Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said at a news conference Thursday afternoon that investigators are “actively pursuing all individuals” as suspects in the mysterious disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie.
When a reporter asked if Nanos was investigating Tommaso Sioni, Nancy’s son-in-law, Nanos replied, “We are actively investigating everyone we met in this case. Everyone. It would be irresponsible not to talk to everyone.”
Nanos confirmed that he spoke with the Uber driver who drove Nancy, 84, to Sioni and his wife Annie Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Arizona, for dinner on Saturday night.
“It’s a very clichéd statement, but to us, everyone is still a suspect. That’s how we look at things, how we think. Does that mean we have a prime suspect? No,” Nanos said, adding that “the family has been very supportive” and that they “did everything” that was asked of them.
“We want this relationship to continue,” he stressed. “Sometimes people can be mean, and that can be very damaging to us and our efforts.”
Nanos said at a press conference that an Uber driver took Nancy to Annie and Sioni’s house for dinner just after 5:30 p.m. local time.
Nanos initially told Us Weekly that Annie was the last person to see Nancy, 56, before she went missing, but later told the New York Times that Cioni drove her back to her home in Catalina Footfills around 9:45 p.m. and left after making sure she arrived safely.
Nano’s said the garage door closed at 9:50 p.m.
Nancy’s doorbell camera disconnected around 1:45 a.m. Sunday, and the software detected a person about 30 minutes later, but there was no video available, Nanos said.
Just before 2:30 a.m., Nancy’s pacemaker was disconnected from the app on her phone.
Around 11 a.m., parishioners from her church called her family to inform them that she had not attended the service that morning, which was unusual.
The family then went looking for Nancy’s home and called 911 just after 12 p.m.
Nanos previously said he and investigators, who include local, state and federal law enforcement officers, believe Nancy was abducted while she was sleeping and was “harmed” in the process.
A trail of blood was seen just outside her front door, and Nanos confirmed Thursday that it was Nancy’s.
The FBI is currently offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to Nancy’s recovery or the arrest and conviction of those responsible for her disappearance.
On Wednesday night, Annie, 56, Today host Savannah, 54, and her brother Camron Guthrie, 61, posted a heartbreaking Instagram video in which their mother publicly implores her alleged captor to return safely.
Annie lamented the “lack of light” in her family’s life without her mother.
“Nancy is our mother. We are her children. She is our lighthouse. She adheres to joy in every situation of life. Even though she has already gone through great trials of pain and sorrow, she chooses joy every day,” she said as her emotional sister held her head.
“We’ll always be just people. We’re just normal people who need our moms. Mom, mom, if you’re listening, we want you to come home. We miss you.”
Mr. Cioni did not appear in the video.
Investigators went to his and Annie’s home Tuesday afternoon and had a two-hour interview, but it’s unclear what was discussed.
It’s unclear when Cioni married into the Guthrie family, but Annie referred to him as her husband in a May 2013 interview with Women’s Quarterly Conversations, and gushed that he was her “greatest teacher” and a “great proclaimer” who “writes poetry with his lifestyle.”
Cioni did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
