Transcription
possible new lead in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
"Oh, hopefully this is going to find her. I don't know. Dan Bowens, what do you know? Could it help crack the case?"
"Well, we hope so. Rosanna and Jerry, there's been no shortage of tips. Tens of thousands, in fact. But investigators say meaningful leads, yeah, they've been hard to come by, even after the family offered that $1 million reward earlier this week. Now, there is a new video that could provide a fresh clue. Let's take a look. The images here obtained by Fox Digital. A Ring doorbell camera about 2 miles from Guthri's Arizona home captured several cars that were passing through the area that same night, the same night that she disappeared. Investigators say at least 12 vehicles drove by between midnight and 6:00 a.m. on February 1st, with some seen around 2:30 a.m., right around the time the 84-year-old's pacemaker last synced with her phone. Now, the Pima County Sheriff's Department says it is aware of the video and is taking steps to review it. Unclear if they knew about it before or if it's something they're just now seeing. Maybe they can slow down those images, possibly to get any kind of details from those vehicles as they drive by. Will it lead to something? We'll find out."
"Well, with a lack of physical evidence, many experts believe investigators will also now be focusing on digital clues like cell phone."
"Tomasochi has not said a single word publicly since his mother-in-law vanished. Not one interview, not one statement, not one video, not one post. His wife Annie appeared on camera with Savannah and Cameron on day five pleading with the kidnapper. She was there. Tomaso was not. Savannah has posted video after video. She has begged. She has cried. She has offered a million dollars. Cameron flew in from out of state. Church members organized searches. Strangers drove from other states to help. Tomaso Chioni, the last person to see Nancy Guthrie alive, has said nothing. And a journalist with 36 years of experience, has called him the prime suspect. And the sheriff knows about it. And the sheriff cleared him anyway."
"Are you actively investigating the the son-in-law in this case? I know there are reports earlier this week and you refuted that. You said you haven't eliminated everybody."
"Have you eliminated him or come close to it or are you actively looking at him?"
"We're actively looking at everybody we come across in this case. everybody. Uh it it it it we would be irresponsible if we didn't talk to everybody. The the Uber driver, the the the gardener, the pool person, whoever, everybody. It's so cliche, but everybody's still a suspect in our eyes. That's just how we look at things and think as as cops. Does that mean we have a prime suspect? No. And and and the family has been very cooperative. uh very they've they've they've done everything we've asked of them and and we want that relationship to continue. Um and sometimes people can be mean out there and and and that can really harm us and harm our efforts."
"And the journalist refused to retract and the family threatened to sue her and she still will not take it back. This is what nobody else is telling you. who called him prime suspect."
"Investigation on day three, my source said to me, high-level source said to me that they have towed the sister and brother-in-law's car and that the nest cameras were smashed, that the back door was left open, that there was blood in the house, forced entry, and that the brother-in-law may be the prime suspect. Now, that was on day three. So, why is it that that may have been the focus on day three? You're going to hear some incredible analysis as to why these investigations ebb and flow, how that is 100% possible and how it is entirely possible it can change as well. I think you'll remember I said that a lot of times they can change their minds depending on where the investigation takes them. But some big key factors of what happened on day one and day two that may have led to something called confirmation bias. We're going to talk about that in a minute as well. And then the DNA. Everybody's waiting on the DNA from that glove from 2 miles away. The glove that looked like the glove on the ring cam. Does it match? Does it match the DNA inside the house? Is it going to take them anywhere? Is it just someone's glove? Going to talk about why it's taking longer than it should and if that's such a bad thing it might be."
