A forensic genealogy company slammed Sheriff Chris Nanos’s ‘devastating’ mistake in handling evidence as the search for Nancy Guthrie continues.
Kristen Mittelman, co-founder of Othram, condemned the sheriff’s decision to send critical evidence to a private lab in Florida instead of using FBI resources.
‘This is so devastating,’ Mittelman told Fox News. ‘I don’t understand why it didn’t go to Quantico, since they can do this better and faster than anyone, and they even have a pipeline to flip it immediately to inferring identity with us.’
Nanos was blasted on Thursday after reports surfaced that he had blocked the FBI from analyzing glove evidence found near Guthrie’s home at its National Crime Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.
Instead, the sheriff sent the evidence to DNA Labs International in Deerfield Beach, Florida. A federal law enforcement source told Fox News that the evidence will need to be retested by the FBI either way.
Nanos defended his decision after he was criticized for ‘further slowing a case that grows more urgent by the minute.’
‘Why split your evidence to two different labs that could create a conflict, but more importantly, it adds that additional step,’ he told the outlet.
Earlier today, investigators recovered DNA from Nancy’s home that doesn’t belong to her or anyone in her close circle, authorities revealed.
‘DNA other than Nancy Guthrie’s and those in close contact to her has been collected from the property,’ the sheriff’s department said, adding that investigators are working to identify who it belongs to and are not disclosing where it was found.
The investigation into Nancy’s kidnapping is nearing the two week mark after she was taken from her $1 million home in Tucson in the early hours of February 1.
The latest ransom note to TMZ, marking the third received so far, claimed to know the identity of Nancy’s kidnapper, asking for the full $100,000 FBI reward in bitcoin for the information.
Investigators have been inundated with thousands of tips after chilling doorbell camera footage was published the night of her disappearance.
The FBI released a detailed description of an individual, claiming the suspect is a man between 5’9” and 5’10” with an average build, who was wearing a black 25‑liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack in the video.
Follow along for more details as the investigation unfolds
TMZ receives a third ransom note promising to reveal ‘identity of main kidnapper’ in exchange for $100,000
TMZ received a third email on Friday afternoon from a man claiming he knows the identity of Nancy Guthrie’s abductor, saying he contacted the outlet because he does not trust law enforcement officials.
He alleged that the FBI’s decision to increase its reward to $100,000 was intended to ‘discredit’ him, and insisted he is demanding the money himself in Bitcoin.
According to TMZ, the anonymous sender is seeking $50,000 in Bitcoin in exchange for ‘the name of the main individual,’ promising not to withdraw the funds until the suspected kidnapper is arrested.
After an arrest is made, he expects an additional $50,000 in Bitcoin.
The outlet added that while the email references Nancy Guthrie’s current condition, it would not ‘be specific.’
Genealogy company slam sheriff’s ‘devastating’ mistake in Nancy Guthrie investigation
A forensic genealogy company criticized Sheriff Chris Nanos’s decision to send key evidence in the Nancy Guthrie case to a private Florida lab instead of the FBI’s crime lab in Quantico.
‘This is so devastating,’ Kristen Mittelman, co-founder of Othram, told Fox News.
‘DNA Labs International is a traditional forensic lab that consumes evidence to make an STR [short tandem repeat] profile.
‘So I don’t understand why it didn’t go to Quantico, since they can do this better and faster than anyone, and they even have a pipeline to flip it immediately to inferring identity with us.’
A federal law enforcement source said the evidence will likely need to be retested by the FBI regardless.
‘It’s just the FBI developed this method and can do it so much better without destroying the evidence,’ the source said.
‘Also, they’re not as fast, and in this case, time matters.’
Nanos defended the move, saying sending evidence to one lab avoids delays and conflicts.
‘It’s just that simple,’ he said.
Sheriff’s positive prediction as Nancy Guthrie investigation nears second week
Chris Nanos, the sheriff recently involved in the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, made an optimistic remark on finding the missing 84-year-old.
As the search for Guthrie approaches its second week, Pima County Sheriff Nanos made an uplifting statement to the grieving Tucson, Arizona, community.
‘I believe she will be found,’ Nanos told CNN on Friday. ‘I believe we are working as hard as we can to do that as fast as we can.’
Authorities bolstered the community who are desperately in search of answers by stating that their search is far from over, the outlet reported.
