Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos revealed that there are problems with the DNA evidence collected from Nancy Guthrie’s house that could take up to a year for the private Florida lab he’s using to resolve.
Local cops recovered DNA from the missing 84-year-old grandmother’s home that does not match her, family members, or people who worked in the home — but it is mixed with Guthrie’s DNA and the samples are not complete, he revealed to NBC News last week.
“Our lab tells us that there’s challenges with it, and we understand those challenges,” he said.
“But our lab also knows that the technology is moving so fast and in such a frenzy that they think some of this stuff will resolve itself just in a matter of weeks, months or maybe a year, to allow them to do better with, say, a mixture of that kind of thing.”
Nanos said the DNA could be from the man who abducted “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mom — but so far the lab has been unable to match the sample to any of the convicted criminals or suspects in the FBI’s CODIS database.
It’s not clear why Nanos is using a private lab in Florida for the samples and not FBI labs or Arizona’s state Scientific Analysis Bureau.
As the search for the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, 54, entered its fourth week, the FBI is continuing to analyze cellphone data, video, and interviews.
However, despite releasing security footage of a suspect over a week ago, Sheriff Nanos, who has been accused of letting his ego dictate the investigation, stated that his officers had no suspects or a list of names.
This despite multiple local businesses claiming they were shown lists of names and pictures by the FBI.
“It’s never fast enough for the sheriff. I want it like you, ‘Come on, guys, let’s go, let’s go, let’s find her,’” Sheriff Nanos told NBC News on Friday as he acknowledged the investigation’s delays.
“But the reality is that I also know that sometimes things take time,” he added.
He also insisted that the investigation was “growing,” despite no major updates in days.
“In terms of leads and working and getting out there, I’d say that’s growing, yeah,” the sheriff said.
The surveillance video, which was retrieved from the Nest security camera at Nancy’s Tucson, Arizona, home, shows a masked man wearing a backpack and a gun holster, both of which are believed to have been purchased from Walmart.
“I think we’re getting a little closer to identifying some of the other articles. Not just that backpack, like the shoes, the pants, the shirt or jacket,” Sheriff Nanos said.
However, the case suffered a further setback this week after DNA taken from a glove found two miles from Nancy’s house failed to turn up any matches on the FBI’s database when it was sent to a Florida lab for analysis.
Despite multiple setbacks, and with criticisms of his handling of the investigation growing ever louder, Sheriff Nanos had a positive message for Nancy’s family.
“We’re not quitting. We’ll find her,” he said.