The Pima County sheriff responsible for the local police investigation into the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie has been forced to make an extraordinary denial relating to his conduct over the high-profile case and his cooperation with the FBI, who are also investigating.
Sheriff Chris Nanos has faced media reports claiming his department failed to allow FBI agents access to evidence deemed key to unlocking the case of the missing 84-year-old author, grandmother, and mother of the Today Show’s Savannah Guthrie, which he has refuted on Thursday.
The allegations of Nanos’ lack of cooperation stem from claims the Pima County Sheriff’s Department insisted that all evidence gathered by his investigators be sent to just one lab for testing—DNA Labs International in Florida—instead of the FBI lab.
An official said on Thursday: “The FBI asked Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos for physical evidence in the case, including a glove and DNA from the home of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, to be processed at the FBI’s national crime laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, but Nanos has insisted instead on using a private lab in Florida.”
In response, Nanos told NBC Tucson affiliate KVOA on Thursday: “Not even close to the truth.”
“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 exists, all the profiles and the markers exist.’ They agreed, makes sense.” Nanos described a meeting with the FBI on Thursday, during which an agent told him, “Don’t let the media divide us.”
The Express US reached out to the FBI for comment.
Authorities have identified the suspect as a man standing between 5’9″ and 5’10” tall, of average build, carrying a black 25-litre Ozark Trail Hiker Pack at the time of the incident. “We hope this updated description will help concentrate the public tips we are receiving,” the FBI Phoenix office said.
More than 13,000 tips have flooded into the FBI since February 1, while the Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed on Wednesday that the total number of calls received had climbed to nearly 18,000.
The technology used to establish the suspect’s height has been described as “extremely accurate” by Joshua Skule, a former FBI executive assistant director for intelligence.
“The height and the backpack are very good clues,” Skule said of the FBI being able to determine what brand backpack the suspect was wearing in the footage.
Anyone living within 2 miles of Nancy’s address is urged to check their home security system and submit any relevant recordings to investigators. Two specific windows are of particular interest to the FBI — the evening of January 11 from 9pm through to midnight, and January 31 from 9.30pm until 11pm. Footage showing any suspicious vehicle activity around 10am is among the most sought-after material.
A black glove has been recovered close to Nancy’s home, where federal agents have also put up a white tent. A law enforcement source told celebrity.land the structure was used to replicate the conditions at the time Nancy went missing — agents created a blackout environment inside, dressed a stand-in in clothing and a backpack matching the suspect’s, and studied what a doorbell camera would capture in those conditions at night.
On February 7, Nancy’s daughter, Savannah, and her siblings released their second public video, directly addressing whoever is holding their mother. “We received your message, and we understand,” Savannah said in the video posted to her Instagram account, sitting alongside older sister Annie Guthrie and older brother Camron Guthrie.
“We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.” In their first video, posted on February 4, Savannah said the family needed “to know without a doubt that she’s alive and that you have her,” and warned that Nancy is in “constant pain” and depends on medication to survive.
Shortly after law enforcement published new doorbell footage from Nancy’s front porch, Savannah shared the clips on Instagram alongside a message from the family. “We believe she is still alive. Bring her home,” the caption read. In a follow-up post she added: “Someone out there recognizes this person.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.the-express.com ’
