The investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance is facing fresh criticism, with a sheriff’s deputies union leader claiming the early team had limited homicide experience and struggled with coordination.
Because of the team’s shocking lack of experience, according to Sergeant Aaron Cross, president of the Pima County Deputies Organization, a union representing sheriff’s deputies, as per TMZ, the Nancy Guthrie investigation was in trouble from the get-go.
Cross flags investigation gaps and FBI tensions
If you could just see the team working, you’d see the energy, the concern,” Nanos said in a video shared on August 1. Three years or less – all of them. He explained they were building a case but weren’t ready to make an arrest when their commander “demanded them to be arrested immediately. He added, “Of course, the probable cause wasn’t there yet, so they didn’t. He pointed to a bigger problem: the decision to release the original crime scene shortly after the investigation began. “I think the next day it was given back to the family, and there was no reason for that. Sheriff Chris Nanos , who has faced criticism over his handling of the investigation, marked six months into the case by sharing a message to the Guthrie family. “We’re still here. We’re not going away.
Because they were in the homicide unit, but it was very limited, when asked to quantify the experience level of the detectives, Cross said, “They all had some. And as a result of them moving too slowly in his opinion, [they were] transferred out of homicide to cold case.
Cross told TMZ that some investigators assigned after Guthrie disappeared had about three years of experience, a level he suggested was inadequate for a major homicide investigation. He added that “novice homicide detectives” was a “fair characterization” of the team, noting, “You can’t even call yourself a homicide detective until you’ve been through a trial, so it takes time to learn the ropes. “The big misstep, in my opinion and the opinion of many of the detectives and people in the community, is just giving up the scene so quickly,” Cross alleged. “They’re fired up and we will continue to work this case hard.”
