Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapping case appears to have suffered a setback. The DNA evidence, which was a promising forensic lead might not be yielding results anytime soon. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos was speaking to NBC News when he outlined the troubles in the way.
As per Nanos, the lab is having trouble isolating ‘mixed DNA samples’. Nanos’ office meanwhile said that the samples are still being analyzed. This comes after DNA evidence from Guthrie’s house and from a glove found near her home were sent for testing. They initially did not throw up any matches on CODIS, but investigators were leaning towards investigative genetic genealogy for results.
However, Nanos’ interview has dampened some hopes. “Our lab tells us that there are challenges with it. The technology is moving so fast and in such a frenzy that they think some of this stuff will resolve itself just in a matter of weeks, months, or maybe a year,” the sheriff said.
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This comes after a report that the FBI had allegedly not been given access to the DNA evidence and it had been sent to a lab in Florida. Reports, citing FBI sources, indicated that the evidence was not sent to their usual lab. At the time, it was told that since all evidence related to the case was going to the Florida lab, so was this DNA evidence.
The FBI has maintained that Pima County Sheriff’s Department has lead in this investigation. However, Nanos’ handling of the matter has been criticized by many and today’s remarks have only stoked ire against the sheriff.
Reactions to Chris Nanos’ remarks
Hearing about delays with the DNA evidence many expressed their anger at Nanos. “What you’re seeing is the two agencies are in effect running parallel investigations and withholding information from each other,” one person remarked on X.
Another added “It is simple…….It is time to retire!!! When that time came for me……I had to walk away!!!”. Yet another echoed the thoughts saying, “Sheriff Nanos needs to retire. He says this kind of depressing sh*t every day after his office releases a nearly daily stmt stating there will be no updates for the press and then he goes ahead and gives one anyway. Today there was a statement that there would be nothing all week.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Nanos appeared to contradict statements from local businesses that they’d been shown a list of names and faces by the FBI. He said there were no names his team was looking into. The Pima County sheriff also said that new leads were emerging and his team were closer to ‘identifying’ more pieces of clothing from the doorbell camera footage beyond the Ozark Trail backpack.
Guthrie, 84, was reported missing from her home near Tucson, Arizona, on February 1 and authorities believe she was taken the night before. Based on the video from Guthrie’s home the FBI had released a description of the suspect, saying he was a male with an average build, of approximately 5’9″ to 5’10” height.