Terry Black, the angry man who is offering $25,000 for the location of Kristin Smart and whose ad appeared in the February 9 issue of New Times, is still ticked off, but his outlook has been tempered somewhat by at least one response he has received.
 It didn’t come in the form of a clue, but as an offer of money to help further finance his cause. Kristin Smart, a 19-year-old Cal Poly freshman, disappeared in the early-morning hours of May 25, 1996, and hasn’t been seen since. She is now considered legally dead. Many people think Smart was either murdered or accidentally killed, and then buried. And just as many think that Paul Flores, the last person to see her alive, may have been involved, although he has never been an official suspect.
 Black is trying to get the community to put pressure on local law enforcement. Local businessman and Cal Poly alumnus Paul Miser saw Black’s ad and wants to help.
 “I came here in 1994 to go to college and take care of my great-grandmother, and the Kristin Smart case happened not long after,� Miser says. “I moved here from Los Angeles and thought, ‘What a beautiful place’ and I didn’t lock my doors or anything… then that happened and I was shocked.�
 Miser says he felt hopeless. “There was nothing I could do about it at the time – I didn’t know her or any of the people who were involved. Now I can help a little bit financially, which is what I’m doing.�
 Black is thankful. “The powers-that-be really need some pressuring down there. They’re really stonewalling the Kristin Smart family. The fact that this guy offered is spectacular.�
 Miser originally offered $5,000 to up the reward, but Black thought it best that the money go toward more advertising.Â
 “Paul got excited by the first ad, and offered to help bump up the reward, but that wasn’t going to help. So instead he offered to do some advertising, which costs a lot.�
 Black plans to run his offer in a larger newspaper, even though he’s received a pretty fair response so far.
 “I’m getting some great leads and maybe even some case-solving leads,� he says. “The people who know about the crime have seen the ad. But they need to be pressured. They have all the information, they just don’t want to do it.�
 As for his contribution, Miser says, “I have a son now and can imagine what if something like this happened to my family…would people I don’t know come out and help? Or would I just meet a brick wall?�
 Does he believe Kristin will ever be found? “I have no idea. But I remain hopeful.�
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