Nancy Guthrie was taken from her home on February 1, and the investigation has now spanned more than 100 days
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos opened up about the harrowing moment that the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today star Savannah Guthrie, turned from a missing person’s case to something much darker.
Nancy was reported missing from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on February 1, and was last seen by her daughter, Annie Guthrie, and her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni. The sheriff shared with People that he was alerted about Nancy’s disappearance around 2 p.m. on February 1, roughly two hours after authorities arrived at her property.
Just minutes later, the policeman texted him that the scene “doesn’t look right, something is wrong…we’re calling homicide”.
“The reason that homicide was called is because they are the investigative unit in charge of missing persons,” he explained. “Search and rescue is their operational team that helps assist with these issues.”
Authorities found blood droplets on Nancy’s front porch that matched her DNA, as well as a mixed sample containing DNA from more than one person, which is currently being studied. “Every day our DNA labs are working with our investigators, and they’re coming up with different ideas and different thoughts of how to help them make this DNA work for us,” Nanos said.
“How can we do more with what we have? And so that’s why I say it is – I think we’re getting closer.” The sheriff assured that his team was “doing a good job” and was going to solve the case, declaring, “I fully, 100% believe that.”
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The sheriff shared that the case took a turn two hours after authorities arrived on the scene
Nanos also spoke on the Pima County Board of Supervisors’ decision not to remove him from office on May 12, explaining that his department could stand to improve in several areas. “I listened to the board, I agree, and they said the department, it was a mess,” he told People. “And sometimes you have to just sit back and listen. That’s my job. I plan to get a hold of my department. It’s just that this has gone on for quite some time.”
See Savannah’s Mother’s Day tribute below…
