The family of Kristin Smart said there’s no imminent news expected in the case of the missing California college student, who vanished in 1996.
The clarification on Wednesday came hours after Smart’s mother, Denise, said a retired FBI agent told her to brace for a bombshell announcement in her daughter’s cold case.
“The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation and they are not putting any timetable on the completion of it. We support the Sheriff Department’s efforts and commitment,” the family said in a statement, according to USA Today.
Denise claimed the former agent told her, “Be ready. This is really going to be something you don’t expect” and advised her to secure a family spokesperson and consider getting out of town for a while.
Federal agents told the San Francisco Chronicle they didn’t tell the Smart family that a break in the case would soon be announced.
The FBI wouldn’t comment on whether an announcement is actually pending and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the case because it’s open and active.
Smart, 19, was last seen near her dorm at California Polytechnic State University after walking home from an off-campus fraternity party.
She was declared dead in 2002 though her body was never found.