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Investigators still have evidence in Nancy Guthrie’s baffling abduction case that they have not revealed to the public, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos revealed this week — as her missing persons case passed 100 days.
“Yes, absolutely there are. But it’s not done because we got [to] keep it secret,” Nanos told local news outlet KOLD when asked whether his department was withholding evidence.
“It’s done because we got to protect our case.”
The sheriff – who gave the interview before skipping a Tuesday public meeting over calls for his removal amid allegations he lied about his decades-old disciplinary record – insisted the investigation has not stalled.
He asserted — as he has repeatedly since the beginning — that his investigators were closing in.
“I believe, at some point in time, we will make an arrest on this case,” Nanos said.
“And whoever that individual is, that individual will have a right to a fair and impartial trial.
“We continue to work with our labs, whether it’s on the digital end or the biological end, DNA,” he continued.
One key piece of evidence is a single strand of DNA, a partial piece of an identifying marker, that has been untangled from a sample recovered at the elderly Guthrie’s Tucson home after her Feb. 1 abduction by a masked gunman.
The critical piece of evidence was undergoing extensive testing at an FBI crime lab this week after Pima County authorities initially sent it to a private lab in Florida – despite early offers from the feds to analyze it at their state-of-the-art facility.
Nanos said the DNA testing process – which also involves other samples collected from the 84-year-old’s home – “moves at a snail pace.”
“But for my investigative team, and for me, we look at this as, no, this is doing exactly what we need it to do,” he said.
The sheriff said investigators hope the DNA results will eventually connect to several undisclosed pieces of digital evidence detectives have also gathered.
Referring to local and federal authorities on the case, Nanos said: “They are working hard to get this resolved, and I think every day they get closer.
“Day one, the FBI was involved in this case, and they continue to be involved in this case. Every single day.”
Despite mounting criticism that Nanos made many serious missteps in the early days of the search for the “Today” show co-host’s mother, he vowed that the case will not go cold.
“There’s way too much work to be done, that is ongoing, with some of the physical evidence we have,” he told KOLD. “And we’re not going to give up on it just because it’s been 100 days.”
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