Officials say Chris Lambert helped take the case from a local story to a national and international one.
Following the arrests of Paul and Ruben Flores in connection with the cold case of Kristin Smart, who went missing in 1996, police are giving a big thank you to podcaster Chris Lambert for his help cracking the 25-year-old case.
Lambert launched his podcast, “Your Own Backyard,” two years ago.
“What Chris did with his podcast was, he took a local story that was generally locally, and he expanded it to a national story — and international,” San Luis Opisbo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said.
Lambert told Inside Edition he was 8 years old when Kristin went missing, and when he researched the case as an adult, he realized there was a lot of information the general public wasn’t discussing. Lambert also said there were a number of a new witnesses who spoke to him who had either never spoken to police or had left out pieces of information.
Smart was last seen walking back to her dorm at Cal Poly University after a fraternity party. Paul Flores was with her, but told police they parted ways. On Tuesday he was arrested and charged with murdering Smart. Authorities say he tried to rape her in his dorm room. Paul’s father Ruben Flores was charged with being an accessory after the fact.
San Luis Opisbo District Attorney Dan Dow said that there is evidence that there may be more victims in the Southern California area.
Despite the arrests, Smart’s family is still looking for closure. “It’s kind of bittersweet for them, because their daughter still hasn’t been found,” Lambert said.
Paul Flores has denied any wrongdoing.