Over 30,000 tips from the public have reached investigators, with each being reviewed and investigated with great consideration.
Evidence, including DNA and gloves discovered miles from her home, were recently sent for analysis, as a third ransom note surfaced.
Bungling sheriff in Nancy Guthrie investigation claims ‘quite a number’ of gloves found during search
Chris Nanos, the Pima County Sheriff who has reportedly been dismissed from the ongoing search for Nancy Guthrie, has claimed that ‘quite a number’ of gloves were discovered miles from the missing 84-year-old’s home.
Guthrie mysteriously vanished from her $1 million Tucson, Arizona, home in the early hours of February 1.
As the investigation into her disappearance inches toward the two-week mark, two gloves were discovered miles from her home.
Following a tip, investigators discovered one glove two miles from Guthrie’s home, Nanos told CNN.
The second glove was discovered ten miles away. Both were sent for DNA analysis along with other DNA evidence found at Guthrie’s home, the outlet reported.
Nanos told the outlet that the glove was discovered by a search team the other day as he debunked false whispers of the glove being found inside the property she was taken from.
‘Today we’ve gone out five, ten miles, because we found a glove. Everybody’s finding gloves. We’ve had gloves ten miles out. I can’t dismiss that,’ he said.
‘We don’t even know the true value of these gloves.’
Nanos denied that any gloves were discovered inside of Guthrie’s home following reports that he had blocked DNA testing by the FBI.
‘There’s never been a glove found at that home, in that home or around that home,’ he told the CNN.
Rain in southwest Arizona causes concern for Nancy Guthrie investigators
Light showers were forecasted for the Catalina Foothills area where Nancy Guthrie’s home is located on Friday.
Rain could possibly be disruptive for evidence as law enforcement scour the area for potential new leads in her disappearance.
The National Institute of Justice says that ‘an outdoor crime scene is the most vulnerable to loss, contamination, and deleterious change of physical evidence in a relatively short period of time.
‘Destruction or deterioration of evidence due to environmental conditions such as heat, cold, rain, snow and wind are problems associated with outdoor scenes.
‘Evidence that cannot be protected under these conditions should be collected expeditiously without compromising its integrity.’
Trump says it’s ‘too early’ to tell if Cartel involved in Nancy’s abduction
When questioned outside of the White House on Friday about the Nancy Guthrie case, a reporter asked the president if he believed the cartel were involved in her abduction.
‘You can’t say that yet,’ Trump told reporters. ‘It’s a little bit early.’
‘But it’s somebody either knew what they were doing very well, or they were rank amateurs. Either way, it’s not a good situation.’
Cops reportedly investigating new video of suspicious man lurking around neighbor’s home two weeks before abduction
Police are allegedly investigating new video footage submitted by a Tucson resident that lives 6.5 miles away from where Nancy Guthrie’s Catalina Foothills home is.
The video depicts a suspicious individual lurking around the porch of the neighbor’s home, intentionally trying to keep their face out of view from the camera.
The video was originally posted January 23 on Ring’s Neighbors app.
The man reportedly rang the doorbell at 5am before fleeing when he heard dogs barking.
A high-ranking law enforcement source connected to the investigation told TMZ that authorities are aware of this video treating it as a potential lead.
Arizona sheriff reveals Savannah Guthrie ‘doesn’t need him’
Fox News reporter Matt Finn revealed on X on Friday that Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos and Savannah Guthrie had been in communication.
Nanos revealed that the Today host told the sheriff she ‘has her people’ despite authorities working round the clock with the FBI to discover who kidnapped her mother Nancy from her home on February 1.
Fears NO cameras were recording cars coming and going near kidnapped Nancy Guthrie’s home… as under-fire sheriff flip-flops AGAIN
Traffic cameras may not have recorded cars coming and going past missing Nancy Guthrie’s house, investigators fear.
Authorities are looking to identify a truck that may be connected to Nancy’s abduction and is reviewing local camera footage that may have spotted it.
But there is a possibility that the so-called getaway car was not clearly recorded on traffic cameras, Fox News reported.
The City of Tucson and Arizona Department of Transportation both said they have traffic cameras in the area around Nancy’s home but that those devices do not record cars.
Pima County does have cameras that record, but officials note they are imperfect and may not actually capture license plate details.
