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Nancy Guthrie: Call to clear Luke Daley, refuse Cajun Navy help gets Sheriff Chris Nanos slammed; ‘what does he mean’
Nancy Guthrie remains to be found after her family reported the 84-year-old missing on February 1, and Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is facing the ire.
Nancy Guthrie is yet to be found after TODAY show host Savannah Guthrie's mother was reported missing by her family on February 1. Authorities believe the 84-year-old was taken from her home near Tucson, Arizona, the night before.
It has been over a month since her disappearance and neither the Pima County Sheriff's Department, nor the FBI who're assisting in the case, have revealed the names of suspects.
The PCSD detained and released two men over the case – Carlos Alberto Palazuelos and Luke Daley. However, in a recent interview he noted that they had both been ‘cleared’ and were not in the case. Nanos additionally said he was not aware of any other search warrants that had been served on anyone else. Daley was detained after a SWAT raid there.
Elsewhere, it was reported that the sheriff was yet to sign off on the Cajun Navy joining the search for Guthrie. They are ad hoc volunteer groups who seek to offer relief in the wake of disasters, but in this case have pitch in to try and find Guthrie.
Nanos' actions have overall drawn ire from many social media users.
Chris Nanos' Luke Daley, Cajun Navy call draws ire
An independent investigative reporter covering the case from on the ground there, remarked “Sheriff Nanos looking rough & stressed. What does he mean when he says he is moving on from Luke & Carlos? Where's Nancy Guthrie?.”
Also Read | Nancy Guthrie update: Sheriff Nanos says investigators ‘closer’ to identifying suspect in disappearance case
Many others slammed the call to shut Cajun Navy out of the search. “Sheriff yet to sign off on Cajun Navy offer for help. Mind blowing why this sheriff will not accept help when clearly, this case needs help,” one person remarked. Another added, “Something smells wrong. Not accepting help?”.
Yet another replied to a report of a door-to-door search today, asking “Why can’t the family agree for the united cajun navy to join the search for Nancy Guthrie even if the sheriffs doesn’t agree?".
Notably, this is not the first time Nanos has been under fire. Earlier he faced flak over the forensic evidence in the Guthrie case not being sent to the FBI lab. Then, in an interview, he had indicated that the DNA evidence was ‘mixed’ and there could be delays in the case.
Nanos had also cleared all the Guthrie family members from suspicion, which led many to wonder how this was done before the case got closed. However, former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer explained that this could be done after a thorough probe of their digital data to ensure the stories lined up and also opined that Tommaso Cioni and Annie Guthrie might have been subjected to a polygraph. They are two family members who faced the most scrutiny on social media although authorities long maintained they were not suspects.
Guthrie had had dinner with her daughter, Annie, the night before and Cioni had dropped her off home, making him among the last people to see her before she was taken. The two also reportedly live close to Guthrie's place, sparking speculations online. Former NewsNation journalist Ashleigh Banfield had also reported that he might be a suspect but these speculations were quashed. Authorities had also taken Cioni and Annie's car in their custody. The vehicle has now reportedly been returned.
