Nancy Guthrie Case: Sheriff Says No One Permanently Ruled Out as Detained Man Plans Lawsuit

TUCSON, Ariz. — Just before a man briefly detained in the Nancy Guthrie investigation filed a $3.25 million notice of claim against law enforcement, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos stood by the evidence that first drew investigators to him. Nanos said a judge approved the probable cause behind the warrant and emphasized that detectives have not permanently cleared anyone as the case continues.

“From what we have in front of us, the evidence, the DNA, the whatever, the videos. Yeah, I think you can eliminate them,” Nanos told News Outlet during a sit-down interview Thursday. “And so that elimination happens. But it’s like any [criminal case], because you’re eliminated doesn’t mean you didn’t do it. It doesn’t mean that we can’t get more information.”

His comments came before the potential lawsuit became public. In the interview, Nanos defended the search warrants carried out earlier in the investigation, despite the fact that they did not result in any arrests.

“We had information that made us believe that there’s a potential that Nancy’s there, or there’s a potential the bad guy’s there,” Nanos said, describing what investigators presented to the court. “That evidence is presented to the judge that says, ‘Yep, go get him.’”

Guthrie, 84, is the mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie. Because she relies on heart medication, authorities faced urgent pressure in the early stages of the investigation to locate her quickly.

“We go in, oh, now we look at it and go, ‘all right, she’s not here.’ That was evident,” the sheriff continued. “That was No. 1. And we’ve talked to these individuals, and they’ve given us an alibi, if you will, or whatever, to say, ‘Hey. We feel comfortable in letting them go and not charging them.’”

The first publicly identified person detained was Rio Rico delivery driver Carlos Palazuelos, 60 miles south of Tucson. He has not been charged with a crime. Days later, police also detained and released a man named Luke Daly, a felon who was facing unrelated drug charges at the time. Neither has been arrested nor charged in connection with Guthrie’s abduction.

“They’re ruled for now, but what if somebody comes up and says, ‘Hey, this guy said such and such, such and so that he did that — and it’s one of the guys we looked [at] back in the past?” Nanos said.

And that doesn’t just apply to the men who were detained and released. New evidence could put anyone back in the investigation’s focus, Nanos said.

“I think I early on said, ‘Look, there is no suspects. The family is not suspects. They’re not,” he told News Outlet. “Now, does that mean that ends it forever? No. What happens if next week somebody calls and says, ‘Hey, a family member did this, and here’s how I know it’? You know that always opens a door.”

Palazuelos recently served a notice of claim against the sheriff’s department seeking $3.25 million over his ordeal.

In the filing, a precursor to a lawsuit, he and his in-laws allege that he was targeted without probable cause, arrested without being given a reason and held for hours before police released him without charges while damaging the home where they all live during a search warrant execution.

The filing, first reported by the local ABC 15 Arizona, alleges that the warrant that named Palazuelos was obtained with “false or baseless evidence.” It also points to a tweet from the sheriff’s department that stated a “suspect” had been detained.

The warrant itself has not been made public, and Palazuelos is not currently considered a suspect in the case.

Daly is not involved in Palazuelos’ legal action.

No suspect has been publicly identified in connection with Guthrie’s Feb. 1 abduction, but the sheriff said investigators are still sorting through piles of evidence.

“We’re not even close to these leads being dried up,” he said. “We’ll continue to work them.”

And while Nanos said he’s optimistic that the case will be resolved as analysis of DNA and video evidence continues, the sheriff is still urging anyone with information to come forward.

“We believe, just as the family does, just as Savannah does, somebody knows something,” he said. “We need that person to call us.”

The family is urging anyone with information to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI.

An anonymous reward can be claimed by calling 520-88-CRIME with information that leads to an arrest.