Nancy Guthrie Case Update: Sheriff Keeps All Suspects on Radar as Arrested Man Plans Legal Action

TUCSON, Ariz. — Just days before a man formerly implicated in the Nancy Guthrie case filed a $3.25 million claim against local authorities, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos backed the evidence that led the investigation to his doorstep. He pointed out that a judge had signed off on the probable cause for the search warrant, emphasizing that no one has been definitively cleared as a suspect.

“From the evidence we’ve compiled—including DNA, assorted videos, and other materials—yeah, we can temporarily eliminate suspects,” Nanos remarked to News Media during a candid interview conducted on Thursday. “Right, so this elimination is part of the process. But like in any criminal investigation, being eliminated now doesn’t mean you didn’t do it. It doesn’t mean that more information won’t surface later.”

In his comments before news of the impending legal action reached the public, Sheriff Nanos stood by the search warrants executed earlier in the investigation, even though these efforts didn’t culminate in any arrests.

“We had compelling information suggesting either Nancy was potentially at the location, or that a suspect might be present,” he clarified. “We presented this evidence to a judge who evaluated it and said, ‘All right, proceed with the warrant.’”

Guthrie is the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie and is dependent on heart medication, putting pressure on law enforcement early in the investigation to try and find her as quickly as possible.

“We go in, oh, now we look at it and go, ‘all right, she’s not here.’ That was evident,” the sheriff added. “That was No. 1. And we’ve talked to these individuals, and they’ve given us an alibi, if you will, or whatever, to say, ‘Hey. We feel comfortable in letting them go and not charging them.’”

The first publicly identified person detained was Rio Rico delivery driver Carlos Palazuelos, 60 miles south of Tucson. He has not been charged with a crime. Days later, police also detained and released a man named Luke Daly, a felon who was facing unrelated drug charges at the time. Neither has been arrested nor charged in connection with Guthrie’s abduction.

“They’re ruled for now, but what if somebody comes up and says, ‘Hey, this guy said such and such, such and so that he did that — and it’s one of the guys we looked [at] back in the past?” Nanos said.

And that doesn’t just apply to the men who were detained and released. New evidence could put anyone back in the investigation’s focus, Nanos said.

“I think I early on said, ‘Look, there is no suspects. The family is not suspects. They’re not,” he told News Media. “Now, does that mean that ends it forever? No. What happens if next week somebody calls and says, ‘Hey, a family member did this, and here’s how I know it’? You know that always opens a door.”

Palazuelos recently served a notice of claim against the sheriff’s department seeking $3.25 million over his ordeal.

In the filing, a precursor to a lawsuit, he and his in-laws allege that he was targeted without probable cause, arrested without being given a reason and held for hours before police released him without charges while damaging the home where they all live during a search warrant execution.

The filing, first reported by the local ABC 15 Arizona, alleges that the warrant that named Palazuelos was obtained with “false or baseless evidence.” It also points to a tweet from the sheriff’s department that stated a “suspect” had been detained.

The warrant itself has not been made public, and Palazuelos is not currently considered a suspect in the case.

Daly is not involved in Palazuelos’ legal action.

No suspect has been publicly identified in connection with Guthrie’s Feb. 1 abduction, but the sheriff said investigators are still sorting through piles of evidence.

“We’re not even close to these leads being dried up,” he said. “We’ll continue to work them.”

And while Nanos said he’s optimistic that the case will be resolved as analysis of DNA and video evidence continues, the sheriff is still urging anyone with information to come forward.

“We believe, just as the family does, just as Savannah does, somebody knows something,” he said. “We need that person to call us.”

The family is urging anyone with information to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI.

An anonymous reward can be claimed by calling 520-88-CRIME with information that leads to an arrest.