The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said human remains found near Nancy Guthrie’s home do not appear to be related to her disappearance.
In a post on X, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said the search and rescue deputies were responding to reports of human remains found in a desert area near West Ajo Way and South La Cholla Boulevard.
“The remains appear to have been at the location for an extended period of time. At this time, there is no indication they are connected to the Nancy Guthrie investigation. Additional information will be released as it becomes available,” police added.
The discovery of the human remains comes after U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday that the FBI is still helping the Pima County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation into Guthrie’s disappearance six months ago.
“It’s a horrible situation and I share the grief and the frustration that you and your colleagues have and the whole country with this situation. Whether the FBI takes the lead, we are there to support,” Blanche told NBC News’ Meet the Press.
“We are working as hard as we can with the state and local law enforcement in every area, and that means not only providing assistance with manpower, but any sort of forensic assistance. And so 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 or for anybody, but making sure that it’s done right and making sure that this investigation is being conducted the way that it should be is something that we’re doing.”
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Blanche said he wished he could share an update on the investigation.
Patel previously criticized authorities in Arizona in May for their handling of the Guthrie investigation, three months into the search for Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother, who was reported missing on Feb. 1.
During a May 5 episode of Sean Hannity’s Hang Out with Sean Hannity podcast, Patel said the Pima County Sheriff’s Department waited too long to get the FBI involved in the investigation.
“The first 48 hours of anyone’s disappearance are the most critical. It is a state matter and a local law enforcement matter. What we, the FBI, do is say, ‘Hey, we’re here to help. What do you need? What can we do?’ And for four days, we were kept out of the investigation,” Patel told Hannity.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos disputed Patel’s comments in a statement, saying he was “aware” of Patel’s “recent interview and statement.”
“Sheriff Nanos responded to the scene the night of the incident, providing immediate local leadership and oversight. A member of the FBI Task Force was also notified and present at the scene working alongside our personnel,” the statement said.
“The FBI was promptly notified by both our department and the Guthrie family. While the FBI Director was not on scene, coordination with the Bureau began without delay.”
Nanos’s statement noted that decisions regarding evidence processing were made at the scene based on operational needs.
The statement added: “The laboratory utilized the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI Laboratory in Quantico have worked in close partnership from the outset and continue to collaborate in the analysis of evidence.”
“We remain committed to a thorough, coordinated, and fact-based investigation and will continue working closely with our federal partners as the process moves forward,” Nanos’s statement concluded.
Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will after they found blood near the doorstep of her home in the foothills outside Tucson, Ariz. The FBI later released surveillance videos showing a masked man on the porch that night.
Since their mother’s disappearance, Savannah and her siblings have shared multiple videos on social media and offered a US$1-million reward for information leading to the recovery of their mother.
The search for Guthrie remains active and ongoing.
— with files from The Associated Press
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