able to help convince Paul and his family that NOW is the best time to come forward.......our gratitude will be yours forever.
God cannot give us back Kristin the way we want and need her, but he can give others the strength to continue to help solve this tragedy and for this we are forever grateful.
Stan and Denise Smart
PS Mr. and Mrs. Flores......If you reading this, as a parent won't you please help your son make the right choice!
4-11-2000
Paul Flores arrested April 9th for third DUI this year.
Paul Flores (the primary suspect in Kristin's disappearance) was arrested on  April 9th for Driving Under the Influence. This is his third DUI in the past year. He has no license, no insurance, and has been charged with several parole violation in the past year. Unfortunately, this site had been misinformed on this story. Mr. Flores did not posted bond and was not let out of jail. At his second hearing, Paul pleaded NO contest and the judge sentenced him to 120 days in jail and mandatory alcohol counseling.
3-6-2000
Kristin Featured on Inside Edition
Today's "Inside Edition" TV news-magazine will feature the cases of several
college students murdered on or missing from their campuses, including Adam
Prentice, Bryan Nisenfeld and Kristin Smart. The program takes "a closer
look at how your child is, or isnšt, protected on campus." For the exact
time and channel in your town please consult your local listings.
Sacramento- 1AM Channel 10 KXTV
San Francisco- 4:30PM KPIX CBS
2-10-2000
Flier Available
A printable version Kristin's Missing Person's Poster is now available for download. Click on the link below to view the flier. Feel free to use these to download and post in your community or mail/share with friends and neighbors who share our commitment to finding Kristin.
This flier may be printed from your web browser. Simply click "File" and "Print." When the "Print" dialog box is displayed simply choose your printer from the drop down box and click "Okay."
Click here to view flier
1-10-2000
Kristin to be Featured on Sally
The Sally Show will air a piece about Kristin tomorrow, January 11, 2000. In the Stockton area that is 9:00 A.M. on Channel 13. Check your local listings for further details.
4-26-99
A Letter from the Smart Famliy; 20/20 to re-air story
Dear friends:
Just a quick note to let you know that 20/20 is re-airing Kristin's story and a short update this Wednesday, September 1, 1999, at 9PM.
It has been an extremely SLOW summer with NO word at all from the Sheriff's Dept., and very little activity since last May when both Rachel and Aundria were found.
It would be a wonderful gift to Kristin, if you could send off a quick email to Sheriff Pat Hedges (slosheriff@fixnet.com) and let him know you saw the broadcast and share our commitment to finding Kristin and that you are looking to his department to get the job done SOON!
Thank you again for your ongoing support, your voices carry us through the tough times and remind us that we are not alone. They do the same for the Sheriff. (We've been told that every letter/email equals the voice of 500 constituents!) So, please feel free to pass this message along to your friends!
With many thanks,
Stan, Denise, Matt and Lindsey
4-26-99
Rachel Newhouse and Aundria Crawford dead; suspect calls himself a 'monster'
San Luis Obispo
The human remains found Friday in a remote canyon near Avila Beach were identified by police Saturday afternoon as Rachel Newhouse and Aundria Crawford, two of the three San Luis Obispo college students to vanish over the past three years.
The remains were found near the home of convicted rapist Rex Allan Krebs, who all but confessed Saturday morning to a Fresno Bee reporter, calling himself a "monster" who should be put to death, according to a published report.
Krebs, a 33-year-old Idaho native, is being held in the San Luis Obispo County Jail in protective custody on a parole violation and has yet to be arrested for either homicide.
"We are absolutely satisfied we have the person responsible for the deaths of Rachel Newhouse and Aundria Crawford," said police Capt. Bart Topham during a press conference late Saturday afternoon at the City-County Library. It was the second such gathering in two days. A third will be held this morning at 9:30 with California Attorney General Bill Lockyer expected to attend.
