Thursday marked the 12th day of the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother and grandmother who was last seen the night of January 31, around 9:45 p.m. local time, after being dropped off at her Catalina Foothills home by her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, who is the husband of Mrs. Guthrie’s eldest daughter, Annie.
Though there seemingly were no new developments in the case in terms of being any closer to identifying any potential suspect(s) or learning more about her possible whereabouts and condition, there reportedly was one development concerning actions allegedly taken by the Pima County Sheriff’s Office that have left the FBI fuming.
SEE ALSO: Distraught Savannah Guthrie Addresses Ransom Note Reports As Police Presence Increases at Mother’s Home
According to a Reuters report, a federal law enforcement official is claiming that requests to review and process the physical evidence at the FBI’s lab have been denied by Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos:
An Arizona sheriff is blocking FBI access to key evidence in the investigation into the abduction of U.S. television journalist Savannah Guthrie’s mother, impairing its ability to assist in the probe, a U.S. law enforcement official with knowledge of the case told Reuters on Thursday.The FBI asked Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos for physical evidence in the case, including a glove and DNA from the home of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, to be processed at the FBI’s national crime laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, but Nanos has insisted instead on using a private lab in Florida, the official said.
Outsourcing forensic analysis to a Florida contractor, effectively denying the access of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to crucial evidence in the case, is delaying the FBI ability to assist in the case, according to the official.
As to how/why Nanos can do this, Reuters explained:
The Pima County sheriff has primary jurisdiction over the case, and FBI assistance must be officially requested by the county, otherwise the FBI is legally precluded from taking part in the investigation. The official said the county has spent some $200,000 so far to send evidence in the Guthrie case to the the Florida lab.
NewsNation’s Brian Entin also confirmed that an FBI official had told him the same thing:
The Pima County Sheriff is blocking FBI from accessing key evidence in the Nancy Guthrie investigation, hampering the bureau’s ability to assist in the case, an FBI official tells @NewsNation @LibbeyDean_.
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) February 13, 2026
“It’s insane,” the source also told Entin.
RELATED: More Info on Man Detained in Guthrie Case, and Wild Interviews With Him and His Mother-in-Law
Fox News said their source indicated that the access the FBI has been given so far by the Pima County Sheriff’s Office has only been “minimal.”
RADIO SILENCE: A high-level FBI source tells Fox News Digital the handling of the Nancy Guthrie case has been “insane.” The source says the Pima County Sheriff’s Office never requested FBI assistance — the FBI reached out first. The agency joined the case late and was only… pic.twitter.com/k5NU5dPBEt
— Fox News US (@FoxUSNews) February 13, 2026
Nanos’ apparent call to sidestep the FBI on the investigation, especially after criticisms over how his office handled it early on, has people scratching their heads:
Sheriff Nanos sent a glove recovered from INSIDE the home to a private lab in Florida rather than the FBI’s lab in Virginia, according to the source.
The feds will likely need to re-test themselves, wasting time. https://t.co/EWmhCPHekK
— Michael Ruiz (@mikerreports) February 13, 2026
After destroying the integrity of the crime scene, Sheriff Nanos is doing this. https://t.co/OjmvxvrUlg
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) February 13, 2026
Early on into the investigation, Pavlich tweeted, “FYI, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department is notoriously corrupt and incompetent. Spans decades.”
Meanwhile, the FBI’s Phoenix office has upped the reward in the case and also posted new details on the potential suspect seen in video clips:
New identifying details about the suspect in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie have been confirmed after a forensic analysis of the doorbell camera footage by the FBI’s Operational Technology Division.
The suspect is described as a male, approximately 5’9” – 5’10” tall, with an average build. In the video, he is wearing a black, 25-liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack.
Today, the FBI is increasing its reward up to $100,000 for information leading to the location of Nancy Guthrie and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.
New identifying details about the suspect in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie have been… pic.twitter.com/GJcx4ra6wX
— FBI Phoenix (@FBIPhoenix) February 12, 2026
They also urged people to “Continue to submit information to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or http://tips.fbi.gov to help us bring Nancy home.”
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