Thursday marked day 12 in the still-unfolding investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie — the 84-year-old mother and grandmother who vanished without a trace.
Guthrie was last seen around 9:45 p.m. on January 31, after being dropped off at her Catalina Foothills home by her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, the husband of her eldest daughter, Annie. Since that moment, there have been more questions than answers.
Nearly two weeks later, investigators continue working to piece together what happened that night, as family members and the community wait anxiously for clarity in a case that has only grown more troubling with each passing day.
While there were no apparent breakthroughs in identifying a suspect or determining Nancy Guthrie’s whereabouts, a new wrinkle in the case has reportedly sparked serious tension behind the scenes.
According to reports, actions allegedly taken by the Pima County Sheriff’s Office have left officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation visibly frustrated.
According to a Reuters report, a federal law enforcement official is claiming that requests to review and process the physical evidence at the FBI’s lab have been denied by Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos:
An Arizona sheriff is blocking FBI access to key evidence in the investigation into the abduction of U.S. television journalist Savannah Guthrie’s mother, impairing its ability to assist in the probe, a U.S. law enforcement official with knowledge of the case told Reuters 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, the official said.
Outsourcing forensic analysis to a Florida contractor, effectively denying the access of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to crucial evidence in the case, is delaying the FBI ability to assist in the case, according to the official.
How can Nanos do this? Reuters explained:
The Pima County sheriff has primary jurisdiction over the case, and FBI assistance must be officially requested by the county, otherwise the FBI is legally precluded from taking part in the investigation. The official said the county has spent some $200,000 so far to send evidence in the Guthrie case to the the Florida lab.
NewsNation’s Brian Entin confirmed the report:
Fox News reported that their source indicated the FBI’s access granted by the Pima County Sheriff’s Office has only been “minimal.” It appears that Nanos has some issues with President Trump’s FBI.
Nanos’ evident call to bypass the FBI regarding the investigation, particularly following critiques about his office’s initial handling of the situation, has left many perplexed:
Early on into the investigation, Pavlich, who hails from Arizona, tweeted, “FYI, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department is notoriously corrupt and incompetent. Spans decades.”
If this turns out to be another insane case of Trump Derangement Syndrome with Nanos – and, God forbid, something bad happens to Nancy Guthrie, her family should sue the bejesus out of him for delaying the investigation with this nonsensical move.