Nancy Guthrie Update: FBI Makes 'Telling' Moves That Suggest a Major Change

Ever since 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie was presumably kidnapped from her Arizona home on Feb. 1, the Pima County Sheriff's Department has been leading the investigation as authorities search for answers. However, it sounds like that could be changing in the near future.

While the Pima County Sheriff's Department has been leading the way the past several weeks, a former FBI agent has noticed some "telling" moves that seem to suggest the FBI is poised to take over and lead the way in the case.

Pima County Has Been Leading the Way

For the past several weeks, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos and his department have been leading the investigation into Guthrie's apparent kidnapping. Nanos said at one point during the investigation that he had 400 personnel working the case.

However, there has been some controversy with Nanos and the Pima County Sheriff's Department leading the way, and it recently announced plans to scale back the investigation a bit.

On Friday, the department announced that it is returning many officers who had been pulled in from other units to their original posts, scaling back the search for the missing woman. Now, only detectives directly assigned to Guthrie’s case will be involved in the search unless new information or a new lead results in another staffing surge.

“This remains an active investigation and will continue until Nancy Guthrie is located or all leads have been exhausted,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “The Pima County Sheriff’s Department is refocusing resources to detectives specifically assigned to this case. As leads are developed and resolved, resource allocation may fluctuate. PCSD will maintain a patrol presence in the Guthrie neighborhood.”

FBI Makes 'Telling' Moves

While the Pima County Sheriff's Department has been leading the investigation up to this point, the FBI has recently made some moves that one former FBI agent describes as "telling," suggesting that the bureau could be set to take over the investigation.

Jennifer Coffindaffer, a retired FBI Special Agent and former SWAT Team member who now contributes to NewsNation, wrote in a post on X this week that it was becoming obvious that the FBI was taking over to "oversee Nancy's case in a Task Force setting."

Coffindaffer pointed out a few things that led her to this conclusion, including the fact that the public has recently been directed to send all tips directly to the FBI, not to the Pima County Sheriff's Department, the decision to move the headquarters of the case to Phoenix, and Nanos suddenly "taking a backseat in terms of speaking to the press," relying more on press releases and his Public Information Officer for comment.

The retired FBI agent has referred to these changes as "telling" about the direction of the investigation.

The most telling move, however, came last week when federal prosecutors accompanied FBI special agents to the 84-year-old’s home “to continue to support the investigation” into her disappearance. Coffindaffer thinks this is a significant development, as it could indicate that federal authorities are asserting a statute that states if a person who is kidnapped isn’t released in 24 hours, then it is presumed they crossed state lines.

Coffindaffer called this "great news" and said that it is "a pretty darn good indication" that the FBI is taking over the case.

“I think there is a certain amount of incongruency with what has gone on between the sheriff’s office, perhaps, and federal authorities. I think we’re seeing that, and perhaps in some ways, the lack of trust generally in the progress of the case because we are now almost at a month,” Coffindaffer told Newsweek. “It might be time for a change in command and, quite frankly, it might have already happened. When you see the U.S. Attorney’s Office out there, that’s a pretty darn good indication.”

Pima County Will Remain Involved

While Coffindaffer expects that the FBI will be taking over leading the case, if it hasn't done so already, she still expects that local authorities will be heavily involved.

"Look for several Pima County officers to be assigned to the task force," Coffindaffer wrote in a post on X. "They will stay involved, but the overarching case will be the responsibility of the FBI as discussed."

Coffindaffer told Newsweek that the FBI prefers to work in conjunction with local partners rather than shutting them out, and that's

"The FBI does not like to shut out any of their state or local partners, and they're certainly not going to want to do that here. Overall, the bureau wants to work side by side with other law enforcement partners. In Pima County, those officers have the best insight regarding their territory," Coffindaffer told Newsweek.

Coffindaffer wrote on social media that she believes Monday will be the official day of the change.