Breaking: Pima County Sheriff’s Stunt in Nancy Guthrie Case Has FBI Furious—Sheriff Fires Back
You know that infuriating moment when local law enforcement seems more interested in flexing control than solving a high-profile kidnapping? That’s the shocking development in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC’s Savannah Guthrie. Thursday marked the 12th day of the investigation, with no major breakthroughs on identifying suspects or Nancy’s whereabouts. But the real bombshell came from federal law enforcement sources: Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is blocking the FBI from accessing key physical evidence, including a glove and DNA from the crime scene, forcing it to a private lab in Florida instead of the FBI’s Quantico lab. This is costing taxpayers $200,000 and delaying the FBI’s ability to assist. A federal official told Reuters it’s “impairing” the probe—insane.
The FBI requested the evidence to process it at their national crime lab, but Nanos insisted on outsourcing to a Florida contractor. The Pima County Sheriff’s Office has primary jurisdiction, so the FBI can’t force entry without the county’s request. Sources say the access given so far has been “minimal,” and Nanos’ decision is raising eyebrows—especially after early criticisms of his office’s handling. NewsNation’s Brian Entin reported an FBI official called it “insane.” The sheriff’s office maintains cooperation, but the delay is real.
Sheriff Nanos fired back, telling NBC Tucson affiliate KVOA: “Not even close to the truth.” The second-term Democrat pressed that he had been cooperating with federal counterparts after Reuters revealed that evidence found in the high-profile investigation was being sent to a private DNA laboratory in Florida instead of the FBI’s national crime lab in Quantico, Va. “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 exist, all the profiles and the markers exist.’ They agreed, makes sense.” Nanos also noted gloves discovered by FBI investigators—and exclusively reported by The Post—may not be as important to the case as previously believed after multiple were picked up on the side of the road near the Catalina Foothills home of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie’s mother. “We don’t even know the true value of these gloves,” he said, noting there were “quite a number of them.” The garment seemingly resembled the gloves that a masked individual was wearing after being captured on video outside Nancy Guthrie’s home the night she disappeared on Feb. 1.
Federal investigators reportedly wanted to examine the evidence themselves instead of handing it over to Nanos’ teams. “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,” an anonymous law enforcement source told Fox News Digital. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has spent approximately $200,000 to send evidence from Arizona to the lab in Florida.
Nanos was thrust into the national spotlight after Guthrie’s disappearance, assuming the role as chief spokesperson for the investigation. “When this is all done with, offer your critiques all you want, but right now we have work to do,” Nanos told KVOA.
This stunt has the FBI furious—delaying forensics in a ransom kidnapping case with blood drops, forced entry, and a Bitcoin demand is reckless. Early on, Pavlich tweeted, “FYI, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department is notoriously corrupt and incompetent. Spans decades.” The FBI’s Phoenix office upped the reward and released new details on the suspect: a male, 5’9”–5’10”, average build, wearing a black 25-liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack, captured on doorbell footage.
Trump mobilized federal resources to help, a class act despite Guthrie’s past tough interviews with him. The family’s plea for proof of life—emphasizing AI manipulation risks—adds urgency. This isn’t politics; it’s a grandmother’s life. Nanos’ stunt demands answers—why block the FBI? Full transparency now.
Pray for Nancy’s safe return—the FBI must get access, and fast.
**Opinion Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article, including criticisms of Sheriff Nanos’ actions and calls for FBI access, reflect a critical perspective and may not align with all readers. Facts are based on reported events and official statements; readers should form their own conclusions.**
Mark Van der Veen offers some of the most analytical and insightful writings on politics. He regularly opines on the motives and political calculations of politicians and candidates, and whether or not their strategy will work. Van der Veen offers a contrast to many on this list by sticking mainly to a fact-based style of writing that is generally combative with opposing ideologies.
Tom Hanks Did it.
This “article” is complete trash from a literary perspective. It repeats for a higher word count.
You should be ashamed of yourself for suggesting that the FBI only deploy for republicans because the GOP is in control.
> Trump deployed the fbi regardless of the daughter’s mean words about him.
You somehow managed to score the only quote that matters:
“ 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 exist, all the profiles and the markers exist.’ They agreed, makes sense.”
But tried and failed to cast it as the wrong idea lol. /conservative needs to stop linking to this trash.