Democratic Pima County, Ariz. Sheriff Chris Nanos is refusing to hand over important evidence related to the suspected abduction of Nancy Guthrie to the FBI, Reuters reported Thursday.
Guthrie, 84, a Pima County resident and the mother of “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, was last seen Jan. 31 and was reported missing the following day. Nanos, who told CBS News that he believed the elder Guthrie was abducted, is denying the FBI’s request to access a glove and DNA evidence, Reuters reported, citing an anonymous law enforcement source familiar with the case.
The sheriff instead has opted to outsource the analysis of the forensic evidence to a Florida-based contractor, in lieu of sending it to the FBI’s lab in Virginia, the outlet reported, citing the law enforcement official.
The sheriff’s office reportedly not granting the FBI’s request to obtain the evidence “risks further slowing a case that grows more urgent by the minute,” the official told Reuters.
“It’s clear the fastest path to answers is leveraging federal resources and technology. Anything less only prolongs the Guthrie family’s grief and the community’s wait for justice,” the anonymous source added.
Nanos, a Democrat, was first elected sheriff of Arizona’s second most populous county in 2020, narrowly defeating an incumbent Republican. He was reelected in 2024 by a razor-thin margin of 481 votes. On the same day, Vice President Kamala Harris carried heavily Democratic Pima County by 15 percentage points.
The Guthrie family is not giving up hope as the time Nancy Guthrie has been missing approaches two weeks.
“We believe that somehow, some way, she is feeling these prayers and that God is lifting her even in this moment and in this darkest place. We believe our mom is still out there,” Savannah Guthrie said in a Monday video posted to Instagram.
“Law enforcement is working tirelessly around the clock, trying to bring her home, trying to find her,” the morning show host continued. “She was taken, and we don’t know where, and we need your help.”
Nanos’ office and the FBI each did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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