The Pima County Sheriff’s Department declined an offer of assistance from a volunteer search-and-rescue organization seeking to find Nancy Guthrie, who disappeared in February from her Tucson, Arizona, home. Brian Trascher, vice president of the United Cajun Navy, stated that his group was prepared to deploy K-9s and drone teams to aid in the search for the 84-year-old matriarch.
Trascher told News Nation that his organization believed there was a strong possibility Ms. Guthrie could have ended up near the border and possessed "good resources" that could have been brought to the area. He indicated that the offer of help was not accepted by local authorities. "For some reason, they just decided they were not going to take the outside help. So we just kind of went back to what we're doing," Trascher said.
He characterized the department's refusal of outside assistance as a broader decision within the Pima County Sheriff’s Office concerning the ongoing search. The sheriff's office did not respond to requests for comment.
This development is the latest in a series of controversies surrounding the investigation into Ms. Guthrie's disappearance. Sheriff Chris Nanos has faced criticism regarding his handling of the case, with some alleging that leads were missed. Critics have also pointed to the sheriff's department's decision to release the Guthrie home shortly after her disappearance and to send DNA evidence to a private lab instead of the FBI for testing.