A desert “wash” just a couple of miles from Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home is posing a major challenge for investigators probing the case, Dave Smith, a retired lieutenant with the Arizona Department of Public Safety and a law enforcement consultant, told Fox News Digital. The expanse is a natural drainage ditch, thick with brush so dense that people can hardly see the surrounding homes, many of which cost seven figures.
The terrain, carved through the city and the rest of Pima County, is typical of the region.
“The whole Tucson Valley is literally built around these arroyos, these ephemeral rivers,” Smith said. “This is literally your green belt here, only instead of parks and things like the rest of the nation has, we have this wonderful desert area. But again, it works between houses. It’s like a giant alley through the neighborhoods.”
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Smith explained that while they can make good hiding places, rain can quickly wash away evidence.
“The evidence is transitory,” he said. “Once it rains, your footprints go away, the sun is hard on other forms of evidence and frankly this is a tough place to investigate crimes.”
Dave Smith speaks out on alleged Mexico ties
Smith has opened up about alleged Mexico ties in Nancy’s case, saying that he believes the missing woman was taken farther away. He said that authorities may have downplayed alleged Mexico ties in the case to keep feds off it. This comes after FBI Director Kash Patel alleged that the FBI was “kept out of the investigation” for days.
Smith noted that the man who was caught on surveillance footage from Nancy’s Nest doorbell camera appeared to be wearing his holstered pistol “Mexican carry” style.
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“My first thought is always Mexico in a major crime, because it’s a great haven, and it’s hard for us to follow up on,” Smith said. “But in this case, obviously there was somebody was taken with intent. And I think that that’s why we need to wonder, perhaps, was she taken to Mexico?”
“My personal theory is, if Mexico was suspected, that would make it a federal investigation,” Smith added. “There seemed to be a great deal of effort to keep the feds out of this case. And the best way to do it was to deny any possibility of interstate or international transport of the person’s body or kidnapped.”
Smith noted that Nancy’s neighborhood is just about 60 miles from the border town of Nogales.
“You cross that border, on the Arizona side, it’s a small town, relatively small town,” he said. “You cross that border, it’s major urban area, 300,000 people.”
Smith added that this could make it easier to blend in.
