The University Police Department[10] 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.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/four-women-say-the-man-suspected-of-murdering-a-college-student-sexually-assaulted-them
https://www.thedailybeast.com/is-kristin-smart-buried-in-this-backyard-neighbors-and-a-wonder-dog-say-yes
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7915083/FBI-tells-family-missing-Kristin-Smart-prepared-news.html