A note from the smart the statute of limitations in this case has expired on everything except murder.
Anyone who comes forward with information will not be charged with any crime.
This episode contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners.
Listener discretion is advised.
Part of the reason that I first got involved with telling the story of Kristen Smart was that things had been too quiet following the excavation of the Cal Poly hillside in 2016.
In fact, all of 2017 2018 and most of 2019 passed with no public updates in the case.
Kristen's name appeared in local newspapers just one time during that three year stretch, when a friend of mine held a 23rd anniversary vigil in May of 2019 at the point of Hope in Shell beach, which was advertised on local news and on social media, only two other people showed up.
That all changed in 2020.
On January 5, in response to renewed public interest in the case, Brand Creative West, a sign shop in Arroyo Grande, replaced the 23 year old billboard in the village free of charge.
The billboard, which I previously described as sun faded and hard to see, is now bright and vibrant and includes a link to this podcast.
On January 18, an article ran in the Stockton Record which quoted Denise Smartt as saying that she had recently been contacted by an FBI agent who had advised her to, quote, be ready.
This is really going to be something you don't expect.
I watched all week as theories began to spread on social media, theories which largely disregarded all of the circumstantial evidence that points to what happened to Kristen Smart.
Rumors began to spread that Kristen had been found alive in another country and that she was waiting to be reunited with her parents, or that she had been murdered by a serial killer.
One rumor even stated that high profile celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres were sending coded messages about Kristen's rescue, or that Donald Trump had announced it in a news conference.
None of this is accurate.
The smart family has stayed in contact with many investigators over the years, most of whom have long since retired, but continue to offer them friendly advice.
In this case, the advice was simply to have a plan in place, since things were obviously heating up in the case again, and you never know when that phone call is going to come.
On January 29, I released episode seven of this podcast, which ended with a tip that I had received, which brought me to the right place at the right time to see two trucks in the custody of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department.
Trucks, which I concluded belonged to the Flores family in 1996.