The FBI should take charge of the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s death after the Pima County Sheriff’s Office made no progress in six months, sources tell Page Six.
Those close to the investigation are “shocked and disturbed” that six months after Savannah Guthrie’s mom was taken from her bed at her home in the Catalina Foothills in Tucson, Arizona, there is not one new break in the case.
“Stop the childish finger-pointing,” a source said Monday, “There’s a killer on the loose. They need to focus their resources on finding that person rather than bickering.”
Embattled Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has vehemently denied accusations from FBI Director Kash Patel that this agency was kept out of the case for the first four days after Nancy was abducted on Feb. 1.
However, “that doesn’t mean the full force and breadth of the FBI and its services were being utilized,” retired FBI profiler Jim Clemente told Page Six.
“The FBI does not have primary jurisdiction, they have to be invited in,” explained Clemente, adding: “It’s ridiculous for egos to ever be involved in delaying or obfuscating an investigation. Law enforcement on all sides should have the same goal — to resolve the crime.”
Last week, Nanos’ team released two ransom notes sent to the Guthrie family, one of which stated that Nancy, 84, is “buried in nature,” indicating her death. Although there is no proof Nancy has passed away, her family have said they believe she is no longer alive.
The frustration comes as Page Six can reveal private sector companies are now being utilized in the search and helping sift through thousands of tips sent in by the public, in addition to evidence which has been collected.
Clemente said crucial moves in the first few hours to preserve the crime scene were not made.
“The crime scene was not protected; it was released almost immediately; people were walking over blood spatter evidence on the front porch, stepping on a doormat. That’s an indication that what was on the other side of that door, inside the house, was not preserved, documented and collected as well.
“It would have been smart and expedient if the FBI was invited in all its entirety with its forensic team … and photographic department, which could have been immediately utilized.
“It took 10 days to get the first glimpse of the assailant on video,” he said, referring to footage from a doorbell camera which had to be forensically found by Google after it was initially deleted.
When asked if the case would benefit from the FBI taking over, Clemente replied, “absolutely”, although he added, “it’s not fully necessary — the FBI is a resource for all the country, with behavioral analysis, violent criminal apprehension program, critical incident response group, which would have responded had they been called in.
“There would have been a tremendous amount of assets and advice that would have benefited this investigation early on.”
While there is undoubtedly some information that will not have been released to the public or even Nancy’s family, Clemente said, “The way the case was handled immediately appears as if it was not as serious as it should be.”
The person could have traveled a tremendous distance, across state lines or even to Mexico, Clemente said, in which case local law enforcement needs the FBI.
The Guthrie family still has a $1 million reward for any information to “end this nightmare,” Guthrie wrote on Instagram over the weekend.
Other sources are frustrated with the lack of progress in our technologically advanced world.
“This case should have been solved by now. People want answers. Members of the community fear for their safety. Is the kidnapper so sophisticated with technology that he can outrun both the FBI and local law enforcement? What does this mean for the public safety net?” one source questioned.
Clemente, who worked on the DC Sniper case, the Whitewater public corruption probe and undercover Wall Street financial crimes, offered his own profile of what he believes the abductor is like.
“He still presents as normal, but I don’t believe he was sophisticated enough to hide the fact that he was under so much stress, before, during and after the crime. Especially when those images were released.
“We’re looking for someone who changed behavior, who left town and didn’t come back until things cooled down
“Maybe they cut their hair or shaved their beard — had their car repaired or got a new car.
“Whatever the behavioral changes are, it will be enough to notify law enforcement. Even if what someone reports is just a little tiny strand, if investigators pull on it, the offender’s cover may fall apart.”
Savannah, 54, is currently away from the “Today” show filming NBC’s new show based on the popular game Worldle and will be off for the majority of the month, we’re told.
Although the assailant didn’t get a penny, “They got Savannah to beg for her mother back,” said Clemente, “That may have been their ultimate goal.”
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