Kristin Smart disappeared on May 25, 1996 while attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. (Photo by Axel Koester/Sygma via Getty Images)
A 44-year-old man considered a person of interest in the disappearance of Kristin Smart, a California college student who disappeared in 1996, was arrested on a weapons charge, authorities said Thursday.
Paul Flores, 44, was arrested in Rancho Palos Verdes on suspicion of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Flores was a former classmate of Smart, and owns a home in San Pedro, where authorities previously served a search warrant.
Smart, who attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, vanished while returning from a party in the Central Coast city. The 19-year-old from Stockton, California, had been seen with another student, identified as Paul Flores, but he was never arrested or charged in the case.
The Sheriff's Office has described the investigation as active and ongoing.
Interest in the disappearance has been revived at times, including when investigators conducted digs on the college campus in 2016, and most recently due to a locally produced podcast focusing on the case.
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