FBI May Have Identified Suspect in Nancy Guthrie Case—Legal Expert Reveals ‘Most Likely Scenario’

Since the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have collected several clues, some of which have also been released to the public. Despite more than 45 days of investigation, the officials have not named any suspect.

But according to one legal expert, the investigation may not be as transparent as it seems. Attorney Chad D. Cummings has stated that the FBI might have already identified a suspect in the case, but is not revealing details to the public.

The expert said authorities have gradually declassified evidence in the case, including Ring camera footage of a masked man and DNA evidence. However, most of these clues have led to a dead end. Cummings said the evidence might have actually helped the FBI name a suspect, but the agency could be keeping the public in the dark to avoid alerting the culprit.

The expert said in a statement to The Mirror US, “Each release [of a clue] followed the same pattern: wait for public criticism to crest, then feed the press a development that sounds significant but leads nowhere. The question is why. At least three possibilities exist, in my opinion, and none of them are comforting.”

Cummings added that the FBI might be taking some time to build a strong case against the suspect, and hence, is not divulging critical details right away. “The first [possibility] is that the FBI identified the suspect weeks ago and is building a federal case that requires time, grand jury proceedings, and sealed indictments,” he said.

The attorney further said that either Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is in on the plan, or he has not been fully briefed. “If so, Nanos is prevaricating when he says no suspect has been identified (though perhaps he is being kept in the dark), and the drip feed of dead-end evidence exists to buy the bureau time without alerting the target. I believe this is the most likely scenario,” he continued.

Talking about the second possibility, Cummings said the suspect might be connected to someone powerful in law enforcement or the government, which could be another reason why the investigation is taking so long. Finally, he said the last possibility is that authorities may not have any solid leads, which is why the case has not seen a breakthrough so far.

“The third is that Nanos and the FBI have nothing, know they have nothing, and are feeding the press a rotation of non-developments to avoid the political consequences of admitting that an 84-year-old woman was taken from a wealthy enclave and they cannot explain how or by whom after several weeks of intensive effort,” he concluded.

Nancy Guthrie, 84, disappeared from her home in Catalina Foothills in the middle of the night on February 1. Though media houses initially received ransom notes, no proof of life was provided to Nancy’s family by the alleged kidnappers. The family has promised a $1 million reward to anyone who comes up with information about Nancy Guthrie.