Nancy Guthrie case: Sheriff rips report that relative is ‘prime suspect’

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos issued a statement Wednesday morning vehemently denying a report that said that the brother-in-law of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie could be a “prime suspect” in the kidnapping of her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie.

“At this point, investigators have not identified a suspect or person of interest in this case,” the statement released on social media said. “Detectives are working closely with the Guthrie family. While we appreciate the public’s concern, the sharing of unverified accusations or false information is irresponsible and does not assist in the investigation.”

While Nanos’ statement did not point to specific “unverified accusations,” it is likely referring to a report from veteran cable-news anchor Ashleigh Banfield, who said on her Drop Dead Serious podcast Tuesday that an “impeccable” law enforcement source told her that Tommaso Cioni of Tucson, the husband of Savannah Guthrie’s sister, Annie Guthrie, is the “prime suspect.”

Banfield based her assertion in part on her claim that a car belonging to Annie Guthrie, the last person to see her mother alive at about 9:45 Saturday night, was “towed, impounded and is in evidence.” Annie Guthrie had dropped her mother off at her home north of Tucson after a family dinner. It’s not known if Cioni had also been at the dinner.

The Sun reported that sheriff’s investigators and the FBI had met with Annie Guthrie and Cioni at their home in Tucson on Tucson. Banfield acknowledged on her show that “families are always looked at first” in these kinds of cases, if only to rule them out.

Meanwhile, Nanos said in an interview Wednesday morning that investigators believe that Nancy Guthrie is still alive, as the search goes into its fourth day.

“We have nothing else to go on but the belief that she is here,” Nanos told NBC News. “She’s present. She’s alive, and we want to save her.”

Investigators have been hunting down various other leads, including asking NBC whether Savannah Guthrie had been dealing with any troubling interactions with “Today” show fans before her mother was abducted this past weekend, the Daily Mail reported.

As one of the network’s top stars, Guthrie has been accustomed to receiving fan mail and unsolicited messages, some of which have crossed the line, a source told the Daily Mail.

“There are so many people who reach out and just get a little bit too familiar. So many,” the source said. “That’s always been an issue, as long as I’ve been here.”

Also on Tuesday, a former FBI profiler and a veteran homicide investigator told the Daily Mail that Nancy Guthrie probably was targeted for kidnapping.

Nancy Guthrie was reported missing at about 11 a.m. Sunday by her family, Nanos said at a news conference Tuesday. She has not been seen since about 9:30 or 9:45 p.m. Saturday after Annie Guthrie dropped her off.

Police found signs of forced entry, and a trail of blood could be seen outside her front door, the Los Angeles Times and TMZ reported. Citing police sources, Fox News reported that Guthrie’s pacemaker had stopped syncing with her Apple Watch data at around 2 a.m. Sunday morning, suggesting this was the time she was taken from her home. Her watch, phone and medications also were left behind, further indicating that she did not leave her home willingly, the Daily Mail also said.

“This was not just a random selection of the victim,” Bryana Fox, a former FBI special agent in the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit and a criminology professor at the University of South Florida. “This was probably a person or a group of people that selected her, probably cased her pattern of life, what time she goes to sleep, knew that she didn’t have security, knew that she lived alone and would be sleeping alone.”

Chris McDonough, a retired detective with Oceanside PD, also told the Daily Mail that the suspect is someone who could have at least “crossed paths” with Nancy Guthrie at some point before her abduction.

“It’s somebody who knew that she was around 84 and living in that house on her own,” McDonough said “At some point, they had crossed into her environment.”

But why Nancy Guthrie was possibly targeted is not known. Elder abduction also is rare, Fox and McDonough told the Daily Mail. When older people are victims of a homicide, the killing usually involves domestic violence or is financially motivated.

During a news conference Tuesday, Nanos also refused to say whether a ransom demand had been made in Nancy Guthrie’s case. The sheriff’s office later confirmed it was “aware” of a alleged ransom notes sent to news outlets, including one sent to TMZ, demanding millions in Bitcoin for her release. It’s not known if any of these notes are genuine.