CORRECTION: Jan. 23, 2020

The Smart family was contacted by a retired FBI agent who has provided general guidance to them over the years. Incorrect information was included in the initial online version of this article.

The family of Kristin Smart was reportedly told by a retired federal agent to be prepared for news and to secure a family spokesperson.

Kristin Denise Smart is a young woman who was presumed to have been abducted and killed at the end of her freshman year of college, May 25, 1996, on the campus of California Polytechnic State University.

Kristin was accompanied by a fellow student who stated that he left her a block from her Muir Hall dorm to go to his dorm. Kristin did not return to her room and has not contacted family or friends since that time. She did not have any identification, money, or extra clothing when she disappeared.

The University Police Department originally suspected that Smart had gone on an unannounced vacation, as was common among students over the holidays, and as a result were slow in reporting her as a missing person to local law enforcement.

On September 6, 2016, the San Luis Obispo Sheriff Department reported it had received information about the possible location of Smart's remains, resulting in a hillside excavation on the Cal Poly campus. After five days of digging, bones were recovered from at least one excavation site. However, it was initially unclear if the findings were animal or human, and forensic analysis may take months to determine this.

Kristin Smart has now been missing longer than she was alive, but a break in the Lincoln High grad’s tragic disappearance could be imminent.

Denise Smart, the woman's mother, told the Stockton Record that she was contacted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It has since been revealed that the agent was retired and a family friend.

“Be ready. This is really going to be something you don’t expect. We want to give you the support you need.”

The retired FBI agent also suggested she secure a family spokesperson and the family “might want to get away for a while.” What they didn’t say is when this development might be announced.

“I wish I knew when,” Denise tells the Stockton Record, “because it’s very anxiety-producing.”

More information about Kristin Smart can be found at https://kristinsmart.org and facebook.com/groups/kristinsmart/.

We will update as news happens.