Kristin Smart was an 18-year-old freshman at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo when she was last seen in the early hours of May 25, 1996, after attending a party near campus. She left the party around 2 a.m. with a fellow student, Paul Flores, who was seen walking her back toward her dorm. Flores was the last known person to see her; he said he parted ways with Kristin near her residence hall and left her to walk the rest of the way alone. Kristin never made it back to her room and was reported missing two days later.

The investigation initially met setbacks, with campus police at one point believing she had taken an unannounced trip. As she failed to return, the case was reclassified as a potential abduction. Searches expanded to areas where Flores lived and spent time, including attempts with cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar, but Kristin’s body has never been found. Her disappearance remained a cold, high-profile case that continued to draw public attention.

If anyone who lived in San Luis Obispo in 1996 or attended that party remembers seeing Kristin or her blue jeans and white T-shirt that night, please come forward with what you know.