As the investigation into Nancy Guthrie‘s kidnapping case crosses the six-month mark, a new report from The Wall Street Journal is highlighting possible mistakes by the sheriff and lead investigators.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department, led by Chris Nanos, has been overseeing the investigation after Savannah Guthrie‘s mom was reported missing on Feb. 1. As of Aug. 2, Nancy hasn’t been found and there have been no arrests in the case.
After reviewing personnel files obtained in public records requests and conducting interviews with current and former county and federal officials and people close to the case, the WSJ has found that there were concerns from the start of the investigation, including who Nanos appointed head of homicide, Sgt. David Stivers.
According to personnel records, Stivers was reprimanded two months before Nancy was kidnapped for “poor judgment,” as he was blamed for delays securing crime-scene evidence in a homicide case. The charges in that case were ultimately dropped for insufficient evidence, The Journal reported.
When it came to Nancy’s case, people familiar with the investigation said Stivers and his detectives ignored the dried blood on her front porch for hours after they arrived on Feb. 1, suspecting that the blood came from some unrelated cause. “They failed to seal off the property with police tape to protect sensitive crime-scene evidence, allowing reporters, livestreamers, and Amazon and pizza delivery drivers entry to the porch,” the WSJ wrote.
