The Pima County Sheriff’s Office says residents should expect continued law enforcement activity as the search for Nancy Guthrie enters its 14th day. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told Fox News on Saturday that investigators will maintain a visible presence in the community while pursuing leads, The New York Post reported.
“Every day moving forward, there will be a lot of police activity throughout the community. As to what level of activity that is depends on what lead they chase and how it develops,” Nanos said.
He said leads originate at the command post and are assigned to field investigators as necessary.
“These leads start in the command post and move to the field as needed. That is one reason you’re seeing activity build up as the day goes on that can ultimately lead to a search warrant looking for Nancy and any suspect involved,” he said.
The increased activity follows two separate investigations late Friday that resulted in at least three people being detained, including at a Tucson residence that was searched by authorities.
All individuals taken into custody were later released after questioning.
David Curl, a retired lawyer who lives next door to the property that was searched, told The New York Times that investigators arrived around 6 p.m. Friday with a search warrant.
Curl said the woman who lives at the residence, an older homeowner who resides there with her son, was home alone when authorities arrived and was not permitted to reenter the house during the search.
She stayed overnight at Curl’s home, he said. Investigators left the property early Saturday morning.
Curl told the Times that a copy of a federal search warrant referencing the Guthrie case was found inside the home when he accompanied his neighbor back to lock up.
“She had no idea what they were asking about,” Curl said. “She had no information about the disappearance or any idea why they were focusing on their house…she’s really distraught.”
Curl said the woman’s son was also questioned by authorities and later released. Law enforcement has not publicly detailed how the search is connected to Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.
Nanos told Fox News he was not present at the scene, but added that detentions are standard procedure when officers execute a search warrant.
“I was not at the scene and I’m sure people were detained but no one was arrested and more importantly…no sign of Nancy was found,” Nanos said.
Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her Tucson home on Jan. 31. Authorities have received more than 32,000 tips since her disappearance, but no arrests have been made.
Nanos is rejecting claims that he is blocking the FBI from accessing critical evidence in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. The sheriff told KVOA that accusations that he is restricting federal access are “not even close to the truth.”
The dispute centers on forensic evidence recovered from Guthrie’s Tucson home. Investigators believe she was taken against her will in the early morning hours of Feb. 1. Blood drops matching her DNA were found near the front entrance.
Surveillance data showed her doorbell camera disconnecting at 1:47 a.m., motion detected shortly after and her pacemaker app losing connection around 2:28 a.m.
Her cellphone, Apple Watch, and life-sustaining medication were left behind.
A federal law enforcement source previously told Fox News Digital that the FBI requested access to specific items, including a glove and DNA evidence collected inside the home, so they could be processed at the bureau’s national crime laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.
According to the source, Nanos pushed instead to have the evidence analyzed by a private forensic lab in Florida that has worked with the department for years.
Nanos denied sidelining federal authorities. He said the Florida lab is already analyzing DNA profiles from the crime scene and that coordination with the FBI continues.