Police are facing mounting criticism over their handling of the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie as detectives have failed to locate a single suspect a week into the investigation.
Agents returned to the crime scene in Tucson, Arizona for the third time Friday to seize more evidence, leading to allegations the 84-year-old’s home was not appropriately sealed through the case.
After the fourth time crime scene tape had been put up on Friday, cops towed a vehicle from the garage and a camera from the roof – which had seemingly been missed in previous searches.
The brunt of the blame has fallen on the Pima County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Chris Nanos, who has come under fire in the week since Nancy disappeared from her home during the early morning hours of Sunday, February 1.
Scrutiny on Nanos began early, when on Monday he told NBC News that Nancy was ‘abducted’, and chillingly detailed that she was ‘taken from her bed’.
But the next day, the sheriff walked back his language and clarified that he was speaking figuratively, and said he had no evidence that Nancy literally ripped from her bed.
The blunder was followed by another criticized press conference on Thursday, where Nanos summoned reporters only to admit he had no suspects or persons of interest in the case.
And sources within Nanos’s own department told the Daily Mail this week that the sheriff made a series of critical mistakes in the first hours of the investigation, including failing to deploy a vital search-and-rescue aircraft.
After the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie (pictured with daughter Savannah Guthrie in May 2015) on Sunday, February 1, the Pima County Sheriff’s office has been under fire for alleged missteps in the investigation
Nancy Guthrie lives in a rural part of Tucson, Arizona. Aerial drone footage shows the sparse homes in the area
Chris Nanos, the county sheriff since 2020, has had public statements dissected by the national media, something he has acknowledged he is not used to
Nanos has admitted that the overwhelming media attention on him and his department is completely new for him.
As he walked back his remarks about Nancy being snatched ‘from her bed’, Nanos apologized to reporters: ‘Sometimes I’m speaking in generalities and … and … I’m not used to everybody hanging on to my words and then trying to hold me accountable for what I say. But I understand.’
The Tucson Sentinel published an op-ed on Wednesday advising Nanos to wait to address reporters and the media as a whole until there are substantive updates.
‘For the most part his answers were exasperated statements that could be summed up with a Scooby Doo “Ruh ROH…,”‘ the op-ed said, referring to his presser the day before.
Things didn’t get any better for Nanos on Thursday, when he said, ‘My guesswork is as good as yours,’ when he was asked by reporters about potential suspects and motives.
During that same press conference, Nanos acknowledged that crime scene tape around Nancy’s house was put up and taken down on numerous occasions.
When asked about potential evidentiary issues this could have caused, Nanos said: ‘I’ll let the court worry about it. We follow the rules of law.’
Infrared footage obtained by Fox News’s flight team revealed multiple FBI agents combing Nancy Guthrie’s house for the third time on Friday
On Friday, the Daily Mail reported that the sheriff’s department failed to deploy its fixed-wing Cessna aircraft (pictured) to search the area around Nancy’s home immediately after she was reported missing
Aerial footage of FBI agents conducting a search at Nancy’s home on Friday, February 6
Nanos also said he should have called in the FBI and various regional teams to assist with the case much sooner.
On Friday, the Daily Mail reported that the sheriff’s department failed to deploy its fixed-wing Cessna aircraft to search the area around Nancy’s home immediately after she was reported missing.
The aircraft, equipped with high-resolution thermal imaging cameras capable of scanning vast swaths of desert terrain, remained on the tarmac for roughly half a day, sources close to the sheriff’s department told the Daily Mail.
There was a staffing shortage that left the department without qualified pilots to fly the plane – a shortage people familiar with the situation blamed directly on Nanos.
Nancy was reported missing shortly after 12pm on Sunday. By 12.15pm, police arrived at her home in the Catalina Foothills, but the aircraft was not in the air until around 5pm that evening.
Matt Heinz, a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, told the Daily Mail that failing to get the plane airborne may have cost investigators vital opportunities.
‘The initial few hours of any kind of search like this are absolutely crucial,’ Heinz said.
Sergeant Aaron Cross, president of the Pima County Sheriff’s Deputies Association, said that trained aviators who could have crewed the aircraft had been transferred out of the Air Operations Unit in recent weeks.
Nancy’s supposed abductors have not contacted the Guthrie family, even though they have made multiple videos pleading for their mother’s safe return
Pima County Republican Party Chairwoman Kathleen Winn echoed Cross’s claim.
As of Saturday afternoon, police have not identified a suspect or person of interest in the case.
The Daily Mail approached the sheriff’s department and the FBI for further comment.
