Since the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, there have been questions about who was responsible. Police have now released photos and surveillance video of the suspect, and DNA evidence is being examined, but rumors continue to spread to the family, especially Guthrie’s brother-in-law, Tomasso Cioni. Some even called him a suspect early in the investigation because he was the last person to see Nancy Guthrie before she disappeared.
But police confirmed that neither Sione nor anyone in his family was suspected of involvement. “To be clear… the Guthrie family – including all siblings and spouses – have been ruled out as possible suspects,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said in a statement on Feb. 16. “The family has been cooperative and amicable and is a victim of this case.”
More from StyleCaster
Related: Who are Savannah Guthrie’s siblings?
The statement went on to say that it was more than that. “To suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is cruel,” he added. “The Guthrie family are the obvious victims. I implore you, the media, to respect your profession and report with some compassion and professionalism.”
This speculation has much to do with the fact that Nancy Guthrie disappeared between the night of January 31 and the morning of February 1, and was last seen by her daughter Annie Guthrie and her husband Tommaso Cioni. Police even searched their house after they disappeared. But clues pointed the other way from the start.
But the media machine and social media immediately jumped to their own conclusions. Rob Schuette said the conclusions added to the family’s pain. “Tommaso deserves a public apology,” a family insider told reporters. “His name has been dragged through the mud for no reason.”
“People drew close and turned it into a conspiracy,” one media source said. “That’s not journalism. That’s dangerous.” Then it all got amplified by social media in a way that was difficult to control.
The attitude of law enforcement agencies is now clear. But what does that mean for those who initially made the accusations and continued to peddle them while police focused their attention elsewhere? “Quietly clearing someone out doesn’t undo the tremendous damage,” an insider told Shute. “If you confront him publicly, you should publicly clear his name. Legal action is imminent.”
But now the focus is on finding Nancy Guthrie. The rest will have to wait.
“They’re heartbroken,” the source added, “but they’re innocent.”
The FBI is offering a reward for information leading to Guthrie’s recovery or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance. “Today, the FBI is increasing the reward to $100,000 for information leading to the whereabouts of Nancy Guthrie and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance,” FBI Phoenix wrote in a statement shared on social media on Thursday. “New identifying details of the suspect in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie have been identified following a forensic analysis of doorbell camera footage by the FBI Operations Technology Unit.”
Best StyleCaster
Sign up for Stylecaster’s newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.