Topham offered no new information about how the two college students died and declined to say if they had been raped. He did say that Krebs is not suspected in any other deaths and that there are no other suspects in either case. He gave no estimate on when Krebs might be arrested or charged.
"He's already in custody. I don't have to rush out and charge him," Topham said.
No additional information was released Sunday.
Krebs was picked up on an alleged parole violation March 20. He was paroled from state prison in September 1997 after serving 10 years of a 20-year sentence for rape, attempted rape, sodomy and burglary.
An Atascadero woman who got to know him after he was paroled said Krebs was a regular visitor to her home and often spent the night, sleeping in the bunk above her young child. When Krebs and his girlfriend came to dinner, he was a complete gentleman, she said.
"If you were to ask me six months ago, I would have said he seemed to be a nice guy, polite. He never really did anything to me. If you were to ask me now, I would say he's an animal."
The woman asked that her name not be published out of concern for her safety.
She said Krebs' girlfriend knew nothing about his involvement in the case until Thursday and has been treated poorly by some people over the past few days. "I can tell you she would not have hesitated to turn him in if she knew."
Krebs was a regular customer at Outlaws Bar & Grill in Atascadero.
"Rex was a great guy, is a great guy," said bartender Dan Thompson, who worked with Krebs at the 84 Lumber store in San Luis Obispo until becoming a bartender at Outlaws full-time. "But apparently it seems as though he has a demon."
Thompson said Krebs was involved in a few fights at the bar, adding that it was always because he saw someone in the bar mistreating a woman.
According to court records, Krebs was convicted in October 1987 of raping and sodomizing an Oceano woman while threatening her with a butcher knife. He was also convicted of attempting to rape an Arroyo Grande woman after breaking into her home for the second time in two weeks. He threatened her with a screwdriver. When she fought him off he bit her hand, severing a tendon.
Krebs declined an interview with The Tribune on Sunday.
The day before Krebs expressed disgust with himself and sympathy for the victims' families.
"The two girls are dead," he told the Fresno Bee. "If I'm not a monster, then what am I?"
Krebs said he was not worried about the death penalty. "I hope they give it to me."
The families of both Rachel Newhouse and Aundria Crawford spent the weekend in San Luis Obispo and are preparing to bury their daughters. No funeral arrangements had been made yet.
Don Crawford, Aundria's grandfather, said he expects police to release her body today or Tuesday.
Officials believe the 20-year-old Cuesta College student was abducted March 12 from her duplex apartment on Branch Street. She was the daughter of Gail Eberhart of Clovis and Jim Eberhart of Washington state.
"We are a pretty strong family, and we are all Christians," her grandfather said. "I've been expecting the worst after a week but hoping for the best. I think the whole family feels that way."
One of Aundria Crawford's closest friends was Jamie Rerucha of Fresno. She wasn't up to talking Sunday. Her husband, Jason, said they have found some relief after six frustrating weeks of not knowing.
"I kind of assumed it was going to end like this from the beginning because of the world we live in nowadays," he said. "I'm glad that they finally found her and can give her a proper burial."
He had known Crawford for about two years. They both drove Mustangs. "She was very outgoing. Always on the move, wanting to do stuff."
He read in the paper that Krebs said he attacked one of the women in 1987 because he felt she had given him a condescending look. Rerucha said he could imagine Crawford doing the same thing if she felt Krebs was trying to pick up on her.
"She was a great person. It's sad that she had to go like this."
Rachel Newhouse was the daughter of Phillip and Montel Newhouse of Irvine. She moved to San Luis Obispo to attend Cal Poly, where she was a junior majoring in nutrition. She disappeared in November while walking home from a party at Tortilla Flats restaurant. Her blood was found on the Jennifer Street Bridge.
Randy Rossi, a teacher at Irvine High School, was Newhouse's cross country coach and taught her beginning Spanish.
"She was an outstanding student," Rossi told The Orange County Register. "She was bright and active with a good sense of humor. Soccer was her first love. I kept trying to talk her into it ( running cross country ) because of her character -- she was a hard worker and very tenacious. She embodied the highest qualities of the student athlete. She was a vivacious, attractive, intelligent, terrific young lady.
