Nancy Guthrie Case: Crime Scene Compromised? Pima County Sheriff Faces Scrutiny Over No Breakthroughs

Nearly two months after Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, a veteran law enforcement expert is raising serious concerns about how Sheriff Chris Nanos has handled the case.

Dr. Richard Carmona, a former Pima County Sheriff’s deputy, SWAT team leader, and U.S. Surgeon General, weighed in on the investigation.

The Tucson community has also expressed frustration over how the case is being handled, with a recall effort underway to remove Sheriff Nanos from office.

Carmona said the case is expected to remain an active investigation for some time, while questioning Nanos’ decision to reopen the crime scene.

“It perplexed everyone when Nanos said on TV that he opened the crime scene. How could you open a crime scene? That’s not something a sheriff does,” Carmona said.

“It’s the lead detective that’s out there that says, we can open this area now because we have made this determination that all the evidence necessary has been photographed, bagged, tagged and so on, and now we can have it,” he said.

He also pointed to what he described as a breakdown in basic protocol, recalling footage of a pizza delivery driver entering the scene.

“I saw on TV a pizza delivery guy walking across the yard. That is crazy… normally you lock down the crime scene and you have a log book that anybody coming in and out has to sign in the time,” he said. “How do we know it’s real evidence when it’s corrupted? The sheriff could not maintain the integrity of the crime scene,” Carmona added.

Speaking to Brian Entin on the latest episode of Brian Entin Investigates, Carmona shared his concerns about both the circumstances of the disappearance and the integrity of the investigation.

“Unless there is someone who is taking care of her, it is unlikely she would survive for so long,” Carmona said.

He further outlined several issues he believes may have impacted the case.

“Why would anyone want to kidnap an elderly lady? What is the motive? It is not clear to me. The fact that the back doors of her house were open, could suggest she forgot to close them,” the law enforcement expert stated.

Carmona added that if you don’t keep the crime scene intact, the evidence won’t be valid anymore. “My concern was the distraction caused by the poor leadership of the sheriff which caused people to focus on whether he is competent or not instead of finding Savannah’s mother,” he said.

He continued, “Most officials do not want to do business with him because he’s not a great leader. He is very volatile and leads by intimidation. People do not enjoy interacting with him.”

Carmona claimed FBI agents have previously stated he’s not sharing any information with them. “He sent the evidence to a private lab in Florida as it was ‘cheaper’, but the FBI doesn’t charge you! When you have the best forensic lab at your disposal, why wouldn’t you use them? It’s a bad decision to not use the FBI.”

Nancy Guthrie has been missing from her Arizona home since February 1, and despite ongoing efforts from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, key questions about what happened to the 84-year-old remain unanswered.