In a surprising turn of events in the Nancy Guthrie disappearance case, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has blocked the FBI from accessing key physical evidence, a U.S. law enforcement official told Reuters.
According to the official, the FBI had requested to send materials from Guthrie's home to its national forensic lab in Quantico, Virginia, for advanced testing. Sheriff Nanos, however, insisted that the materials instead be processed at an independent laboratory in Florida.
This comes as the search for Nancy enters its 12th day, with federal and local authorities continuing to canvass roadways and review surveillance footage.
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Why did Nanos block the FBI from the Guthrie case evidence?
Primary jurisdiction over the case rests with the Pima County sheriff, and the FBI is legally prohibited from participating in the investigation unless the county formally requests FBI assistance.
The county has already paid around $200,000, the official told Reuters, to ship evidence in the Guthrie case to the Florida lab with which the county has a contract.
{{/usCountry}}The county has already paid around $200,000, the official told Reuters, to ship evidence in the Guthrie case to the Florida lab with which the county has a contract.
{{/usCountry}}The official highlighted that this move from Nanos is essentially preventing the FBI from accessing vital evidence in the case.
The official said, “It risks further slowing a case that grows more urgent by the minute.”
The official also noted that utilizing federal technologies and resources is essential for the case's swift movement. “Anything less only prolongs the Guthrie family’s grief and the community’s wait for justice," the official told Reuters.
Nanos told Mary Coleman of News13 that no evidence was blocked in this instance. Although, Nanos did clarify that the department did prefer all evidence submitted to the same lab rather than several labs.
According to Nanos, an FBI agent said in a meeting that “we do not want the media to divide us.”
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The FBI has now updated the reward to $100k
The FBI raised the prize for any bit on Nancy Guthrie's disappearance case to $100,000 on Thursday afternoon after they provided additional information on the suspect captured on security footage at Nancy's residence.
The FBI Operational Technology Division's forensic examination of the doorbell camera footage helped law enforcement to obtain the additional information on the suspect.
The FBI release read, “We hope this updated description will help concentrate the public tips we are receiving.”
The camera footage was released last week.