"It was a terrible shock to the school," Rossi added. "That's the most horrible scenario, having someone disappear without a trace. We all hoped -- that's the last thing you give up. As time goes on, you become worried that hope is seeping away. But we always hoped there would be a miracle."
Erin Livermore, 21, a student at Cal State Fullerton, had known Newhouse since junior high school.
"She was the funniest girl. She always made everyone laugh. She was friends with everyone."
Livermore sang karaoke with Newhouse at a cross country dinner once and has it on video. She says that is what she will always remember about her friend.
Confirmation of their deaths was not unexpected, but the news was still difficult to hear Saturday.
Topham praised the work of his entire Police Department, including team leaders Detective Jerome Tushbant, Detective Cindy Dunn and FBI agent Vince Otto.
The department was committed from the beginning to solving the disappearances, he said.
"This is San Luis Obispo," he said they told themselves. "We can't have this. We have to do this."
Investigators worked out from San Luis Obispo conducting thousands of interviews with family, friends, co-workers, people inside Tortilla Flats when Newhouse left and people living along routes she might have walked. They tracked down parolees, registered sex offenders and people on probation.
"I'm so proud of them I can't stand it," Topham said.
The department received assistance from the FBI, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department, local police agencies, the state Department of Justice, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office and the state parole office.
Volunteer search-and-rescue teams worked the case. Even the Central Coast Treasure Hunters Association lent a hand Saturday, scouring the area around Krebs' rented home in Davis Canyon with metal detectors.
Representatives from many of those agencies are planning to attend this morning's press briefing.
Reprinted from San Luis Obispo County Telegram-Tribune
3-22-99
We need to get our town back
Teresa Mariani
Telegram-Tribune
"Now there are three. Three missing women. The last one did not drink, according to her neighbor, a Cal Poly student. So what will be your handle on this article?"
The note was in my e-mail in-box when I came to work this week.
It was from a Santa Barbara City College student. She'll be coming to Cal Poly this fall as a journalism major. "I am angry," she wrote, at the disappearance of Aundria Crawford -- the third pretty young college girl to disappear in the night from this town in as many years.
The story is slightly different this time: Instead of a bright young college woman disappearing after a night of drinking, it's a bright young college woman disappearing after apparently being kidnapped from her home.
The police are being oh-so-careful not to say the words "serial killer." Over and over again since Aundria Crawford disappeared a week ago, they've said they have no evidence to connect the three disappearances -- always adding "at this time."
 But what else can it be? Three young women vanish from this town, vanish, apparently, from the face of the earth. The last two within four months of each other. Is it some kind of terrible fluke, or is there a killer here stalking college girls?
In any city, in any town, it would be a terrible story. It seems all the more terrible to me because the girls have vanished from streets I walk down, from streets in my neighborhood, from streets I know.
It is frightening and awful and it has many of us on edge, looking over our shoulders. Should we go jogging on the streets alone, like always? Or is that too dangerous now? Do I need to take the dog with me, I wondered, as I set out walking after work. Should I tell my daughters they can't go to the park alone anymore?
And who is it? Who is doing this? Maybe it's the guy next door. Maybe it's the guy around the corner. Maybe it's a guy from Santa Maria or Paso Robles or Arroyo Grande who just comes to town to prey on women, then stays away for a few months. Maybe it's a Cal Poly student. Maybe it's that guy walking toward me, I thought last night, as I walked in the park before dinner.
And for the first time, I felt something that I'd never really felt here before: a little flicker of fear.
And it made me angry. I want the killer caught. And I want my town back.
The disappearances of Aundria Crawford, Rachel Newhouse and Kristin Smart are terrible tragedies for their friends and families. But they are also a tragedy for all of us. Along with the girls themselves, something else has been stolen in the night from San Luis Obispo: our sense of safety.
