It’s been more than three months since Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Tucson home. True crime followers feel frustrated because the case seems plagued by conflicting timelines, odd handing of evidence, and now, a formal correction from law enforcement. Read on for more details.
Chris Nanos Seems Hopeful
This week, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos offered a bit of hope that the case might be solved. In a reply to a reporter who asked if the investigators are close to solving the case, Brian Entin reminded folks that Nanos said, “We are.”
However, while the sheriff seemed confident, new confusion emerged from the department. This time, it involved what the family of Nancy Guthrie believed in the first, critical hours after she went missing.
Nancy Just Wandered Off?
Last week, Sergeant Aaron Cross told a news crew that the Guthrie family initially told detectives they thought Nancy “walked away.” Brian Entin noted in his podcast, that the statement raised eyebrows. Why is that? Well, Savannah Guthrie repeatedly said her mom’s back pain made her wandering off seem unlikely.
Anyway, Cross walked back on that initial information and clarified his previous remarks. According to Cross, he spoke again with investigators and realized the message wasn’t correct.
The Correction
It turns out that the family didn’t buy into Nancy Guthrie physically walking away. Instead, they “thought she may have had someone take her away on her own.” Possibly, they suspected someone responded to a medical emergency.
In other words, the family’s early theory was voluntary departure via a third party, not a confused stroll into the desert. Why does that difference matter? Well, it lines up with what true crime followers know: Nancy had mobility issues.
Why It Matters A Lot
The blood on the porch and the reportedly propped open back door seemed unusually suspicious. Couple that with the camera being interfered with, and it seemed very odd that the cops initially treated it as an old woman getting lost somewhere.
While the correction might seem admirable, it doesn’t change the fact that time was wasted and probably slowed the initial momentum of the case.
The Mexico Theory
Brian Entin also discussed the old theory of a Mexican connection. Remember, that early theory didn’t seem to go anywhere. Retired lieutenant Dave Smith suggested that the Tucson Sheriff’s office may have swept any Mexico link under the carpet to keep the FBI from taking over the investigation.
Retired FBI agent Maureen O’Connell didn’t fully agree. She felt that the FBI had looked into the Mexican connection. While it might have involved the FBI, it isn’t automatic that they would have taken control.
However, she did mention old clips that indicated that Nanos didn’t like the FBI at all. So she felt he should have left his ego outside the door.
Meanwhile, Brian, who had been to Mexico, noted that it’s not far from the home of Nancy Guthrie. Additionally, he pointed out that while crossing back into the U.S. is highly controlled, driving into Mexico raises few questions.
O’Connell also said she would have liked to see the FBI re-process the entire Nancy Guthrie crime scene. Plus, she believes if the FBI had been brought in from the beginning it could have made a massive difference.
Poitical Pressure
For now, Sheriff Nanos faces growing political pressure. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors is expected to discuss possible removal of the sheriff over unrelated allegations from his time with the El Paso police.
But for Nancy’s family, probably none of that matters. For them what matters came in a Mother’s Day plea where Savannah Guthrie said, “We will never stop looking for you. Someone knows something.”
Kash Patel
The duo also discussed the way Kash Patel, the director of the FBI, openly criticized Sheriff Nanos, and Maureen thinks that’s extremely unusual. In her opinion, he might be distancing the FBI from failures. But, whatever motivated that statement on the Sean Hannity show, it doesn’t bode well for a clean outcome.
What are your thoughts about the incorrect information that initially might have slowed up the investigation? And what do you think about the Mexico theory being dumped? Do you think it was about Nanos wanting to keep control away from the FBI?
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