A whistleblower has claimed that the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s case was flawed from the start due to the lack of experience within the investigative team, pointing fingers at Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos’ incompetence.
Sergeant Aaron Cross, who leads the Pima County Deputies Organization, mentioned that the issue—which arose from staff mistakes—was not significant enough to be deemed a serious incident. He expressed this during an interview with TMZ.
According to Sgt. Cross, the lead detective had no prior experience with homicide cases but was assigned to the investigation almost immediately. He stressed that this decision was somewhat alarming.
Cross noted that the detective was promoted to sergeant only three years ago and quickly moved from patrol duties to a homicide assignment.
He highlighted that the initial errors originated from leadership failures, suggesting that a greater level of background experience was necessary for something as intricate as this case.
“I’m not sure why command thought he was a suitable choice for the unit, especially considering he hadn’t actually handled a murder case prior,” Cross remarked.
He directly attributed blame to Sheriff Nanos, who recently faced a $176 million lawsuit for alleged incompetence in another matter, criticizing that such decisions were “nearly unheard of” before Nanos’ tenure.
Cross pointed out that learning the ins and outs of such investigations can’t be rushed.
He mentioned that in the early stages, poor communication among investigators led to redundancy in their efforts.
“The issue was that we didn’t have a clear overview of who was interacting with whom, resulting in a lot of duplicated efforts,” he explained. “It felt like the scene was abandoned too quickly, returned to the family right after.”
Cross also referenced a known tension between local investigators and the FBI, although it’s unclear how significantly that impacted the investigation.
Click here for the latest information on Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother Nancy Guthrie
Cross commented on the minimal outreach to the public, stating that if someone were to drive into Tucson now, they wouldn’t really know a crime had occurred apart from a single billboard on the highway.
“There haven’t been any posters or flyers circulated, aside from a few YouTubers who took an interest recently,” he added.
He observed that the department’s connections within the Tucson community appear to be lacking.
“In situations like this, street detectives typically engage with local crime circles,” Cross noted.
“It’s important to understand that Tucson has this blend of being both big and somewhat small, creating a disconnect among people.”
He reminisced about how street detectives used to actively gather information by mingling, suggesting that criminals tend to communicate among themselves.
Nancy Guthrie was last spotted on January 31st, when her family dropped her off at home.
Attempts to reach Sheriff Nanos for a comment were unsuccessful.
