Human remains have been found in a desert area outside Tucson, around 15 miles from the home of missing 84\u2011year\u2011old Nancy Guthrie, investigators in Pima County have confirmed.<\/p>\n
The latest discovery came near West Ajo Way and South La Cholla Boulevard, on the south\u2011west edge of the city, where Pima County Sheriff's Department Search and Rescue deputies were called to reports of bones in a remote patch of scrubland.<\/p>\n
The sheriff's office stressed that, at this stage, there is no indication the remains are connected to the Nancy Guthrie investigation. Deputies say the bones appear to have been at the site for an extended period, exposed to the harsh Arizona sun.<\/p>\n
Even so, the find has inevitably sharpened public focus on the long\u2011running search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie, whose disappearance has gripped Arizona for months.<\/p>\n
The Pima County Sheriff's Department said on social media that Search and Rescue teams had responded to 'reports of human remains found in a desert area near West Ajo Way and South La Cholla Boulevard'.<\/p>\n
The bones were located on a hillside marked by saguaro cacti, above a busy four\u2011lane highway in south\u2011west Tucson, close to a small cluster of homes reached by long, private driveways.<\/p>\n
From the roadside, at least three sheriff's vehicles could be seen parked at the top of one such drive, where a wooden sign marked 'private drive' blocked public access. A handful of deputies were observed hiking into the hills, but there was no large visible law enforcement presence.<\/p>\n
PCSD Search & Rescue deputies are responding to reports of human remains found in a desert area near West Ajo Way and South La Cholla Boulevard. At this time, there is no indication they are connected to the Nancy Guthrie investigation. pic.twitter.com\/RQFnm4YR9X<\/p>\n
According to the sheriff's department, the remains appear to have been in the location for some time, consistent with the arid desert environment where sunlight and heat can strip bodies to bone.<\/p>\n
According to TMZ, law enforcement sources described the site as a 'very remote' stretch of desert that required a long hike to reach. One unnamed source was quoted as saying, 'Our boots on the ground say the bones are definitively not Nancy Guthrie.'<\/p>\n
The Pima County Sheriff's Office declined to answer questions about who first found the remains and when they were discovered, or to spell out in detail why investigators felt able to say there was no immediate indication of a link to the Guthrie case.<\/p>\n
This is not the first discovery of human remains in the wider area since the hunt for Nancy Guthrie began. On Thursday 13 August, separate human remains were found in a wash off South Santa Cruz Lane, near Interstate 10 and Silverlake Road.<\/p>\n
The Tucson Police Department said at the time that the remains were mostly bones and appeared to have been in place for an extended period. As of 15 August, those remains were being investigated as a separate case, with officials yet to identify the person.<\/p>\n
At the same time, internal criticism of the Guthrie investigation has spilled into public view. Sergeant Aaron Cross, Pima County union president, has previously flagged what he described as a 'big misstep' and claimed that inexperienced detectives had hindered aspects of the case.<\/p>\n
Sheriff Nanos has pushed back, defending his officers and the department's work.<\/p>\n