Kristin Smart: FBI tells mother of woman missing since 1996 to 'be ready' for developments
Authorities reportedly tell Denise Smart to be prepared for 'something you don't expect'
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Your support makes all the difference.The mother of a California teenager who has been missing for more than 20 years says the FBI told her to "be ready" for imminent news about her disappearance.
Hoping that police would finally be able to bring some closure to a seemingly endless investigation, Kristin Smart's mother Denise told the Stockton Record that the FBI warned that the family "might want to get away for a while" and obtain a spokesperson
The FBI allegedly told her: "This is really going to be something you don't expect. We want to give you the support you need."
She said: "It's like, 'Can you give me the flight plan?' ... When is this happening?"
Then 19 years old, Ms Smart was last seen at around 2am on 25 May 1996 walking back to her dorm room on the California Polytechnic State University campus in San Luis Obispo, California.
She had just left a party and was accompanied by another student, who told authorities that he dropped her off one block from her dorm building. She reportedly did not return to her room and has not spoken with family or friends since then, according to the FBI. Other students have said she had been camping for several days before she was reported missing.
Ms Smart also did not have any identification, money or extra clothing with her at the time of her disappearance, the FBI said.
The bureau's Los Angeles office said the case was still pending and that any new developments would be announced by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office.
Cal Poly campus police and law enforcement did not begin their search for Ms Smart until 30 May, and investigators did not search her dorm room until weeks after she was reported missing. Police did not search the room of the man who reportedly escorted Ms Smart to her dorm, Paul Flores, until the room had been cleaned and vacated at the end of the academic quarter in June.
In November 1996, the Smarts filed a $40m wrongful death lawsuit against the university and Mr Flores, who was accused of murdering Kristin. That case remains in limbo as the sheriff's office continues its investigation and has marked case files confidential.
The case had nearly gone cold after 20 years until 2016, when the sheriff's office and FBI excavated a hillside near Cal Poly based on a tip. Authorities did not reveal whether any new information was uncovered.
Ms Smart, who would be 42 today, was recorded legally dead in 2002.
A documentary podcast, Your Own Backyard: The Disappearance of Kristin Smart, details the investigation that followed her disappearance.
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