Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Forensic Friction: AZ Sheriff Blasts ‘FBI Blockade’ Claims as Hunt for Nancy Guthrie Turns Toxic|RIME ALERT HOURLY UPDATE SAT

Episode Date: February 14, 2026

A high-stakes tug-o-war over Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance has erupted as the search for the 84-y-o enters its 3rd week. The clash comes as new evidence & ransom notes emerge. Jennifer Gould reports.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Crime Alert, hourly update. Breaking Crime News now. I'm Jennifer Gould. A high-stakes power struggle between local and federal authorities has erupted as the search for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie enters its third agonizing week.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is under fire following bombshell reports that he is actively blocking the FBI from accessing critical physical evidence in the abduction of the Today's show co-hosts mom. The clash centers on a pair of black gloves and DNA samples recovered from the Guthrie home. Evidence the FBI demanded be flown to their elite national crime lab in Quantago, Virginia. In a defiant move that has stunned many, Nanos snubbed the feds, instead shelling out two. $200,000 in taxpayer money to ship the samples to a private lab in Florida. An anonymous law enforcement source blasted that decision, claiming the move, quote,

risks further slowing a case that grows more urgent by the minute, end quote. Sheriff Nanos, though, fired back, telling TV station KVOA branding the allegations of a blockade as, quote, not even close to the truth, end quote. Nanos argued that the Florida lab has worked with his department for years and is handling some aspects pro bono, claiming the FBI eventually agreed that sending all samples to a single site for marker comparison made sense. Former Secret Service agent Charles Marino spoke to Fox News.

And hopefully he wasn't wearing a double layer of. gloves and we're going to get some solid DNA evidence here, either directly from the hands or from another part of the body. The tension comes as the FBI doubles its reward to $100,000 and releases a chilling new profile of the suspect caught on doorbell camera at 212 a.m. on February 1st. The masked predator is described as a male 5'9 to 510 with a medium build, carrying a black 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker pack and a semi-automatic handgun. Experts note the suspect's outfit appeared cobbled together, utilizing a holster design for a revolver rather than the semi-automatic weapons seen in the footage

showing he's most likely an amateur. While federal agents frantically trace retail records at local Tucson Walmarts for the backpack and other gear, nanos downplayed. the importance of the roadside gloves, noting, quote, quite a number of them were found, end quote, and that their, quote, true value remains unproven. More crime and justice news after this.

Authorities are now urgently requesting that all residents within a two-mile radius of the East Skyline Drive and North Campbell Avenue intersection scour their security camera footage for any signs of vehicles, pedestrians, or suspicious activity. The request covers an expansive window from January 1st through February 2nd. Retired FBI special agent Jennifer Coffendaffer spoke to Inside Edition. They want to see if there were any dry runs, any site surveys done of Nancy's property before

this strike. This follows the release of a man in Rio Rico who was questioned after his car and home were searched. He was cleared after no links to Nancy were found. Adding to the urgency, a new lead has emerged involving a man with a goatee, lurking near a home six and a half miles away just one week before Nancy vanished. This was back on January 23rd. His features mirror the beard visible beneath the suspect's mask in doorbell clips. Detectives are also grappling with ransom notes sent to media outlets including TMZ with one reportedly snarling, quote, I am not being taken seriously, end quote. Nancy, of course, has been missing since February 1st and was last seen by family on the evening of January 31st. No suspects are in custody.

No persons of interest have been identified and Guthrie's whereabouts remain unknown, though her family believes she is still alive. DNA confirmed blood on her porch as hers and her pacemaker lost cell phone contact. Her vital heart medications have also long since run out. Amid the ordeal, Savannah Guthrie shared a heartbreaking Instagram montage of old home videos on Thursday showing a young Nancy with her three children, captioning it, quote, We will never give up on her.

Thank you for your prayer. and hope, end quote. Again, the FBI has boosted its reward to $100,000. For information leading to the location of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie and or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance, tips can be submitted anonymously to 1-800 call FBI or tips.fbi.gov. That's GOV. For the latest crime and justice news, follow the Crime Alert hourly update on your favorite podcast app.

With this crime alert, I'm Jennifer Gould.