What To Know
- A retired lieutenant Dave Smith said evidence is hard to find due to the challenging Arizona desert landscape.
- Law enforcement has not identified any suspects or made arrests since Nancy went missing from her Tucson home on February 1.
- Smith theorizes that Nancy may have been taken to Mexico.
A retired lieutenant with the Arizona Department of Public Safety has explained why the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie is proving so difficult for law enforcement.
Dave Smith, who now works as a law enforcement consultant, spoke with Fox News Digital about the case, noting how the desert landscape in Arizona makes it difficult to find evidence.
“The whole Tucson Valley is literally built around these arroyos, these ephemeral rivers,” he told the outlet. “This is literally your green belt here, only instead of parks and things like the rest of the nation has, we have this wonderful desert area. But again, it works between houses. It’s like a giant alley through the neighborhoods.”
He continued, “The evidence is transitory. Once it rains, your footprints go away, the sun is hard on other forms of evidence, and frankly, this is a tough place to investigate crimes.”
Nancy, the 84-year-old mother of Today’s Savannah Guthrie, has been missing since February 1, when police believe she was abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona. While investigators have released doorbell camera footage of a masked suspect and a description of that individual, no suspects have been named.
Smith also shared a theory that Nancy could have been taken across the border to Mexico, pointing out how the suspect captured in the doorbell footage appeared to have his pistol holstered “Mexican carry” style.
“My first thought is always Mexico in a major crime, because it’s a great haven, and it’s hard for us to follow up on,” he explained. “But in this case, obviously, somebody was taken with intent. And I think that that’s why we need to wonder, perhaps, was she taken to Mexico?”
Smith added that the local Pima County Sheriff’s Department might have played down the Mexico connection to keep the FBI from taking over the investigation.
“My personal theory is, if Mexico was suspected, that would make it a federal investigation,” he stated. “There seemed to be a great deal of effort to keep the feds out of this case. And the best way to do it was to deny any possibility of interstate or international transport of the person’s body or kidnapped.”
Smith also noted that Nancy’s Catalina Foothills neighborhood is only about 60 miles from the border town of Nogales. “You cross that border, on the Arizona side, it’s a small town, relatively small town,” he said. “You cross that border, it’s major urban area, 300,000 people.”