The Democrat sheriff running the investigation into the disappearance of NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy, made a critical error due to his own ego, which has hampered the investigation.
The Daily Mail reported on Friday that the Pima County Sheriff’s Office failed to launch its Cessna aircraft, equipped with high-resolution thermal-imaging cameras, for several hours.
This was reportedly due to a staffing shortage and lack of pilots, thanks to Sheriff Chris Nanos.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Deputies Association president, Sgt. Aaron Crossm, told The Daily Mail that possible pilots for the aircraft were moved to another unit before Nancy’s disappearance.
Fox News secured a statement that the pilot of Pima County’s high-tech search aircraft had been disciplined following an argument with Nanos. He was reassigned to street patrol as a punishment despite appealing the decision to the sheriff.
As a result, the aircraft’s takeoff was delayed by several hours after Guthrie was reported missing around noon Sunday.
“Three hours in a search for a vulnerable adult is an eternity,” a law enforcement source told Fox News.
The aircraft was eventually launched at 5 pm.
The Pima County Deputies Organization criticized the decision to reassign the pilot and noted that it was part of a pattern of failed leadership decisions by Nanos.
While failing to launch the aircraft on time was the biggest error Nanos was responsible for, there was another inexcusable one during the search for Nancy Guthrie.
According to the Arizona Republic, Nanos admitted that his department released Guthrie’s home as a crime scene too quickly, then returned days later to recover additional evidence.
Nanos said that the scene should have remained secured longer, and other agencies should have been called in earlier.
Hellbound and Down 