"On February 4th, 2026, Ashley Banfield looked into her microphone on her podcast, Drop Dead Serious, and said, 'My law enforcement source tells me that Tomaso Chion is the prime suspect in this case.' Ashley Banfield is not a Tik Tok detective. She is not a Reddit sleuth. She covered 9/11 from ground zero for MSNBC. She anchored prime time on CNN. She hosted a show on NewsNation for 5 years before leaving to go independent in January 2025. She said a trusted law enforcement source told her that Annie Guthrie's car had been towed and impounded. She said there was some connection between the car and Annie's husband, Tomaso Chion. She described her source as very connected, highly regarded with impeccable credentials. She then walked it back slightly on the same episode. She said, 'At the very least, let me tamp that down because sometimes it is the first person you are looking at, not Prime as in there is no one else.' She compared it to Ed Smart, sis Elizabeth Smart's father, who was wrongly suspected before his daughter was found alive. But the name was out and it has not left the conversation since. The sheriff is aware. The Puma County Sheriff's Department did not ignore Banfield's claim. They came out swinging on February 4th, hours after the podcast aired. They issued a statement. 'At this point, investigators have not identified a suspect or person of interest in this case. While we appreciate the public's concern, the sharing of unverified accusations or false information is irresponsible and does not assist the investigation.' On February 6th, Sheriff Chris Nanos went further at a press conference. He said, 'We do not have anybody here listed as a suspect.' And then he said something important. 'Nobody is eliminated.' But he added, 'It is really kind of reckless to report that someone is a suspect when they could very well be a victim.' The sheriff was aware. He called it reckless. He called it irresponsible. He pushed back publicly, forcefully, and immediately. And then 10 days later, he did something that nobody has been able to explain. The 10-day shift February 6th, Sheriff Nano says nobody is eliminated. February 16th. Sheriff Nano says the Guthrie family, to include all siblings and spouses, has been cleared as possible suspects in this case. The family has been nothing but cooperative and gracious and are victims in this case. To suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is cruel.' In 10 days, the sheriff went from nobody is eliminated to the family is cleared. That is not a continuation of the same position. That is a reversal. What happened in those 10 days? No new evidence was announced. The DNA from the crime scene was still being processed at a private lab in Florida. The sheriff himself told NBC News there had been a snag at the lab. The glove DNA found 2 miles away did not match anyone in the family, but that only eliminates the family from the glove, not from the crime. The family was cleared before the DNA came back, before any suspect was identified, before any arrest was made. The sheriff has never explained what changed. Banfield refused to retract after the sheriff called her reckless. Banfield did not apologize. She did not clarify. She did not walk it back. On February 12th, she went on Dan Abrams SiriusXM show and doubled down. She told Abrams, 'I can tell you that my source every day since has stood by that reporting.' And that is the thinking as of the day after Mrs. Guthrie was reported missing. She listed what she said was corroborating evidence. Annie's car was towed and is in evidence that has borne out. She said the cameras were smashed. Glass fragments were found under the front camera. When the sheriff cleared the family on February 16th, Banfield's response was two words, 'Nothing's changed.' She said her source told her that things have really tightened up inside the sheriff's department, that officials were worried about retaliation because of the leak. And then she quoted her source directly, 'When they take shots at you, you are yoisa.' Standing on the target, the Guthrie family began exploring legal action against her. A source close to the family told columnist Rob Shooter, 'You cannot float accusations like that and hide behind disclaimers.' This dragged innocent people into a nightmare. Dan Abrams asked her directly about the lawsuit threats. He said, 'You have gotten a lot of heat over this and including suggestions. Oh, there are going to be lawsuits or this or that. Have you heard from anyone directly?' She did not flinch. She did not retract. She doubled down again. A journalist facing legal threats from one of the most powerful media families in America. And she will not take back a single word. Either she is sitting on the biggest lead in this case or she is destroying an innocent man's life for podcast downloads."
"Megan Kelly and the FBI agent backed her up. Banfield was not alone. Megan Kelly, the former Fox News and NBC anchor, said on her Sirius XM show, 'The reason they are going back to Annie's and Tomzo's house all the time, I think, is they are wondering if they had anything to do with it. I just do not understand why you would be interviewing the neighbors over and over and over.' Kelly said investigators were searching for evidence of a phone at Annie and Tomaso's home. She said it would be inappropriate not to scrutinize the last person known to have seen Nancy alive. And then Jonathan Gileiam, a former FBI special agent, appeared on the Will Ka show on Fox News on the same day the sheriff cleared the family. Gileiam warned that the sheriff's clearance statement may be emotional and personal rather than factual. He said, 'Unless they know who was in that house, they cannot clear anyone.' Three people with credentials, three separate platforms, all saying the same thing. The sheriff moved too fast. The sheriff's response to all three, calling the speculation cruel. Why won't he talk? This is the question in the title, and it deserves an honest answer."
