Nancy Guthrie sheriff blew probe due to ego and incompetence: ex-NYPD cop

Embattled Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has blown the investigation into Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother thanks to a combination of “ego, incompetence, and politics,” a former NYPD investigator told The Post — adding there is no way the top cop can keep his job.Nanos, who has been front and center in the high-profile hunt for Nancy Guthrie, 84, since her puzzling disappearance on Feb.1, has been accused of bungling the case, while alienating his fellow officers, the general public and the media.“He’s made this whole case about himself,” said Michael Gould, a founding member of the NYPD’s K-9 unit and a retired commanding officer of Nassau County Police’s K-9 unit.“It could be only one of these three things: ego, incompetence, or politics, because he’s running for office,” the search and recovery expert told The Post.In the early days of the Guthrie probe, Nanos, a highly experienced police officer, held regular press conferences where he alone fielded questions, putting “flashing lights” on his back, as Gould put it.“I’ve been an outspoken critic of his from the very first few press conferences,” Gould said.

“He should have assigned a public information officer to go out in front of the press to confirm or deny certain things.”In recent weeks, Nanos has faced a barrage of criticism for cherry-picking sympathetic reporters for one-off interviews.“It’s almost like he’s intentionally trying to cloud the issues because you never get a straight answer, Gould added.“He’s been ambiguous from day one.

The community doesn’t know if there’s a serial killer running around.”“My biggest trigger was when he started to blame the general public and the media,” he said.“The straw that broke the camel’s back for me was when he said the cadaver dogs are on hold.What does that mean? It either implies she’s alive or they’re not looking for her anymore.

Why wouldn’t you answer the question?” Gould said.The for...