Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mom of Today‘s Savannah Guthrie, has been missing since the early hours of February 1, when police believe she was abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona, and over 100 days later, she remains missing with no suspects named.
NewsNation Senior National Correspondent Brian Entin spoke with retired FBI special agent Steve Moore on the latest episode of his Brian Entin Investigates podcast, where the pair discussed the “chaotic” first hours of the investigation and how they might have hindered the case.
Entin revealed that he’d recently spoken with Aaron Cross, a sergeant from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, who described the first week after Nancy went missing as “chaotic.”
“There was a communication breakdown within the department that also bled into communication with the FBI,” Entin said, per Parade, adding that there were also reports of chaos at Nancy’s house, with her family on site.
When asked how a situation like this is supposed to be handled, Moore answered, “You’re not allowed to have confusion at a crime scene like that. Obviously, there’s going to be all sorts of things going on, and people will be confused. But law enforcement coming in, you are the ones who’ve done this all the time. You shouldn’t be acting like this is your first time at a crime scene, or the first time somebody’s been missing.”
He added, “Being confused is not a sign of, ‘This is a really big crime, so we’re confused.’ That’s a sign of inadequate preparation.”
Moore also shared his experience in dealing with family members in such an emotionally heightened situation. “You need to get them in an emotional position where they can provide lucid information,” he explained. “You get them away from the people who are running the case immediately.”
The former FBI agent said the family needs “somebody that is really good with people,” who can instill confidence and get details from family members without making them feel pressured. Meanwhile, the person in charge of the investigation should be in another room gathering all the relevant information.
“They’re able to think about this, saying, ‘What do we have?’ And they’ll get information from investigators. ‘We’ve got blood on the porch. Okay, we’ve got a crime scene.’ Then have somebody set up a perimeter, somebody get evidence response out here on the way now. We need to start interviewing people around the neighborhood. You’re in charge of that. You go to that,” Moore stated.
Based on reports of the investigation’s early hours, Moore said, “It sounds to me like nobody took charge. If there’s confusion, that means nobody’s in charge who knows what they’re doing. Because if you have that person, they know to compartmentalize everything.”
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