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Nancy Guthrie update: DNA test in focus as Pima County Sheriff admits distance with Guthrie family
New DNA evidence in Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapping case may bring a breakthrough. The Pima County Sheriff, meanwhile, said he is not in touch with the Guthries.
As the investigation into Nancy Guthrie's kidnapping continues for more than 100 days, some reports are claiming that officials might be on the verge of a big breakthrough.
This comes after the Pima County Sheriff's Office's Chris Nanos said in an interview with People that forensic teams have found a new blood sample from Nancy Guthrie's house. A DNA analysis is ongoing, Nanos had added.
In another quote to People, Nanos said Monday that he is "personally" not in touch with the Guthrie family as the probe drags on for over 100 days now.
Investigative journalist John Lee Riches reported that the DNA test from the new blood sample has been sent to Quantico for analysis. He also claimed that the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff's Office are "really close" to solving the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping case.
If the DNA analysis fetches a match at Quantico, the investigators could potentially zero in on the identity of a person of interest. As of now, the FBI has only released Nancy Guthrie's dashcam footage where a masked suspect can be seen. No other details about the suspect's possible identity were traced by investigators.
Sheriff Questioned Over Distance With Guthries
The widespread media coverage of the Nancy Guthrie case, partly because she is the mother of NBC's Today show host, Savannah Guthrie, has allowed political opponents of Sheriff Chris Nanos to target him. He faced a perjury probe over allegations that he misrepresented his work history. So much so that he even faced calls for removal. But the Pima County board voted against removing Sheriff Chris Nanos.
Also read: Nancy Guthrie update: Sheriff warns there could be a ‘problem’ as probe continues
Following the backlash, Sheriff Nanos gave two interviews to People in which he discussed the Nancy Guthrie case. The first interview was published on Thursday, and the second was published on Monday, May 18.
What Chris Nanos Really Said
What made headlines from the interview was Sheriff Nanos' claim that he is "personally" not in touch with Guthrie family, even as the probe into the kidnapping continues.
“I personally am not,” the Sheriff said about his current relationship with the Guthrie family. “If they need the family for anything, they get in touch with them and the family. It works both ways.”
“We text or, every now and then, a phone call,” he continued. “But no, I've not even sat down with her face-to-face. She's got a lot on her plate. The FBI and my detectives and those, they've been talking with her face-to-face. She doesn't need to talk to me.”