"Tomaso Gon has not given a single public interview, statement, or appearance since Nancy disappeared. His wife Annie appeared in the family's video plea on day five. Savannah has posted dozens of videos. 'Um, I'm going on to say it is day 24 since our mom was taken in the dark of night from her bed. And every hour and minute and second and every long night has been agony since then of worrying about her and fearing for her and aching for her and most of all just missing her. Just missing her. We know that millions of you have been praying. So many people have been praying of every faith and no faith at all. Pray for her return. And we feel those prayers. Please keep praying without ceasing. We still believe. We still believe in a miracle. We still believe that she can come home. Hope against hope. As my sister says, we are blowing on the embers of hope. We also know that she may be lost. She may already be gone. She may have already gone home to the Lord that she loves and is dancing in heaven with her mom and her dad and with her beloved brother Pierce and with our daddy. If this is what is to be, then we will accept it. But we need to know where she is. We need her to come home. For that reason, we are offering a family reward of up to $1 million for any information that leads us to her recovery. All of the information about this reward and the details is in the caption below. You can call the 1-800 tip line. You can be anonymous if you want. Someone out there knows something that can bring her home. Somebody knows. And we are begging you to please come forward. Now, we also know that we are not alone in our loss. We know there are millions of families that have suffered with this kind of uncertainty. And for that reason, today we also are donating $500,000 to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for their work in helping families who are coping with loss and actively looking for those who are lost.'"
"Spoken Tomaso. Yes. The last person to see Nancy alive has not."
"Now, here is where fairness matters. There are two possible explanations for his silence, and you deserve to hear both. Explanation one, he is following legal advice. Any competent attorney would tell the last person to see a missing woman alive to say absolutely nothing publicly. This is standard practice in every high-profile case. It is not evidence of guilt. It is evidence of having a lawyer. Scott Peterson gave interviews and it destroyed him at trial. Smart defense attorneys tell their clients to stay silent regardless of whether they are guilty or innocent. Explanation two, he has something to hide. This is what millions of people online believe. They point to the fact that every other family member has spoken. They point to the fact that he drove Nancy home that night. They point to the 4-hour gap between 9:48 p.m. when he dropped her off and 1:47 a.m. when the camera went dead. They point to the 9 hours between 2:28 a.m. when her pacemaker died and noon when someone finally checked on her. Both explanations fit the same set of facts. That is what makes this case so maddening. But there is a third layer to the silence question that nobody is discussing. Tomaso is not just silent to the media. He is silent while his wife's family is being torn apart in public. He is silent while Savannah begs on national television. He is silent while Dominic Evans, his former bandmate, hides in his bedroom because crowds showed up on his street. If Tomaso Chion is innocent, his silence is letting other people absorb damage that he could help deflect. If he is guilty, his silence is the smartest thing he has ever done. And the fact that both of those sentences are equally plausible is exactly why 23,000 people have sent tips and not one of them has ended this case."
"The reason people suspect someone close to Nancy is because the kidnapper knew things that strangers typically do not know. He knew the camera locations inside the house. An insider told Radar Online, 'Whoever this possible abductor is, they went inside the house and knew where those cameras were pointing. They were able to smash the cameras before their motion was visible in the recordings. To do this, it takes a chilling level of intel.' The cameras were installed by Annie's family for her safety. He spent 41 minutes inside. He moved through the house without panic. He found Nancy. He found the cameras. He left with her. That is not the behavior of someone in an unfamiliar environment. He knew the schedule. He arrived after 1:47 a.m. He knew she would be home. He knew she would be alone. That requires either prolonged surveillance or information from someone who knew her routine. No forced entry has been reported, no broken window, no kicked in door. If he did not force his way in, the question is how did he get inside? He may have scouted the home 3 weeks earlier. FBI sources believe the same suspect appeared at Annie's door around January 11th. Former FBI agent Jason Pac told ABC News, 'If it is the same person, it could indicate that the person was there surveilling the place before the abduction.' He called it a more sophisticated type of criminal activity. Someone knew that house. Someone knew Annie's routine. Someone knew where the cameras were. The question is, who told him? Or did he figure it out himself?"
