Detectives handling the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie paid “little regard” to dried blood found on the front porch of her home in the crucial hours after she was allegedly kidnapped, according to a new report.
The 84-year-old vanished from her home just outside Tucson, Arizona, on February 1. No suspects have been arrested in connection with her disappearance.
Now, six months later, sources inside the Pima County Sheriff’s Office have shed light on why the investigation has appeared to make so little public progress.
Although blood was visible on the front porch, homicide detectives led by Sgt. David Stivers initially “gave little regard” to the evidence for several hours, sources told the Wall Street Journal.
Those sources said investigators appeared to dismiss the blood at first, considering whether it could have come from a minor injury such as a bumped head, a nosebleed, or something similar.
The blood was later collected as evidence and confirmed to be Nancy’s. Investigators now believe it may be tied to her kidnapping, the outlet reported.
The Journal also reported that when Nancy’s daughter Annie first entered the home while searching for her mother, she found the back door propped open.
The new details surfaced after her daughter Savannah made an emotional appeal to her mother’s kidnappers on the six-month anniversary of Nancy’s abduction.
The details have emerged after her daughter Savannah, seen here with her mother, issued a plea to her mother’s kidnappers on the six-month anniversary of her abduction
Despite there being blood on the front porch of her home, pictured here, homicide detectives, headed by Sgt David Stivers, ‘gave little regard’ to it for hours, sources said
She vowed to ‘never stop looking for answers’ and once again urged anyone with information about Nancy’s disappearance to come forward.
‘Six months ago, someone took her out of her bed in the dead of night. We have lived every moment, every breath, and every heartbeat in agony and despair ever since,’ the Today Show host wrote on Instagram.
Savannah shared how she and her siblings are ‘trying to be strong’ because that’s what Nancy would have wanted them to do, but says their ‘hearts are in ruins.’
‘We spend every waking moment thinking of her, longing for her, looking for her. There is a hole inside us that can never be filled. There is an ache that cannot be softened,’ she wrote.
‘And there is a determination in us that cannot be quenched – to find out what happened to her, so that we can give her the dignity of a proper goodbye – a celebration of her remarkable life that she so deserves.’
‘There is a way out – to tell what you know. You can do so anonymously. The reward is available. There is a way to end this situation and do the right thing,’ she said.
‘We are real people, facing real grief, doing the best we can, and counting our many blessings along the way – most especially the prayers and love from good people, which we feel deeply. We need your prayers, we need your kindness. We need the good to be stronger than the evil.’
Savannah added that the family will never stop looking for Nancy and doubled down on her faith as they continue to navigate this horrific circumstance.
An aerial view of Nancy’s home in Tucson is pictured here in the days after her disappearance
Pima Count Sheriff Chris Nanos is pictured here at a press conference with Sgt David Stivers seen to his right
‘We will never stop looking for answers – and we will never stop looking for the light. We will always be hoping and praying and believing in the best of our world – in spite of circumstance. This is what our faith makes possible,’ she said.
‘Please. Bring her home.’
Savannah’s plea came after authorities on Friday released two chilling ransom notes that were sent to the Guthrie family, including one that alleged Nancy died shortly after she was kidnapped and ‘is buried in nature now.’
Both notes initially were sent to Tucson television station 13 News days after the 84-year-old went missing.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office released both notes in full – one demanding a $4 million ransom and a second, written in a similar tone, claiming Nancy had died, before offering an apology.
One of the notes contained specific details about Nancy’s home – a broken floodlight in the backyard and a white smartwatch found on her bedroom floor – that suggested it could be authentic.
Investigators search the area near Nancy Guthrie’s home in the Catalina Foothills
The family is offering a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to Nancy’s recovery
The notes, received on February 2 and February 6, both claimed to be from Nancy’s captor and were turned over to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said Saturday that investigators released the notes in the hope that someone would recognize the writer’s distinctive wording, expressions or style.
‘There are a number of pieces of information in these notes that just might jar someone to say, ‘You know, I’ve heard that,’ he said.
Nanos said it remains unclear whether the notes were written by the same person and described the investigation as ‘very active,’ with detectives continuing to review tens of thousands of tips, videos and forensic leads.
‘We’re still here. We are not going away,’ he said. ‘We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.’
The sheriff’s office also said Friday that two videos recovered from Nancy’s doorbell camera might be from two separate days and indicate an unidentified male prepared ahead of when she was taken.
Authorities are seeking information on anyone who was behaving differently, changed their physical appearance, suddenly left the Tucson area, or had a noticeable or unexplained interest or disinterest in the case.
The FBI had released surveillance videos of a masked person who authorities said appeared to tamper with a camera on Nancy’s front porch and block it with a plant. They described the person as a male about 5 feet, 9 inches tall.
Authorities have not said whether Nancy is still alive. The family is offering a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to Nancy’s recovery.
