The investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapping remains ongoing

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos; Nancy Guthrie and Savannah Guthrie.Credit : Jan Sonnenmair/Getty; Don Arnold/WireImage

An Arizona sheriff addressed accusations that his department has refused to allow the FBI to test key evidence in the high-profile Nancy Guthrie kidnapping case.

Reuters first reported, citing a source close to the investigation, that Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos insisted on using a private lab in Florida instead of the FBI’s lab in Quantico, Va., to test a glove and DNA connected to the case.

But in an interview published Friday, Feb. 13, Nanos told local news station KVOA that the claims are “not even close to the truth,” adding that the FBI agreed with his decision.

“Actually the FBI just wanted to send the one or two they found by the crime scene, closest to it – mile, mile and a half . . . I said ‘No, why do that? Let’s just send them all to where all the DNA exist, all the profiles and the markers exist.’ They agreed, makes sense.” Nanos said, per the station.

Nanos added, “We don’t even know the true value of these gloves.”

In a statement shared Thursday, Feb. 13, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said only that investigators recovered “several items of evidence, including gloves” that were “submitted for analysis.” Nanos also previously confirmed that blood found on the exterior porch of Nancy’s home matches her DNA.

Nanos’ department told PEOPLE on Wednesday, Feb. 12 that the investigation “is still operating” on the belief “that Nancy is alive.” The FBI issued a similar statement the following day.

Law enforcement officials believe the mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie was kidnapped from her Tucson, Ariz., home early in the morning hours of Feb. 1. She was last seen on the evening of Jan. 31 and her family reported her missing after being told Nancy did not meet up with friends for a church livestream.

Nancy has been the subject of an intense search involving local and federal authorities ever since. According to the sheriff, she has limited mobility and has been without her daily medication needed to survive.

Earlier in the week, the FBI released surveillance footage of a masked and “armed” person appearing to tamper with a Nest camera at Nancy’s front door on the morning of her kidnapping.

Nest Camera footage from home of Nancy Guthrie.Pima County Sheriff’s Department (2)

Two days later, the FBI shared additional details about the person they say is a suspect, based on the FBI’s Operational Technology Division’s “forensic analysis” of the doorbell camera footage.

“The suspect is described as a male, approximately 5’9” – 5’10” tall, with an average build. In the video, he is wearing a black, 25-liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack,” the FBI Phoenix said in a post on X.

In an Instagram post that Savannah shared of the armed individual who came to her mother’s door, she wrote, “Someone out there recognizes him. We believe she is still out there. Bring her home.”

Since Nancy went missing, multiple alleged ransom notes have been sent to local media outlets. An initial deadline was reportedly set for 5 p.m. on Feb. 5 and a second for 5 p.m. on Feb. 9, which has since passed without communication between the Guthrie family and Nancy’s suspected kidnappers, an FBI Phoenix spokesperson previously told PEOPLE.

Nancy Guthrie missing poster.Pima County Sheriff Dept

Amid the investigation, multiple searches at the homes of Nancy and her other daughter Annie Guthrie have taken place. As of Wednesday Feb. 12, authorities have reached out to Ring doorbell camera users located near Nancy’s home for footage from specific dates, including one 20 days prior to Nancy’s abduction, PEOPLE confirmed.

They are also looking into a lead involving a “suspicious vehicle” that had been spotted in the vicinity, a neighbor told PEOPLE.

The FBI is now offering a $100,000 reward for any information leading to Nancy’s recovery or an arrest in the case.