Embattled Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has been accused of turning away highly trained “outside help” in the desperate search for still missing Nancy Guthrie, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The United Cajun Navy says it offered to help for “months,” even presenting a “detailed” search strategy, but was repeatedly shut out by Nanos, despite his department’s mounting need for breakthroughs after the elderly woman was taken from her Tucson, Arizona, home in the early hours of February 1.
United Cajun Navy Offered to Deploy ‘K-9 and Drone Teams’ Along the U.S. Mexico Border
Source: NewsNation/YouTube
The USCN had members at the ready to search with drone and dog teams for Nancy Guthrie.
During a June 29 appearance on NewsNation, United Cajun Navy Vice President Brian Trascher claimed to NewsNation‘s Katie Pavlich Tonight (weeknights, 10 p.m. ET) that the Pima County Sheriff’s Office issued a “blanket declination” to accept outside assistance, alleging Nanos rejected offers from his team of highly trained law enforcement officers and combat veterans.
Trascher said the nonprofit UCN could have provided the “ability to deploy K-9 teams and drone teams” in the search for Savannah Guthrie‘s 84-year-old mother.
“We really felt strongly that there was a good chance that she could have ended up somewhere along the border, just because there’s a lot of human remains that get found down there,” he told host Katie Pavlich about the U.S. Mexico border, which lies about 60 miles from Tucson.
United Cajun Navy Hoped to Help Bring the Guthrie Family ‘Closure’
Source: TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle/YouTube
Savannah Guthrie admiited she still ‘cries’ every day on the way to and from work due to the agony of her missing mom.
Trascher said the UCN, which was founded in the aftermath of 2005’s devastating Hurricane Katrina, is made up of “a lot of people who are familiar with the area and are good at searching,” referring to the border.
They hoped to be a “force multiplier” by serving as an “extra set of eyes, ears, hands, and feet” to help bring some sort of “closure” to the Guthrie family.
“It makes it harder when you see Savannah on TV all the time, knowing what she’s going through… Behind her eyes, you can tell she’s really suffering,” Trascher said of the Today co-host trying to soldier on with no trace of her mother for nearly 150 days.
Source: @savannahguthrie/Instagram
Brian Trascher said the USCN has a ‘good track record’ at locating missing persons.
While Trascher said he isn’t privy to how Nanos and his detectives were handling the search for Nancy, he was clear about what the United Cajun Navy could have added to the operation.
“We’re very good at search and rescue. We have a lot of resources we could have brought to the area,” he shared, adding that they also have partner groups the organization works with.
Trascher was especially critical of Nanos turning away his group’s help, as well as other operations, in the critical first few days and weeks after Nancy was kidnapped.
“Early on, when we were closer to the abduction date, it would have been a lot more beneficial,” he said about the UCN having a “good track record” of finding missing persons.
Trascher had to admit, “At this point, I hate to say it, you’d just be looking for remains.”
