Attorney General Todd Blanche has questioned whether the FBI should assume control of the search for Nancy Guthrie, as the case reaches the six-month mark with no public breakthrough.
Blanche, recently appointed by President Donald Trump, addressed the investigation during an interview with Meet the Press host Kristen Welker. Guthrie was last seen on January 31, when her son-in-law dropped her off at her $1 million home in Tucson, Arizona.
‘Whether the FBI takes the lead, we are there to support,’ Blanche said. ‘We’re going to continue to do that.’
‘Whether we come in with sharp elbows and take it over, that’s not necessarily the right thing to do for her.’
The search for Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show star Savannah Guthrie, has so far been led by Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, whose office has come under mounting scrutiny over alleged errors in the investigation.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office has faced broad criticism for its handling of the missing person case, including allegations from FBI Director Kash Patel that Nanos delayed the bureau’s involvement in efforts to find Guthrie.
Blanche told Welker he was ‘sorry to say’ there was no new update in the investigation, while acknowledging the anguish surrounding the case and saying he wished he had more to share.
‘All I can say is that Director Patel and his leadership, and the leadership out in that area of the country, will continue to make this a priority, as it should be, with resources, energy and focus,’ Blanche said.
Attorney General Todd Blanche joined Meet the Press host Kristen Welker six months after Nancy Guthrie was last seen casting doubt that the FBI will take over the search
Blanche, who was recently appointed by President Donald Trump, said: ‘Whether the FBI takes the lead, we are there to support. We’re going to continue to do that. Whether we come in with sharp elbows and take it over, that’s not necessarily the right thing to do for her’
Blanche added that federal authorities would be available to provide resources, including additional manpower, to local officials working on the case.
‘It’s a horrible situation, and I share the grief and frustration that you and your colleagues have, and that the whole country has, in this situation,’ Blanche said earlier.
Blanche’s remarks came shortly after the Wall Street Journal reported that Nanos reassigned the department’s senior pilot to patrol duty following a workplace complaint, leaving its $1.7million Cessna without an operator as of February 1.
The former pilot, who has not been named, had supported Nanos’ challenger, Lt Heather Lappin, in the election, according to the WSJ. There is no suggestion the pilot’s reassignment was linked to his support for Lappin, though the report said others who backed her campaign were punished.
Pima County’s Cessna surveillance aircraft, equipped with infrared cameras, was not deployed until 6.30pm on February 1. By then, darkness was setting in, limiting the usefulness of its zoom-lens capabilities.
More recently, detectives have been accused of giving ‘little regard’ to dried blood found on the front porch of Guthrie’s home in the immediate aftermath of the kidnapping because they allegedly believed it was unrelated to the abduction.
Nanos told the WSJ that his department is ‘working hard every day with all of our partners,’ including ‘corporate America,’ which has ‘offered up some assistance with some of the brightest minds in this country.’
The search for the 84-year-old has been led by Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos (Pictured), who has faced scrutiny over alleged missteps during the investigation.
The mother of Today star Savannah Guthrie was last seen by her son-in-law, who dropped her off at her $1million Tucson home on January 31
‘This case is not cold,’ he added.
On the six-month anniversary of her mother’s disappearance, Savannah issued an emotional plea to her mother’s kidnappers.
She vowed to ‘never stop looking for answers’ and 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 host wrote on Instagram.
Savannah said she and her siblings are trying to stay strong because that is what Nancy would have wanted, but admitted 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 added.
Savannah said the family would never stop searching for Nancy and reiterated her faith as they continue to navigate the ordeal.
‘We will never stop looking for answers, and we will never stop looking for the light,’ she wrote. ‘We will always be hoping and praying and believing in the best of our world, in spite of circumstance.’
‘Please. Bring her home.’
