During an appearance on the celebrity gossip show, TMZ, the president of the Pima County Deputy’s Organization called out several “missteps” in the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping investigation being handled by the Pima County Sheriff’s Office.
“The big misstep in my opinion and the opinion of many of the detectives and people in the community was just giving up the scene so quickly,” said Sgt. Aaron Cross, who represents the union.
Cross said there was no reason for Guthrie’s family to be allowed back in Guthrie's home so quickly after she disappeared while the case was unsolved.
He also expressed concern about the manner in which detectives were working during the early points of the investigation. Some of the efforts to interview people were duplicative, he said.
“We weren’t accurately tracking who had been spoken to,” said Cross.
RELATED STORY | Ransom note in Nancy Guthrie kidnapping demanded millions in bitcoin
Cross also told TMZ that he felt some of the detectives working on the case had limited experience. He said each had three or fewer years working in the unit.
“You need a lot of time in (the) homicide (unit) to learn. It’s a complicated assignment,” he said.
Cross also expressed frustration that more seasoned detectives had been transferred out of the homicide unit before the case.
“Our two most senior detectives in the homicide unit had been transferred out,” he said.
He explained that he believed that the two detectives were “making the case,” but said their commander “was unhappy with how slowly they were building the case.” As a result, Cross, said, the two detectives were transferred to the cold case unit.
RELATED STORY | 'Do the right thing': Savannah Guthrie makes new plea in search for missing mother
Scripps News reached out to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office for a response but have not yet heard back.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Todd Blanche also responded to questions about the Guthrie investigation during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press.
When asked if the FBI should take the lead in the investigation, he said the agency would continue to be supportive to the local investigators.
“Whether we come in with sharp elbows and take it over – that's not necessarily the right thing to do for her or for anybody,” Blanche said. “But making sure it’s done right and making sure that this investigation is being conducted the way that it should be is something that we’re doing.”
