A person of interest in the 1996 disappearance of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo freshman Kristin Smart was arrested Tuesday morning in the Los Angeles suburb of San Pedro.

A Smart family spokesman confirmed to CNN that law enforcement arrested Paul Flores, 44, and his 80-year-old father Ruben Flores. Paul Flores, who also attended Cal Poly, was the last person to see Smart alive when he walked her home from a fraternity party.

Ruben Flores was booked on suspicion of accessory after a felony, according to San Luis Obispo County jail records.

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office is expected to make an announcement about the arrests at 5 p.m. ET.

In March, Paul Flores was named as the prime suspect in Smart's disappearance. Investigators had reportedly searched Ruben Flores' home and property using ground-penetrating radar and cadaver dogs.

Paul Flores was arrested in February on an unrelated weapons charge.

Smart, of Stockton, California, was 19 years old at the time of her disappearance on Memorial Day weekend. She was declared legally dead on May 25, 2002.

Smart was born in Germany to parents who are teachers.

She was listed at 6-foot-1, with blonde hair. Smart, who was nicknamed "Roxy," was described "as a happy, energetic young woman, often timid, always smiling, and devoted to her studies," according to the Visalia Times-Delta.

Social media reacted to the arrests.

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