Andrea Canning

They still wanted Kristen's body, and they haven't given up.

All right, that brings us back to the search this past week at the home of Paul's mother, Susan Flores.

At the time of the murder, she and Paul's dad, Ruben, were no longer together.

And we should say, Josh, this isn't the first time her property has come under scrutiny.

Investigators were there back in 1996 and didn't find anything.

But in 2023, scientists working out of her neighbor's yard said they found evidence of human decomposition along her back fence.

So, Josh, what brought investigators back to Susan's home this time?

It does feel as if, and the sheriff sort of alluded to this in his comments the other day, that someone has told them something.

That's sort of what got them over the search warrant bar to start digging in her backyard.

And they're not just digging in her backyard.

They're taking soil samples and testing the vapor coming off that soil to look for signs of human decomposition.

At the press conference last week, the sheriff revealed what his investigators had found in the first few days of their search.

We can't call it Kristen, but, you know, we think there's evidence to support human remains there at one time.

Once again, there is the scent or the finding of human decomposition, which was in Paul Flores' dorm room, which was under Paul Flores' father's deck, and which is underground at Paul Flores' mom's house.

Coincidence?

Homicide investigators will tell you that's not a coincidence.

Josh, we should point out that Susan has never been charged in connection with this case, and she also declined to make any comment about the search.

Saturday, the sheriff's department announced the search was over and that, unfortunately, they had not found Kristen's body.

But you know what?

It's just absolute torture for the Smart family.