As the manhunt for Nancy Guthrie hits its 50th day on Sunday, leaving a local sheriff desperate and embarrassed, a cold case investigator insisted to The Post that the case is still ripe for leads.
“Nancy’s case is still fresh,” said Brian Martin, a Fort Payne, Ind., detective who helped catch the killer of 8-year-old April Tinsley nearly 30 years after she was killed.
Martin said he hopes law enforcement will search for the abductor of 84-year-old “Today” mom Savannah Guthrie, after Nancy disappeared without a trace from her home near Tucson, Ariz., on Feb. 1.
The detective said his money is still in the DNA.
“I am sure that they have evidence that may have been present at the scene of the incident and was abroad, which means that this is something that would not have been in his home, and this is something that may have been left by the suspect,” he said.
Martin added that this case is far, far from cold.
“A lot of times agencies won’t pursue a case until it’s dead and there’s no evidence after three years. I wouldn’t consider Nancy Guthrie. [case to be cold] now,” he said.
Frustrated locals don’t share Martin’s hope: The recall effort continues for Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos after 50 harrowing days of false alarms, deadly leads and refusal to let the FBI take over.
Investigators obtained clear images of at least one masked, armed suspect disabling Guthrie’s security doorbell camera.
They also found suspicious DNA samples from inside his home and from a glove matching the suspect’s description that was discarded nearby.
Police arrested and questioned several persons of interest based on anonymous tips and cell phone records. Two of those people were driving model cars that the sheriff found suspicious.
However, both were soon released and charges were cleared, as were Guthrie’s daughter Anne and her son-in-law Tommaso Cioni, after the couple endured weeks of public accusations from whistleblowers and neophyte academics.
As for the suspicious glove, it apparently belongs to the owner of the nearby restaurant where it was found.
Testing the remaining DNA samples could take a year, Nanos revealed last month.
Existing DNA samples have failed to match anyone in the state’s CODIS database of people who have been arrested, charged or otherwise investigated.
The County Sheriff’s Office said it is “looking at other genetic options to investigate the DNA samples collected at the scene.”
Genealogy uses an advanced method where investigators try to identify a relative, even one as distant as a great aunt or second cousin, and build a family tree that leads to a suspect.
The program uses public databases like GEDMatch, an open source platform where millions of people have uploaded their data from private services to connect with birth parents or find out more about their genealogy.
Martin and his team used a genetic technique to find the unknown killer of April Tinsley: John Miller, who escaped from the police for decades after attacking and killing the child in 1988.
“We were pushing 30 years of investigative techniques, good old fashioned police work. Then with the development of the genealogy, in just six weeks, we cleared the TINsley case,” said Martin.
Meanwhile, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings continue to plead for their mother’s return.
“We continue to believe that it is Tucsonans, and the greater community of southern Arizona, who hold the key to finding a solution to this case,” the family said in the latest statement Saturday.
