Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos on Thursday denied allegations that he had blocked FBI evidence, slowing the investigation into the alleged kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie. “Not even close to the truth,” he told NBC affiliate KVOA.

Reuters previously cited an unnamed U.S. law enforcement official as saying the sheriff’s insistence on sending evidence to a crime lab in Florida rather than the FBI facility is impeding progress.

Door camera footage emerged of an armed, masked and gloved person at Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson-area home, and authorities recently discovered gloves in the area that they hope are linked to the alleged kidnapping.

Nanos told the station that he spoke to the FBI early Thursday about sending the gloves to the bureau’s lab, but convinced the agency not to do so.

“Actually, the FBI only wanted to send one or two that they found close to the crime scene, closer to it: mile, mile and a half,” he told KVOA. “…I said, ‘No, why do that? Let’s send them all to where all the DNA, all the profiles and markers exist.’ They agreed, it makes sense.”

The unnamed official in the Reuters article, however, sang a completely different tune.

“It’s clear that the quickest path to answers is to leverage federal resources and technology,” the person said. “Anything less will only prolong the Guthrie family’s pain and the community’s wait for justice.”

In a separate interview with 13News, Nanos said authorities had some “good leads” in the case, but still had no sign of Guthrie.

Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, has not been seen since the evening of January 31.

News has contacted the FBI for comment.

People gather at a prayer vigil for Nancy Guthrie at the entrance to her residence Thursday.
People gather at a prayer vigil for Nancy Guthrie at the entrance to her residence Thursday.

Brandon Bell via Getty Images