Reports that there were no signs of assault or disarray in the home of Nancy Guthrie, who is missing in Arizona, will not hinder the investigation into her disappearance, a former detective said.
The Context
Guthrie, 84, the mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie, was last seen at her Arizona home on January 31 and reported missing the following day. Authorities believe she was kidnapped and said drops of her blood were found on the front porch of her house.
Since the first days of her disappearance, authorities have expressed concern about her health because she needs vital daily medication.
Alleged ransom notes were sent to multiple news outlets after she disappeared.
Last month, the FBI released surveillance images of a masked man on Nancy Guthrie’s porch on the night she disappeared. Authorities have not publicly identified the person, whom they called a suspect, but the FBI described the person as a male about 5-foot-9 or 5-foot-10 with an average build and said he was carrying a 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack.
What To Know
Citing “a source close to the investigation,” NewsNation’s Brian Entin said “there were no signs of an assault inside Nancy’s house.” He said the source told him that the house was mostly clean and some rooms were “immaculate.” Entin did not disclose the identity of his source and Newsweek could not verify the claims.
Speaking with Entin, Kurt Dabb, a retired Pima County homicide detective, said investigators would still be able to investigate the case in light of the report.
He said that investigators “protect everything that you can” and take photographs and DNA swabs in houses that appear to have been broken into.
“Just because the house isn’t in shambles or there’s evidence of an assault or something the doesn’t mean that they’re just going to bypass the house. They’re still going to fingerprint it, DNA swab it, photograph it,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that it makes the investigation more difficult “because you don’t know if there was an assault that occurred because nothing got disturbed.”
“But in the grand scheme of things, the biggest thing that matters is the blood splatter at the front of the door because we know there was an injury and we know that that injury was to Nancy,” he added.
Dabb added that he thinks more than one person is responsible for Guthrie’s kidnapping.
What People Are Saying
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department, in a statement on February 27: “This remains an active investigation and will continue until Nancy Guthrie is located or all leads have been exhausted. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department is refocusing resources to detectives specifically assigned to this case. As leads are developed and resolved, resource allocation may fluctuate. PCSD will maintain a patrol presence in the Guthrie neighborhood.”
Savannah Guthrie, on Instagram last month: “We feel the love and prayers from our neighbors, from the Tucson community and from around the country.…Please don’t stop praying and hoping with us. bring her home.”
What Happens Next
Nancy Guthrie’s family is offering a $1 million reward for information that leads to her recovery, and a separate reward of more than $200,000 is being offered for information about her whereabouts or that could lead to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.
Meanwhile, the Pima County Sheriff Office investigating Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance is facing troubles of its own, as a former sheriff has accused current leadership of “corrupting” the crime scene, and a deputy has been arrested and fired on a kidnapping charge.
Anyone with information is urged to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), 520-351-4900 or 88-CRIME or visit tips.fbi.gov.
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