The Arizona sheriff's department, leading the investigation for 'Today' host Savannah Guthrie's missing mother, is reportedly refusing to hand over key evidence to the FBI, according to a federal source. Authorities searching the desert near Nancy Guthrie's $1 million home in the Catalina Foothills area of Tucson found a black glove on Wednesday.
Investigators believe it closely resembles the one worn by the suspected kidnapper seen in doorbell camera footage. Federal officials have since asked Chris Nanos, the Pima County sheriff, to turn over the glove along with DNA evidence collected inside Nancy's home. The FBI wants the materials sent to its national crime lab in Quantico for further analysis.
Internal Rivalry
However, the sheriff's department has not yet granted access to the evidence, a federal law enforcement official told Reuters. Nanos turned down the FBI's request and chose instead to send the evidence to a private laboratory in Florida for testing.
The official warned that "It risks further slowing a case that grows more urgent by the minute," arguing that the Pima County Sheriff's Department has already spent about $200,000 sending evidence to the Florida lab it works with.
He also took aim at what he described as earlier missteps in the investigation and faulted Sheriff Chris Nanos for not bringing in the FBI for help sooner.
"It's clear the fastest path to answers is leveraging federal resources and technology," the official said. "Anything less only prolongs the Guthrie family's grief and the community's wait for justice."
This came as federal agents shared new details about the man seen on Nancy's surveillance footage from the night she disappeared, saying the goal is to help narrow and sharpen the flood of tips coming in from the public.
Officials said the updated description is intended to focus those leads more effectively. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, more than 13,000 tips had already been received as of Thursday, after the mother of three vanished in the early hours of February 1.
Kidnapper's Description Revealed
The suspected kidnapper is a man believed to be between 5'9" and 5'10" tall with an average build, according to the FBI Phoenix Office. Investigators also noted that, in the doorbell camera footage, he was carrying a black 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack.
"We hope this updated description will help concentrate the public tips we are receiving. Since February 1, 2026, the FBI has collected over 13,000 tips from the public related to this case," the FBI said in the statement.
The FBI added that every tip it receives is carefully reviewed to assess its credibility, with agents deciding how the information can be followed up on and used by law enforcement.
"Media outlets should direct tips they receive to the FBI. Additionally, we do not comment on tips and information we receive regarding ongoing investigations," the bureau added.
Last Thursday, the FBI said it is offering a reward of up to $50,000 to anyone who provides information that helps locate Nancy or leads to the arrest of the person suspected of abducting her.
Nancy was last seen at her home in Tucson on January 31. She had just returned from dinner with her daughter, Annie Guthrie, and her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, who dropped her off that evening.
