Sheriff says all family members of Nancy Guthrie cleared over her disappearance: ‘victims plain and simple’

All members of Nancy Guthrie’s family, including NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie, her siblings, and their spouses, have been cleared as possible suspects, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos made the announcement on Monday afternoon, saying in a statement that the Guthrie family has been “nothing but cooperative and gracious and are victims in this case.”

“To suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is cruel,” he said. “The Guthrie family are victims plain and simple.”

The sheriff’s department said in an earlier statement that there are no scheduled news conferences regarding the case today.

The memo issued by the department does not appear to have been in response to any new evidence or breakthroughs, but rather as a general statement on the status of the Guthrie family.

Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing from her home in Arizona on February 1. Local investigators and the FBI have been searching for her for more than two weeks.

While law enforcement has been busy running down leads, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings have been making emotional pleas on social media asking the supposed kidnapper to reach out and provide proof of life and further instructions for how they can get their mother back.

Earlier on Monday, TMZ founder Harvey Levin announced that his publication had received a fourth letter from an individual claiming to have knowledge of who kidnapped Nancy Guthrie. The individual is reportedly refusing to reveal the information until payment is made.

Levin said he had been in contact with the FBI, posted a video telling the tipster to provide the information to him, and that he would work with the FBI to secure payment. The TMZ founder believes that the individual who sent Monday’s letter is the same one who has sent three previous letters demanding payment for information about Nancy Guthrie’s whereabouts.

“A fourth letter from the same person who says he knows where Nancy Guthrie is, and he wants money in return for the information,” Levin said. “Essentially, he wants the reward.”

During his address, Levin also read a chilling line from the letter.

”‘I know what I saw five days ago south of the border, and I was told to shut up, so I know who he is, and that was definitely Nancy with them,’” he read.

Meanwhile, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office is reportedly working with Walmart after it discovered the brand of backpack the suspected kidnapper wore on the night Nancy Guthrie disappeared was sold exclusively at the retailer.

The backpack is a 25-liter “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack.” The “Ozark Trail” brand is a private, Walmart-owned outdoor brand that is only sold in its stores and on its website. However, it is possible the individual bought the pack from a private seller or from a second-hand sports retailer.

“This backpack is exclusive to Walmart and we are working with Walmart management to develop further leads,” Nanos said.

The clothing the suspect was wearing the night of the alleged abduction may also have been purchased at Walmart, but investigators noted that the clothing isn’t exclusively offered by Walmart.

“This remains a possibility only,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement on Monday.

Investigators searching near Guthrie’s home have collected several gloves and have sent them to a forensics lab for testing, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies noted that many of the gloves found in the area were from volunteers who were searching for Guthrie. It’s unclear what kind of gloves were sent for further analysis.

The FBI and the sheriff’s office are also still collecting tips about the case. According to the FBI, it has collected more than 13,000 calls about Guthrie since February 1, and the sheriff’s department said it has taken at least 18,000 calls.

Investigators have not said whether any of those calls have proven helpful to the search.

Guthrie has been missing for more than two weeks, resulting in some criticism of the investigation. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told the Daily Mail on Sunday that he doesn’t care about the “haters” who say the department released the crime scene too early.

“My officers were there for almost 20 hours, and they processed their scene, got it done, and brought in all the evidence,” he told the outlet. “Then the FBI came and did their thing.”

He also told the publication that claims he was blocking the FBI from accessing important evidence were wrong.

“Why would I do that?” he said. “It makes no sense.”