TRUE CRIME NEWSNancy Guthrie Investigators Initially Thought She 'Wandered Off': 'They Rushed to That Judgment'
A law enforcement insider said investigators initially rushed to judgment and assumed Nancy Guthrie wandered off on her own.
April 3 2026, Published 5:14 p.m. ET
In the investigation of Nancy Guthrie's disappearance, a law enforcement insider recently alleged that investigators "rushed to judgment" by initially assuming the 84-year-old had simply wandered off rather than being the victim of a crime.
An anonymous source told NewsNation that the Pima County Sheriff’s Department immediately classified the scene as a "wandered off" scenario.
“Some people who actually know the intimate knowledge of this investigation have told me that there was an immediate rush to judgment on what was happening at that scene, and it was that Nancy had somehow wandered off. And so, they rushed to that judgment, stayed with that judgment, and then ran the investigation as if this was a search-and-rescue issue, as opposed to a possible criminal issue,” the source told NewsNation’s senior national correspondent Brian Entin.
Nancy Guthrie has been missing since February 1.
Initially, the case involving Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie's mother was pursued as a search-and-rescue rather than a criminal matter.
Critics say the lead detectives lacked homicide or kidnapping investigation experience.
Reports claim the early crime scene was compromised when unauthorized individuals, like a pizza delivery driver, accessed the property during processing.
Investigators thought Nancy Guthrie 'wandered off.'
Despite the initial "wandered off" assumption made early on February 1, several key pieces of evidence soon emerged that pointed toward an abduction.
Nancy relied on critical daily medication and had limited mobility; Savannah noted that it would have been impossible for her to prop open the back doors and wander off alone.
At 1:47 a.m. on February 1, her doorbell camera was disconnected by a masked and armed individual, and blood belonging to Nancy was found on the front porch.
In addition, her pacemaker monitoring system lost connection at 2:28 a.m., roughly 40 minutes after the camera was disabled.
- Nancy Guthrie's Disappearance: Lead Detective in Chilling Case Had 'Never Investigated a Homicide Before'
- Sheriff in Nancy Guthrie Case Believes She Is Victim of 'Targeted Kidnapping,' Declares Abductors 'Knew Who They Were After'
- Terrifying New Crime Scene Details Revealed as the Search for Savannah Guthrie's Mother Continues
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The sheriff has been called out for his lack of experience.
The source told Brian that, despite controversy over what critics call an incompetent investigation led by embattled Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, they deeply care about solving the baffling case, which he admitted still lacks a suspect.
“Just because we have an incompetent lead doesn’t mean that we don’t care. That we don’t want Nancy to be brought home safely, and that we’re not with her in this. We are completely with her and her family on this,” they said.
Savannah Guthrie spoke out in an interview with Hoda Kotb.
Meanwhile, in an emotional interview with Hoda Kotb, Savannah expressed heartbreak and frustration over the case.
“How is it possible that we are having to make a video speaking to a kidnapper who took an 84-year-old woman in the dead of night in her pajamas with no shoes, without her medicine?” she wondered.
Experts now suggest that identifying a possible "second location" where the suspect may have taken Nancy could be the key to exposing their identity through DNA evidence.
