Members of the Guthrie family have been "cleared" of involvement in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie from her Tucson home, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said Monday.
“To be clear ... the Guthrie family — to include all siblings and spouses — has been cleared as possible suspects in this case," Nanos said in a written statement.
"The family has been nothing but cooperative and gracious and are victims in this case," he said. "To suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is cruel. The Guthrie family are victims plain and simple."
Sheriff Chris Nanos, seen here at a news conference earlier this month, said on Monday that members of the Guthrie family have been cleared as potential suspects in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing Feb. 1, launching an ongoing massive search and a criminal investigation by the Sheriff's Department and the FBI.
Nanos in Monday's statement went on to chastise news outlets speculating on the potential of family involvement in the case that has garnered worldwide attention.
Nancy Guthrie
"Please, I’m begging you the media to honor your profession and report with some sense of compassion and professionalism.”
Guthrie, the mother of NBC “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, was last seen the night of Jan. 31, when she was returned to her Catalina Foothills home after dinner with her family.
The FBI released surveillance videos of a masked man wearing a handgun holster outside Nancy Guthrie’s front door the night she vanished.
Also on Monday, Nanos told The Associated Press in a text message that the suspect's “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack” is the only clothing item that has been “definitively identified” in the case.
“This backpack is exclusive to Walmart and we are working with Walmart management to develop further leads,” Nanos said.
This combo from images shows surveillance footage at the home of Nancy Guthrie the night she went missing from her home in Tucson. The FBI says the man captured in the footage is about 5 feet, 9 inches tall with a medium build.
The suspect's clothing “may have been purchased from Walmart but is not exclusively available at Walmart,” the Pima County Sheriff's Department said in a statement Monday. “This remains a possibility only.”
On Sunday, investigators said a glove discovered near Nancy Guthrie's home has been sent for DNA testing. The FBI said that it received preliminary results Saturday and was awaiting official confirmation.
The investigation is entering its third week.
The FBI said the suspect in the surveillance footage captured from a security camera at Guthrie's front door is a man about 5 feet, 9 inches tall with a medium build.
Police in the US say a man has been questioned after the FBI released new video of a suspect in the abduction of Nancy Guthrie.
