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But one of the locations was the San Pedro, Calif., home of Paul Flores, 43, according to KCAL-TV in Los Angeles.

A former Cal Poly student, Mr. Flores was the last person to see Ms. Smart after she left the party at about 2 a.m. on May 25, 1996, Mr. Cipolla said. Mr. Flores has denied any involvement in her disappearance and has said that he walked her only as far as his dorm, where they parted ways, Mr. Cipolla said.

Mr. Flores, who has never been charged in the case, has long been a person of interest in Ms. Smart’s disappearance. Mr. Cipolla described him on Wednesday as “the only person of interest.”

KCAL-TV reported that a man believed to be Mr. Flores was detained in a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department squad vehicle for two hours Wednesday morning outside the home in San Pedro. The man was handcuffed, questioned and then released by deputies after signing paperwork, KCAL-TV reported.

The San Luis Obispo Tribune reported that sheriff’s deputies and F.B.I. agents were also seen on Wednesday outside the home in Arroyo Grande, Calif., of Mr. Flores’s mother, Susan Flores.

Caution tape was posted outside Ms. Flores’s home, and about 15 spectators gathered across the street to watch the investigators work, some shouting, “Dig her up,” The Tribune reported.

A woman who answered a phone number listed for Ms. Flores said, “I’m not talking to reporters at this time,” and hung up. No one answered at a number listed for Mr. Flores.