Nancy Guthrie Sheriff’s Former Boss Labels Him a ‘Bully,’ Criticizes Lack of Progress in Investigation

The investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance has already crossed 50 days, and pressure is mounting on Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos to make a breakthrough before it is too late. Several people have questioned the abilities of the sheriff and have even asked for his removal from the case.

A senior official who worked with Chris Nanos in the department for 37 years has now weighed in and expressed surprise at how long the investigation is taking. Rick Kastigar, Nanos’s former boss, recently appeared for an interview with Brian Entin.

During the conversation, Kastigar asserted that it is shocking that the investigators have not been able to crack the case, despite having numerous strong leads. The former official emphasized that Guthrie’s chances of survival keep diminishing the longer the investigation goes on.

“Honestly, I'm disheartened because I know that the longer this takes, the chances of her being alive become very, very slim. I am surprised because there were a lot of encouraging elements to the investigation, especially the Ring camera, or excuse me, whatever the other one is, the camera footage. That seemed to be a very strong turning point in the investigation,” he stated.

Kastigar was referring to the footage of a masked individual, who was seen outside Guthrie’s home, seemingly on the night of her disappearance. Despite the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) releasing the footage publicly, investigators have not been able to identify the suspect.

Kastigar said technology could eventually help detectives track down the masked person, but it will still be a challenge. “You may have thousands and thousands of things or people that are close to those things. I'm sure they're looking at that. I, you know, smart investigators would be looking at that,” he explained.

In the same interview, Kastigar took digs at Nanos and called him an egocentric individual and a bully. “What I was told is he's a bully by many people who would come to me and personally relate, 'Look, Rick, the guy works for you. He's patronizing you, but he's a bully to all of his subordinates. I didn't believe that until I went to work for him, until he became the sheriff and I was his number two,” he said, recalling their working relationship.

Elaborating on how Nanos could have handled the Nancy Guthrie investigation better, Kastigar claimed his ego once again got the better of him. “What I'm troubled by this investigation is that the sheriff took this to a we're in charge. We're it. We don't need anybody's help. So be it,” he said.

Nanos and his team have been probing Guthrie’s disappearance, along with the FBI, since the beginning of February. Detectives believe the 84-year-old woman was forcefully taken from her home.

They are analyzing several pieces of evidence, including DNA samples, camera footage, and vehicles of interest. However, the suspect continues to be on the run, and the Guthrie family still awaits the safe return of their mother.