Maybe it never was really that safe here to begin with. Maybe we were only kidding ourselves all along, lulled by the quaint look of this place. Or maybe not.
Either way, we need to stop kidding ourselves: It is not safe here right now.
Reprinted from San Luis Obispo County Telegram-Tribune
1-28-99
New effort launched
in Kristin Smart case
Staff and Wire Reports
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- New Sheriff Pat Hedges says his department is renewing
its focus on the disappearance of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart, who was
last seen in May 1996.
The case of the Lincoln High School graduate was never closed but Hedges
said he is asking investigators to re-interview Smart's friends and those
who were at an off-campus party the night she disappeared.
On May 25, 1996, Smart was seen leaving the party near campus with fellow
student Paul Flores, who told investigators he walked her to the end of
a pathway to her dormitory. It was the last time Smart was ever seen, and
Flores has since become the target of a criminal investigation, although
investigators do not have the evidence to arrest him or charge him with
any crime.
''We're stepping back,'' Hedges said, ''and looking at all the information
that's been gathered with a fresh approach. We're seeing if certain areas
need to be expanded on.''
Sheriff Department Spokesman Sgt. Sean Donahue said investigators likely
will try to track down students who were on campus at the time Kristin Smart
vanished.
"At the time of the original interviews, ... nobody really thought
-- especially students -- that (Smart) had met with death. So at that time
(students) probably did not put (all that) they could have, and some people
had already left for vacations," Donahue said. "You could get
eye witnesses who say, 'I remember that night seeing a couple of people
talking. I didn't say anything at the time because nobody asked me.'"
The Smart case continues to be the subject of national media coverage,
most recently having been featured on the "Maury" television program
and in an article in People magazine. Most of that continued attention comes
from the diligence of the Smart's parents, Stan and Denise Smart, who live
in Stockton with their two younger children.
''Just keeping her name alive,'' Denise Smart said, ''is very important
to us.''
They figure their daughter, who was 19 when she disappeared, is dead
and may have even died accidentally that night. But they yearn to know where
her body is. They want some form of closure, and the Sheriff's Department's
renewed interest is encouraging, they say.
"The bottom line is that there's no happy ending here, but you need
an ending," Denise Smart said. "So, yes, we're very pleased that
there seems to be a renewed sense of commitment on the part of the Sheriff's
Department to solve this case.
"The reality is there are never any guarantees," she said.
"But as a family, just knowing that everything possible that can be
done is being done, it not only restores your faith in law enforcement,
I mean, it's a reason to hope."
Denise Smart said she's hopeful, too, that San Luis Obispo police are
able to solve the case of Rachel Newhouse, a Cal Poly junior from Irvine
who was last seen leaving a San Luis Obispo restaurant-bar last November.
Both Newhouse and Smart had been drinking when last seen.
San Luis Obispo police said this week there is no new information on
the Newhouse case, even after blood on the Jennifer Street Bridge was found
to match hers. Dozens of people who saw her the night she disappeared have
been interviewed.
The Smarts haven't talked with the Newhouses.
''But I feel for them,'' Denise Smart said. ''You're paralyzed with fear,
coping is very hard. It's pretty traumatic.''
Not knowing what happened to their daughters is probably the toughest
part for both families, Smart said.
''We want to know where they are,'' Denise Smart said. ''It's a basic
human right to bring someone you love home to rest.''
She's optimistic that Kristin's disappearance will be solved someday.
Meanwhile, the family continues with daily routines, such as school and
jobs, while keeping her memory alive.
Denise Smart still praises the people of San Luis Obispo County for their
concern about both missing women.
''The community embraced Rachel's family like it did ours,'' she said.
''Fortunately, not many people have to learn how valuable that is. It's
nice to know that everyone rallies. You don't feel quite so alone.''
Reprinted from The Record 1-28-99
1-26-99
The America's Most Wanted show about the disappearance of Cal Poly student Rachel Newhouse, including an update on Kristin's case, has once again been delayed. We will post the next scheduled air date on this space when it becomes available.
