January 1, Arizona Sheriff Blocks FBI in Guthrie Search

Wyatt’s Take

• Pima County Sheriff accused of slowing FBI probe by withholding evidence
• Private lab in Florida hired instead of using FBI’s advanced resources
• Tension grows as the search for missing 84-year-old woman drags on

The Sheriff in Pima County is being accused of holding back evidence from the FBI in the case of Nancy Guthrie’s abduction. This disagreement is now raising fears that the search for the missing woman is being slowed down.

Federal agents say the Sheriff refused to send a black glove and DNA samples to the FBI lab in Virginia, even though the FBI’s team found the glove.

Because of a deal called “Joint Support,” the FBI had to turn over all crime scene evidence to the local Sheriff’s office—even evidence they themselves found.

Instead of using the FBI’s top labs, the Sheriff sent everything to a private lab in Florida, spending about $200,000 in the process.

Federal officials say their resources would get faster results, but the Sheriff claims his method keeps everything in one place and makes more sense.

“Actually, the FBI just wanted to send the one or two they found by the crime scene… 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,’” Sheriff Nanos said.

Despite all this, there’s still no suspect or solid lead, and the FBI recently released footage of an armed masked person near the Guthrie home.

The White House said President Trump is watching the case, and the FBI has doubled its reward to $100,000 for information.

Authorities are also reviewing at least two ransom notes, including a big demand for Bitcoin, but they don’t know if they’re real and haven’t seen proof Nancy is alive since she disappeared.

The Sheriff’s department is still leading the local search, even as the FBI helps at the scene.

For the Guthrie family, waiting while agencies fight makes a hard time even worse.

Read the full report

Wyatt Matters

Folks in the heartland know that when there’s a crisis, the only thing that matters is working together for what’s right. This sort of turf war never helps families in need—it just leaves more questions and heartache.