Andrea Canning

Only on Peacock.

Kristen Smart was just 19 years old in 1996, a freshman at California Polytechnic State University, or Cal Poly, in San Luis Obispo, California.

The last time anyone saw Kristen was on Memorial Day weekend as she was leaving an off-campus party with a fellow student named Paul Flores.

While campus police suggested Kristen may have run off for a weekend trip, her friends and family knew something was wrong.

But years passed, then decades without answers.

Kristen's parents kept their daughter's disappearance in the spotlight while investigators continued pursuing the case, increasingly focused on Paul Flores as their prime suspect.

Eventually, in 2021, prosecutors charged Paul with Kristen's murder.

He was convicted in 2022 and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

But the case hasn't been closed because Kristen's body has never been found.

Then, last week, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson made an announcement.

A search was underway at the home belonging to Paul's mother, Susan.

My colleague and friend, Josh Mankiewicz, who has been covering this case for years and spent time talking to Kristen's parents and investigators for his Dateline episode, Justice for Kristen Smart, is here to tell us more.

Hey, Josh.

Right.

Right.

Well, it does.

And that's because it isn't really over.

Although there was a criminal trial, Paul Flores was absolutely convicted in that.

Her body has never been found.

And the Smart family, they have continued to press law enforcement for a search that would eventually turn up where their daughter is because they want to bring her home.