1-11-99
The Maury Povich Show featuring John Walsh from America's Most Wanted will air on Wednesday, January13th. In the Stockton-Sacramento area the Maury Povich Show airs on Channel 13 at 2:00 P.M. Kristin's story was taped as the last part of the show. John Walsh had some very good remarks about both the university and suspect Paul Flores. It was originally scheduled to show On Tuesday, so TV listings may have incorrect info about the shows content.
The America's Most Wanted Show is tentatively scheduled to air a segment about Rachel Newhouse and Kristin on Saturday, January 23. Rachel is the young CAL Poly woman who also disappeared from San Luis Obispo this last November. For more information, please see Kristin's site for a link to Rachel's homepage.
12-16-98
Rachel Newhouse's case will be featured on this Saturday's (12-19-98) America's Most Wanted.
Kristin's case will also be updated. In addition, be sure to look for Kristin's case
on an upcoming Maury Povich show, along with John Walsh, this January.
12-2-98 A Message from the Smart's
Dear Friends,
Our new domain is up and running. Hope you like it. We are asking your help in
passing the word around. We would be most delighted if you would change your links
and bookmarks, and pass the word on to your friends.
Thank you, and enjoy,
The Smarts
11-26-98
We are working on getting our own domain name here at the Help us Find Kristin
Smart web-page. Our new address will be http://www.findkristinsmart.org/ We
will keep this page posted for more updates.
11-25-98
A daughter vanishes
Student at central coast university disappeared 2 1/2 years ago without a trace
By Anastasia Hendrix
OF THE EXAMINER STAFF
STOCKTON — A thin layer of dust covers the dresser that holds Kristin Smart's T-shirts and jeans — the fine powder blankets the top of a teddy bear, a doll, the red cap she wore as a lifeguard.
It's been two years and five months since anyone saw Kristin. The 19-year-old college freshman disappeared after she left a fraternity party at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus.
Since that moment, her parents, Stan and Denise Smart, have searched the campus long after police stopped doing so. They've given interviews to keep her face in the media spotlight. Their journey of grief, confusion and frustration is not unlike that of untold other parents who have missing children. But their story has a cruel and unusual twist.
They believe they know who is responsible for her disappearance. They have studied his face, tracked him from job to job, besieged his family with letters, sued him and learned more about this man than they ever thought possible.
His name is Paul Flores, and police say he is their only suspect. But as yet there is no hard evidence, no weapon, no body. Kristin Smart vanished, apparently leaving no clues behind.
"It's been like having an open wound and having someone continually pouring salt in it," Denise Smart said, her voice faltering. "Having a missing child is just not something that gets better over time. It's another dimension, and it just can't heal."
Virtually from the beginning, Flores, his parents, his aunt and his sister have all refused to discuss the case, and they declined to respond to The Examiner's requests for comment. Even Flores' former lawyer, Greg Coates, would not comment other than to say there were "no facts to indicate that Paul had anything to do with the disappearance of Kristin Smart."
So the story has been left largely to the Smarts to tell. It's a sad mystery, and it's the story of parents' relentless effort to find their daughter, or her body.
Kristin was last seen alive the evening of May 25, 1996, around 2 a.m. as she and Cheryl Anderson, another student, left a party to return to their dorm rooms. A fellow student, food science major Paul Flores, then just 19 years old, offered to walk with them, according to a search warrant affidavit. Friends said Kristin appeared intoxicated that night. She and Flores had talked during the party.
As Anderson turned to her dorm building, Flores, who lived in an adjacent building, assured her he would see Kristin safely home, the affidavit said.
Kristin never got there.
Flores gave two brief statements to campus police in the days immediately after Kristin vanished. He said they had parted ways as they approached their respective dorms. For four weeks, campus police treated her disappearance as a missing persons case.
