The Arizona sheriff leading the local investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s mysterious disappearance contradicted claims he withheld key evidence in the case from the FBI.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said that contrary to reports, the FBI “agreed” with him that the evidence should be sent to a Florida lab for DNA analysis, instead of handing it over to the federal agency’s crime lab. The reports suggested the FBI disagreed with the decision to send gloves and other evidence to the private lab, but Nanos said after having a conversation on the best path forward, the agency was on board with the move. The claims that the sheriff’s office is thwarting the investigation in a power struggle are “not even close to the truth,” he told KVOA.
“Actually, the FBI just wanted to send the one or two they found by the crime scene, closest to it – mile, mile and a half. … I said, ‘No, why do that? Let’s just send them all to where all the DNA exist, all the profiles and the markers exist.’ They agreed, makes sense.” Nanos said.
The sheriff’s statement follows several reports earlier on Thursday that accused him of hogging evidence, citing unnamed law enforcement sources. The claims could have potentially deadly consequences if true, since investigators have repeatedly warned that time is of the essence in the case, as Nancy Guthrie, 84, relies on daily medication for survival.
Investigators have been struggling to find substantive leads to aid their search for Nancy Guthrie, the elderly mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, who mysteriously vanished from her Arizona home over twelve days ago. Earlier this week, authorities briefly detained a delivery driver suspected of going by Nancy Guthrie’s home, but later released him without pressing charges. The recovery of doorbell camera footage appearing to show a masked suspect prowling on the woman’s doorstep on the night she disappeared, and a pair of gloves that the individual was possibly wearing, have been viewed as some of the only key developments in the case thus far.
Two deadlines contained in ransom notes sent to media outlets have now passed. Authorities are still seeking to authenticate the notes, as another note was previously deemed a forgery from an “impostor” seeking ransom money.
FBI DOUBLES REWARD IN SEARCH FOR NANCY GUTHRIE AS NEW SUSPECT DETAILS RELEASED
This week, the FBI upped the reward for information that could lead to Guthrie’s recovery to $100,000. And it released new information to help the public identify the suspect seen in the doorbell camera footage.
Authorities are looking for a male, who is 5 feet, 9 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall, with an average build. He was wearing a black, 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack from Walmart, based on the video, the FBI said.