FBI is working with Mexico’s law enforcement to find Nancy Guthrie after she vanished from Arizona home, report says
The FBI has contacted law enforcement in Mexico as it broadens the search for missing Nancy Guthrie.
The move has seen authorities reach out to a number of police agencies and department south of the border, according to police sources speaking to TMZ.
The outlet reported that the expansion of the investigation has not yet resulted in any new leads, with the search for the 84-year-old producing no suspects 18 days in.
Sources said the FBI has opened the door to the possibility Nancy was taken across the border, and investigators have checked Border Patrol cameras in hopes of tracking down a suspect.
As TMZ revealed the collaboration with Mexico on Wednesday, it reported that it received another ransom note apparently sent by those claiming to have abducted Nancy.
It said the note, the fourth it has received, included a ‘highly sophisticated demand’ similar to the $6 million demanded in previous letters, but involving a cryptocurrency ‘other than Bitcoin.’
The outlet said the new letter also ‘graphically described the consequences if the ransom isn’t paid’ – and said it forwarded the email to the FBI after receiving the letter.
Authorities have not verified the legitimacy of any reported ‘ransom notes’ sent to TMZ or other news outlets, and the police source added that if an individual tries to scam the Guthrie family, ‘They will go to federal prison for a long, long time.’
The FBI has contacted law enforcement in Mexico as it broadens the search for missing Nancy Guthrie (seen with her Today Show star daughter Savannah Guthrie)
Nancy Guthrie vanished from her home in Tucson, Arizona in the early hours of February 1. The home is pictured with law enforcement vehicles outside on February 6
It comes as Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos revealed that investigators have turned their attention to a pinky ring they believe her alleged abductor was wearing in doorbell camera footage.
The suspect was seen in the doorbell camera footage wearing gloves with a protrusion on his right pinky finger – something investigators believe could help narrow down a suspect.
‘I look at the same photo you look at and I get it, I see it,’ Nanos told NBC News, referring to the mysterious figure who was seen in the clip.
‘I’m going to give that to my team. They’ll look at that. They’ll analyze it and we’ll see. Maybe, maybe it is,’ he added.
This week, the investigation also hit a major disappointment as a glove found two miles from Nancy’s home in Tucson, Arizona, failed to match suspect DNA from the crime scene or to the CODIS criminal database, shattering hopes of a breakthrough.
The glove was found on Sunday and had been briefly regarded as the best piece of evidence in the ongoing search for the 84-year-old, as it appeared to match one worn by a masked suspect seen on Nancy’s doorbell camera just before her disappearance in the early hours of February 1.
Frustrations surrounding the investigation have heaped pressure on Nanos, who has come under scrutiny for his handling of the case amid allegations he made crucial errors in the first hours of the search.
Authorities have made no arrests in the 18 days since Nanthy Guthrie vanished
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos insists that the search for missing Nancy Guthrie is ‘far from cold’ despite no arrests being made 18 days into her disappearance
In an interview on Tuesday following the sheriff’s department’s admission that it failed to match the glove to DNA, Nanos attempted to offer a positive spin on the ongoing search.
The sheriff stressed that he believes Nancy is still alive because he had not seen any ‘proof of death’, and said he and his investigators have not lost hope that Nancy could be returned to her family.
‘They ask me, do I have proof of life? I ask them, is there proof of death?’ Nanos said.
