More than 100 days have passed since Nancy Guthrie, 84-year-old mother of Today anchor Savannah Guthrie, has disappeared from her Tucson home in Arizona in the early hours of February 1. Police believe she was abducted but no suspects have been named so far.
Now, on the latest episode of the Brian Entin Investigates podcast, NewsNation Senior National Correspondent Brian Entin and retired FBI Special Agent Steve Moore are pulling back the curtain on what went wrong, starting from the day one.
Entin revealed he recently spoke with Aaron Cross, a sergeant from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, who described the first week of the investigation as flat-out “chaotic.” According to Entin, per Parade, there was a breakdown in communication inside the department that also spilled over into coordination with the FBI. On top of that, Nancy’s family was present at the house, adding to the disorder.
Moore didn’t mince words about it. “You’re not allowed to have confusion at a crime scene like that,” he said. “Obviously, there’s going to be all sorts of things going on, and people will be confused. But law enforcement coming in, you are the ones who’ve done this all the time. You shouldn’t be acting like this is your first time at a crime scene, or the first time somebody’s been missing.”
He further stated that, “Being confused is not a sign of, ‘This is a really big crime, so we’re confused.’ That’s a sign of inadequate preparation.”
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Moore points out errors in Nancy Guthrie probe
Moore, drawing from his experience at the FBI, explained exactly how a missing persons scene like this should be handled and it’s a far cry from what was reportedly going on at Nancy’s home.
First, the family. Moore explained that getting useful information from emotionally distressed loved ones requires a very specific approach. “You need to get them in an emotional position where they can provide lucid information,” he said. “You get them away from the people who are running the case immediately.”
Moore said, that job belongs to someone with strong people skills, someone who can build trust and draw out details without making the family feel interrogated. Meanwhile, the lead investigator should be in a completely separate space, piecing together the evidence as it comes in.
Moore painted a picture of what that should look like in practice: “They’re able to think about this, saying, ‘What do we have?’ And they’ll get information from investigators. ‘We’ve got blood on the porch. Okay, we’ve got a crime scene.’ Then have somebody set up a perimeter, somebody get evidence response out here on the way now. We need to start interviewing people around the neighborhood. You’re in charge of that. You go to that.”
Based on everything that’s been reported about those early hours, Moore’s conclusion was blunt, per Parade: “It sounds to me like nobody took charge. If there’s confusion, that means nobody’s in charge who knows what they’re doing. Because if you have that person, they know to compartmentalize everything.”
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Sheriff says ‘we will make an arrest’
Even as questions swirl around how the investigation was handled, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is making it clear that his team hasn’t given up and that he’s confident justice is on its way.
In a fresh interview with local station KOLD, published on Tuesday, Nanos confirmed that the search for Nancy is still very much active. His department continues to work alongside the FBI, and lab work, both digital and biological is still being processed.
“We continue to work with our labs,” he said. “Whether it’s on the digital end or the biological end, DNA.”
He acknowledged that the pace of forensic work can feel frustratingly slow to those on the outside but pushed back on the idea that slow still means that its working. “It moves at a snail’s pace, I guess for some. But for my investigative team, and for me, we look at this as, no, this is doing exactly what we need it to do.”
And when it comes to whether this case will ever be solved, Nanos was direct: “I believe, at some point in time, we will make an arrest on this case.”
Nancy Guthrie still remains missing. And no suspects have been publicly identified yet.
