The family of Nancy Guthrie has been cleared of being involved in her disappearance, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos formally stated on Monday.
“To be clear… the Guthrie family — to include all siblings and spouses — has been cleared as possible suspects in this case. The family has been nothing but cooperative and gracious and are victims in this case,” he said in a statement. “To suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is cruel. The Guthrie family are victims plain and simple.”
“I’m begging you the media to honor your profession and report with some sense of compassion and professionalism,” Sheriff Nanos continued.
The update comes as the investigation into the 84-year-old Arizona woman’s disappearance enters its third week. Nancy was last seen near her Tucson-area home on the evening of Jan. 31 before she was reported missing at around noon local time the next day on Feb. 1.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI have since shared images and video of a masked, gloved suspect outside of her home early that morning. Additionally, authorities believe they have located the gloves that appear to be the ones from the doorbell surveillance footage and have submitted them for DNA testing.
“The gloves found approximately 2 miles from the Guthrie residence in a field near the side of the road were packaged up by PCSD and sent overnight on 2/12 and they arrived at their private lab in Florida on 2/13,” the FBI shared on Sunday. “The FBI received preliminary results yesterday on 2/14 and are awaiting quality control and official confirmation today before putting unknown male profile into CoDIS, the national database unique to the bureau. This process typically takes 24 hours from when the bureau receives DNA.”
“Investigators collected approximately 16 gloves in various areas near the house. Most of them were searchers’ gloves that they discarded in various areas when they searched the vicinity,” they further noted. “The one with the DNA profile recovered is different and appears to match the gloves of the subject in the surveillance video. The FBI has and will continue to provide assistance on whatever timeline is provided to us.”
The PCSD has long maintained the Guthrie’s family’s innocence in the case, despite earlier rumors to the contrary. They remain operating under the belief that Nancy is still alive.
