Nancy Guthrie case: Lead investigator never handled homicide, insider claims

Fresh scrutiny is mounting over the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of "Today Show" co-host Savannah Guthrie, as a law enforcement source claims investigators handling the case lacked experience in homicide probes. The 84-year-old from Tucson has been missing since early February, and questions are now being raised about how authorities managed the investigation.

One of the lead Arizona investigators probing Guthrie’s disappearance had never handled a homicide case before being put in charge of the entire unit, a law enforcement source has claimed.



A law enforcement insider, who wanted to remain anonymous amid fears of losing his job, told Brian Entin of NewsNation on Thursday, April 2, that those initially on the scene were ill-equipped to handle the case. “The people who were there on the scene were not tenured homicide detectives,” the source said.

“They didn’t have a lot of experience in homicide at that point, to include the supervisor who, from my understanding, never investigated a homicide before being installed as the supervisor to the homicide unit.”


The unnamed officer also criticized Chris Nanos, sheriff of Pima County, saying: “He ruined a great department.”

Where’s Nancy Guthrie?

Authorities believe Guthrie may have been abducted from her home in Tucson during the early hours of Feb. 1. Investigators are treating the case as an abduction, saying the 84-year-old woman was taken late at night or early in the morning before she was reported missing.

The Guthrie family is offering up to $1 million for information leading to her recovery, while the Federal Bureau of Investigation has also kept its $100,000 reward active.