"When they first contacted us, like any parent, I was frustrated to think that she'd done something embarrassing," recalled Stan Smart, a principal at Vintage High School in Napa. But with each passing day, her parents' fear grew.
The first two times police approached Flores about Kristin's disappearance, he answered their questions.
Nothing more to say
According to police records obtained by The Examiner, Flores had a black eye the morning after Kristin disappeared. First, he told police he got the black eye during a basketball game. Then he said he got it fixing his car. Later, he told friends that he had made up the basketball story because he thought it would "sound stupid" if he told police he didn't know how he'd gotten the black eye, the affidavit said.
After those interviews, Flores refused to talk with deputies again and, when called before a grand jury, entered and left the room within five minutes.
Two months later, San Luis Obispo County sheriff's deputies searched the campus with three dogs trained to detect the scent of human remains.
The dogs led investigators to Flores' dorm room, to his mattress. But no evidence was found at the time.
"Because of inconsistencies in his activities, or claimed activities during that period, we believe he has further knowledge about what happened, and he is a suspect in her disappearance," said Sgt. Bill Wammock of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department.
"This has been a frustrating case for us, for the parents, for the press," Wammock noted, "because we don't have an answer to what happened here."
Putting on pressure
For almost two years and six months, Stan and Denise Smart have tried to pressure Flores into talking about the case.
From their Stockton home, where a file cabinet in Kristin's room is stuffed with police documents, legal paperwork and folders of newspaper articles, they have sent photo collages of their firstborn daughter to Flores' parents, grandparents and other relatives, most of whom live in central and southern California towns towns where Flores grew up.
The pictures show her frolicking on the beach during family vacations, laughing with friends and posing proudly with her younger brother and sister. Dozens of their friends sent letters and postcards pleading for Flores' parents to convince their son to share any information he might have with investigators.
Each packet has been opened — some torn across the side, others neatly opened along the top — and returned to the Smarts.
Though Flores left school within months of Kristin's disappearance, private detectives volunteering for the Smarts have tracked him to Southern California, where he now lives. Denise Smart says she and her husband want him to know someone is watching him; they say they don't want him to hurt anyone else. And, she acknowledges, they are frustrated that he is "living footloose and fancy free" while their lives are frozen in time.
At first, Stan and Denise Smart visited Flores at a Central California gas station where he was working, hoping to plead with the young man. They say Flores hid in a back room and refused to talk with them.
Parents contact employers
They sent photocopied news articles about Flores' potential involvement in Kristin's disappearance to his employers. They alerted reporters in each new town where Flores worked.
Afterward he left jobs at Blockbuster Video, In-N-Out Hamburgers and Outback Steakhouse, the Smarts say. The Navy refused to allow him to enlist after learning about the Smart case.
In 1996 the Smarts sued Flores for wrongful death, hoping to force evidence out in civil court, but there, too, Flores invoked the Fifth Amendment. The Smarts dropped the case, but say they may refile if evidence emerges.
For all the pain she believes Paul Flores has caused her family, Denise Smart says, she also believes he is the only person who can help them find Kristin.
She shakes her head, looks out the window, and after a brief silence says:
"We're not after Paul Flores; we're not trying to persecute Paul Flores. We're after our daughter. We only want our daughter back."
In no article or police record The Examiner reviewed has any friend or relative spoken out publicly on behalf of Paul Flores. His yearbook from high school, where he graduated in 1995, sheds little light on his personality. The sandy-haired, crew-cut student has no clubs or sports affiliations listed below his name. Private investigators volunteering for the Smarts say his grades were poor to average, and he was considered an outsider by his peers.
Not fighting back
Flores has never filed a complaint against the Smarts, nor sought a restraining order to keep them out of his life.
The Smarts have been critical of police efforts to solve the crime. Campus police didn't call in sheriff's deputies to help with the case for nearly a month. The Sheriff's Department didn't immediately test Flores' mattress for fibers, hair or other DNA evidence, according to the Smarts. The Sheriff's Department declined to comment on evidence.
