Nancy Guthrie investigators keeping ‘secrets’ from public, says sheriff

CATALINA FOOTHILLS, ARIZONA: The investigation into the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie has taken a dramatic and mysterious turn after Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos revealed that authorities are deliberately “keeping secrets” from the public about the ongoing probe.

More than 100 days have passed since the mother of ‘Today’ host Savannah Guthrie was reported missing on the night of January 31. Investigators believe that she was abducted from her Tucson home during the early morning hours of February 1.

As authorities have yet to make any arrests or publicly identify a suspect, the Guthrie family has offered $1 million in return for any information about the matriarch.

Chris Nanos admits to ‘keeping secrets’

During a recent sit-down interview with local news outlet KOLD, the Arizona sheriff was asked whether certain information about the investigation had been kept confidential.

"Yes, absolutely there are. But it's not done because we got [to] keep it a secret. It's done because we got to protect our case," he explained.

Nanos also expressed confidence that investigators will eventually track down the masked man seen on surveillance footage allegedly abducting Guthrie from her home and tampering with her doorbell camera.

"I believe, at some point in time, we will arrest this case. And whoever that individual is, that individual will have a right to a fair and impartial trial,”

“We continue to work with our labs, whether it’s on the digital end or the biological end, DNA,” the sheriff vowed.

DNA recovered in Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance case

Nanos’ admission came after several ransom letters were reportedly mailed to TMZ and local media outlets, while a single strand of DNA recovered from the scene is now being closely analyzed at an FBI crime lab after Pima County investigators first submitted it to a private laboratory in Florida.

Nanos said the DNA testing process is moving “at a snail’s pace,” but once complete, investigators hope it will help identify the person behind Guthrie’s abduction and link them to digital evidence gathered from “thousands and thousands” of surveillance clips, including footage from intersections and Ring doorbell cameras.

“There's way too much work to be done, that is ongoing, with some of the physical evidence we have,” he told People, adding, “And we're not going to give up on it just because it's been 100 days.”

At the same time, Nanos said he understood the public's frustration over the lack of answers. "But this is just like any other case. Sometimes it takes a long time," he maintained.

The sheriff went on to claim that he believes much of the public criticism surrounding the investigation fails to recognize how complicated criminal cases can be, especially when detectives deliberately keep certain details out of the public eye.

“The sheriff doesn't do the investigation; his team does. There are several people dedicated to this team, and they are the talent,” he insisted.