"Everything above sounds damning, but there is significant evidence pointing away from the family. The DNA does not match. Two unknown male profiles were recovered. Neither matches Cion Evans or anyone in the family's known circle. If a family member did this, he would need an accomplice whose DNA is not in any database. The height is wrong. The FBI describes the suspect as 5'9 to 5'10 with an average build. An independent investigator noted that Cion is significantly taller. That is a substantial mismatch. The disguise makes no sense. The suspect wore a ski mask, gloves, and carried a Walmart backpack. If the kidnapper was family, why disguise yourself at a home where you are a regular visitor? The behavior looks like a stranger trying to avoid identification. The family cooperated fully. Nanos has described their cooperation as total from day one. They opened their homes to searches. They participated in interviews. Annie's car was processed voluntarily. The ransom makes no sense from a family member. Demanding $6 million in cryptocurrency through public media channels is extraordinarily risky if you are the one who orchestrated the crime. It is far more consistent with an outside actor. The scouting visit cuts both ways. Someone visited January 11th to case the house. That suggests someone who needed to learn the layout. A son-in-law who visited regularly would not need a separate reconnaissance trip."
"While this debate rages, real lives have been destroyed. Dominic Evans is a school teacher in Tucson. He played drums in a band called Early Black with Tomaso Chion starting in 2007. He met Nancy Guthrie once in 2011 at an Easter egg hunt at her home. After Banfield named Cion, internet sleuths found Evans. They pulled his criminal record, a burglary charge from 1999 when he was in college for stealing a watch and a calculator while drunk. They compared his facial hair and build to the masked suspect. Crowds showed up on his street. His wife, Andrea, told the New York Times they hid in their bedroom with the lights off. He was questioned by investigators for 40 minutes. He has never been contacted again. Sheriff Nano said he is going through hell. 'I do not know what to tell him except he probably should be speaking with some attorneys and sue some of these people for libel.' A man who met the victim once 15 years ago is hiding in his own home because the internet decided he matched a silhouette."
"Today is February 28th, 2026. One month the FBI is pulling personnel out of Tucson. The command post is moving to Phoenix. Annie's home is being returned to the family. Only detectives directly assigned to the case will remain. The reward is over $1.3 million. Tips can be anonymous. The reward can be paid in cash. No ID required. Over 23,000 tips. Between 40,000 and 50,000 leads across all agencies. Zero suspects. Zero arrests. The DNA is still at a private lab in Florida. There has been a snag. An expert has said Nancy likely did not survive beyond 72 hours without her medication. He believes her body will be found within two to five miles of her home. Savannah Guthrie said this week, 'We still believe in a miracle. We also know that she may be lost. She may already be gone.' Banfield has not retracted. Kelly has not stopped. Gileiam has not reversed his position. The lawsuit has not been filed. And the sheriff has never explained what changed between February 6th and February 16th. Tomaso Chioni has still not said a word. A journalist called him prime suspect. The sheriff is aware. He cleared the family anyway. An FBI agent said that was premature. The family is threatening to sue and the journalist will not back down. Meanwhile, Nancy Guthrie is 84 years old. She has a pacemaker and she needs daily medication and she has been gone for one month."
"If you have firsthand knowledge of Nancy Guthrie's whereabouts, contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. That is 1-800-225-5324. Tips can be anonymous. The reward can be paid in cash at a neutral location. No ID required. Total reward over $1.3 million. The audience decides."