The FBI has released further details about the suspect in the search for Savannah Guthrie’s mother amid claims that tensions have erupted in Arizona, with local police accused of blocking federal access to key evidence
The FBI has released further details about the suspect being sought in the search for the mother of US television anchor Savannah Guthrie.
The information emerged as tensions between federal agents and local law enforcement in Arizona are claimed to have erupted. According to reports, Pima County Sheriff’s Department, which is leading the inquiry to, has blocked FBI access to key physical evidence recovered from the scene.
The bureau has also increased its reward to $100,000 (£73,430) for information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s whereabouts or to an arrest. A source close to the investigation said: “There is deep frustration behind the scenes. When you have an elderly woman missing, every hour matters and every piece of evidence matters.
He added: “The feeling among federal agents is that this should be a fully unified effort, with no barriers to forensic access. The priority has to be finding Nancy Guthrie as quickly as possible – not protecting turf.”
The 84-year-old has been missing for nearly two weeks after she was taken from her $1 million home in Tucson in the early hours of February 1.
A federal source has alleged that Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is preventing the FBI from examining a glove and DNA samples found close to the property.
Detectives discovered it on Wednesday, discarded along a road near the home. It is said to resemble those worn by a masked intruder captured in doorbell footage on the night she disappeared.
According to reports, federal officials sought permission from Sheriff Nanos to transfer the evidence to the FBI’s national crime laboratory in Quantico for processing. The request was refused. Instead, the items were sent to a private laboratory in Florida used by the sheriff’s department. “It risks further slowing a case that grows more urgent by the minute,” the source added.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has reportedly spent around £147,000 on evidence processing with the Florida lab under contract.
The same source also criticised what were described as “earlier setbacks” in the investigation, including delays in requesting FBI assistance. The friction emerged as the bureau released a description of the suspect seen in images and video from the pensioner’s doorbell camera recovered by agents.
The person in the video is described as a 5’9” to 5’10” man with an average build wearing a black, 25-litre ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack.’ “We hope this updated description will help concentrate the public tips we are receiving,” the FBI said.
More than 13,000 tips have been submitted to the FBI on the case since February 1, they said. The Sheriff’s Department said they’ve received nearly 18,000 calls so far.
US entertainment site TMZ said it received a second note on Thursday from a person demanding bitcoin in exchange for information on the alleged kidnapper. The first note was sent on the day before.
Nancy Guthrie was last seen on the evening of Saturday, January 31, when family members dropped her home. Members of her church noticed her absence at Sunday’s service and notified her family.
Officials have warned she may be in dire health without her medication. Sheriff Nanos said she was “not in good physical health” but had no reported cognitive issues.
Savannah Guthrie is the co-anchor of NBC News‘ TODAY, NBC News’ chief legal correspondent and a primary anchor for the network’s election coverage.
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