The disappearance and suspected abduction of Nancy Guthrie reached its 100th day on Monday as law enforcement continues to search for clues as to her whereabouts.
The mother of "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie was reported missing from her home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood north of Tucson on Feb. 1 after she did not show up at a friend’s home to watch a virtual church service.
Authorities said they quickly determined she had been taken against her will.
Savannah Guthrie and Nancy Guthrie.
Neither the Pima County Sheriff's Department nor the FBI have publicly identified a suspect in Guthrie's abduction despite receiving tens of thousands of leads.
"The investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie remains active and ongoing," Sheriff's Department spokesperson Angelica Carrillo told The Arizona Republic in a written statement. "The Pima County Sheriff’s Department continues to work closely with the FBI as investigators follow up on leads, review information, and pursue the facts surrounding this case."
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Breakthroughs and dead ends
Not all leads have been equally helpful in the Guthrie investigation.
Human remains discovered by a true crime streamer about seven miles from Guthrie’s home initially raised concerns but ultimately proved to be a false lead. The Tucson Police Department later confirmed that a human bone found near North Craycroft Road and East River Road was not connected to Guthrie or her disappearance.
"This will be a prehistoric anthropological investigation," said James Horton, a spokesperson for the Tucson Police Department. "This is not a criminal investigation."
In March, authorities found that black gloves thought to be from the kidnapper, and found 2 miles from Guthrie's home, belonged to a restaurant worker not connected to the case, according to DNA results.
NewsNation reported in April that the FBI was analyzing new evidence that included hairs found in Guthrie’s home, according to a source close to the investigation.
The Sheriff’s Department on April 16 referred to its DNA analysis process.
“The private lab we utilize in Florida continues to share information with the FBI lab and other partner labs across the country. DNA analysis remains ongoing.”
Ex-FBI agents: Evidence likely re-examined
With the search for Guthrie extending from weeks to months, investigators are likely looking back at evidence and interviews to see what they may have missed, according to former FBI special agents who spoke with The Arizona Republic.
Michael E. Anderson, president of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI, who had a 28-year tenure with the agency, said the FBI or Sheriff’s Department might have brought in new people to reexamine the case — not because the original investigators did an inadequate job, but rather to introduce fresh sets of eyes that might notice things others might have missed.
Anderson said it was also critical that investigators follow up with the people they’ve interviewed — even if their answers didn’t yield particularly valuable information at the time.
“We’ve had cases where there have been people who remember things at the time they just didn’t think about and have led to the cases being solved years after the fact,” Anderson said. "Hopefully, this case doesn’t go that long. I’m hoping we’ll get some type of breakthrough for the Guthrie family.”
Fewer updates from law enforcement didn't necessarily mean investigators had exhausted all viable leads, but for officials to go weeks without an update or a renewed call for tips seemed strange to Lance Leising, a former supervisory special agent with 23 years at the FBI's Phoenix Field Office.
“There were press conferences, press releases and statements by the family,” Leising said. “All those were very smart, because it kept the attention and drove tips. Now you don’t see that at all, which is odd.”
He said it was possible investigators remained quiet because they had enough quality leads that beseeching the public for more was unnecessary.
“Maybe they don’t have the evidence they need to charge, or they don’t have the evidence they need to ultimately get there,” Leising said. “But they also don’t need the public’s tips because they’ve got a good line on the direction they’re going. Now, that’s a possibility. It’s kind of a hopeful possibility — but it’s a possibility.”
Patel: FBI kept out of investigation
FBI Director Kash Patel exposed potential cracks in that partnership when he appeared to criticize the Sheriff's Department and Sheriff Chris Nanos' handling of the investigation into Guthrie's suspected abduction on Sean Hannity's podcast.
"In the Nancy Guthrie case, I got frustrated because I knew from my sources — they were trying to keep you guys out," Hannity said.
"They did," Patel replied.
Patel acknowledged that the Sheriff's Department had jurisdiction as the lead investigating agency in the matter, and the FBI offered its support.
"And for four days we were kept out of the investigation," Patel said.
Patel said once the Sheriff's Department allowed the FBI to assist in the investigation, it was able to obtain the footage from Guthrie's Google Nest camera — though Patel mistakenly referred to it as a Ring camera — which captured video of a masked man believed to have abducted Guthrie from her home.
The FBI estimated that the individual shown in the video is between 5 feet 9 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall, with an average build. He was carrying a black, 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack, a model sold new exclusively at Walmart.
Patel alleged that, had the FBI gotten involved in the investigation sooner, that video would have been released closer to Guthrie's abduction and potentially recovered more footage from Google's servers as Guthrie wasn't part of a paid subscription service that stores videos and images for longer periods.
Sheriff's Department: FBI involved from start
The Sheriff's Department pushed back on Patel's claims, asserting that the FBI became involved from the investigation's nascency.
"Sheriff Nanos responded to the scene the night of the incident, providing immediate local leadership and oversight," Sheriff's Department spokesperson Brittany Abarr said. "A member of the FBI Task Force was also notified and present at that scene working alongside our personnel. The FBI was promptly notified by both our department and the Guthrie family. While the FBI Director was not on scene, coordination with the Bureau began without delay."
Patel's comments came after the Pima County Board of Supervisors scrutinized Nanos for misrepresenting his history as a young police officer in El Paso in a sworn deposition, a radio interview and on his public résumé.
The sheriff’s lawyer challenged questions about Nanos’ discipline history in El Paso because, in his view, they are “unrelated” to his duties as sheriff and did not fall under the board’s purview.
“The Sheriff's minimal disciplinary history is irrelevant to the performance of his official duties,” Nanos attorney James Cool wrote.