Fearing their daughter's case would languish in police files, they appealed to the FBI for help, and even wrote to Attorney General Janet Reno in hopes of prodding the case forward.
And they appealed to politicians. State Sen. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, introduced legislation requiring that campus police and local law enforcement authorities in each jurisdiction sign written agreements determining which agency would handle homicides and other violent crimes, so similar cases would not fall into the month-long limbo that Kristin's case had. A copy of the Kristin Smart Campus Safety Act, passed into law by the state Senate last July, hangs on the refrigerator in the Smarts' kitchen.
Rick Smith, a former FBI agent who works at the private San Francisco investigation firm Cannon Street Inc., says parental involvement can help push an investigation forward, though officers don't always appreciate their tactics.
"It is unusual, but we are seeing more and more of that because of the Polly Klaas case," Smith said, recalling the communitywide search launched in Petaluma after the 12-year-old girl was snatched from her bedroom.
Besides, "the parents have to have hope," he said. "A law enforcement officer has the expertise to tell if there's no hope, or little hope, but you can't always share that with the parents."
A tough couple of years
The Smarts say these past two years have aged them, and changed their family in ways that are hard to define. They think every day of Kristin — a girl with an infectious giggle, brave enough to spend a semester as an exchange student in Venezuela, but so afraid of driving that she shied away from getting her license. They recall her bear hugs, the omelets she made for her dad. And they know their anguish over their missing child has made them more protective of their other two children.
Stan Smart still makes the 41/2-hour trip from Stockton to the Cal Poly campus about once a month, as he has since Kristin disappeared. He has looked in garbage bins, construction sites, forests — even the university's grisly slaughterhouse. All in vain.
"Stan feels like sometimes he just needs to go there, to be there," Denise Smart said. "I'm just the opposite. It's too chilling, too hard for me to be there."
Denise Smart still only works part-time as a coordinator for an English language program so she can dedicate two days a week to her own efforts: sending letters and e-mail; writing police, politicians and supporters.
Unlikely to give up
"I know they will keep at it for as long as it takes," said family friend Denise Pearce, who used to hire Kristin to baby-sit her children. "And that would make Kristin happy. She would be so grateful, but so surprised that she would have gotten this much attention."
The case remains active, and people from around the country continue to offer support to the Smarts in an effort to keep Kristin's cause — and memory — alive.
Kevin Lundquist, a Salt Lake City financial analyst and part-time Search and Rescue volunteer, is one. Because he works regularly with law enforcement agencies, he volunteered to help Stan and Denise Smart call the FBI to pass along tips, ask the Sheriff's Department pointed questions and request regular updates on their progress.
"The only reason this case is not gathering dust in some file cabinet in some warehouse is because of them," he said.
Reprinted from The San Francisco Examiner 11-21-98
11-21-98Kristin Smart is featured in the November 30th issue
of people magazine. This issue arrived in subscribers hands on the 20th, and should be on store shelves within the week.
The Smart's send their wishes out to the family of Rachel Newhouse. We all pray for the safe return of their daughter, missing for
more than a week from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
11-12-98The Smart
family learned today that the San Francisco Examiner is sceduled to publish a story about Kristin Smart's
case on Sunday, November 22, 1998.
11-9-98Our family met with representatives from the Attorney General and Department of
Justice on October 13. We were reassured that the Sheriff's Department is now actively
utilizing and working cooperatively with a variety of outside agencies to help solve
Gistin's case. No one can ever guarantee that a crime can and will be solved. However,
having the knowledge that others truly care about the outcome of this investigation and
are doing everything possible, not only reassures our family, but also gives us the power
to continue to hope. We pray that with this new commitment and spirit of cooperation,
Qistin's case can and will be solved. Our special thanks go to Supervisor Dean Andal for
orchestrating this meeting and to all the agencies involved for committing themselves to
his effort.
P.S. Kristin's article in People Magazine is now scheduled to appear in the November 30
ssue which will be released on November 20.
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