TUCSON, Ariz. — A high-profile forensic genealogy company slammed the Pima County Sheriff’s Department for sending critical evidence in the Nancy Guthrie case to a private lab in Florida instead of directly to the FBI.
“This is so devastating,” said Othram co-founder Kristen Mittelman. “DNA Labs International is a traditional forensic lab that consumes evidence to make an STR [short tandem repeat] profile, so I don’t understand why it didn’t go to Quantico, since they can do this better and faster than anyone, and they have a pipeline to flip it immediately to inferring identity with us.”
Othram is a Texas-based forensic genetic genealogy lab that was instrumental in helping authorities identify infamous murderer Bryan Kohberger, among other high-profile criminals.
According to a report by KOLD, DNA Labs International, located in Deerfield Beach, Florida, is where Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has sent key evidence to be examined. State records confirm that Arizona has a contract with the company for “biological laboratory services” that began in 2022 and runs through March.
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Mittelman stressed that time is “critical” in every case, especially Guthrie’s.
She also said that Othram worked the case of formerly unidentified murder victim Evelyn Colon after DNA Labs International couldn’t crack the case. Colon, previously known as Beth Doe, was murdered in New Jersey in 1976. She was identified in 2021.
A federal law enforcement source told Fox News Digital that the evidence will need to be retested by the FBI anyway.
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“It’s just the FBI developed this method and can do it so much better without destroying the evidence,” the source said. “I’ve seen so many cases go to Florida and be consumed. Also, they are not as fast, and in this case, time matters.”
On Thursday, a federal law enforcement source accused Nanos of blocking the FBI from obtaining the evidence, first reported by Reuters and confirmed by Fox News Digital.
“It risks further slowing a case that grows more urgent by the minute,” the official told Reuters, citing unspecified “earlier setbacks” in the investigation. The official also criticized Nanos for not requesting help from the FBI earlier in the case.
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Nanos denied those allegations, telling KOLD that the Pima County Sheriff’s Department simply wants all evidence to be examined at the same lab.
The sheriff reiterated that message in an interview with Fox News’ Matt Finn on Friday. He told Finn that investigators have been using the Florida lab from the start of the investigation and that Guthrie family DNA, as well as other DNA, had already been sent there.
“Why split your evidence to two different labs that could create a conflict, but more importantly, it adds that additional step,” he said. “This lab has this piece, this lab has that piece. Now they’ve got to converge those two pieces to make an elimination or identification. No, just send it to one lab, let’s go. They’re both great labs. They both have great equipment and smart people.”
“We trust the FBI’s crime lab, we’ve used them before, but in this case we started with that lab,” he said. It’s just that simple.”
Nanos also denied the claim that his office delayed contacting the FBI for assistance in the case, saying he has no reason not to partner with the federal law enforcement agency, that it would be “absolutely crazy” not to do so, and that his department and the FBI are working well together. He said he called the FBI on Monday, Feb.2, the first business day after the investigation began.
He also denied releasing the crime scene at Guthrie’s home too soon.
Earlier this week, the FBI released doorbell camera footage of a suspect, recorded at Guthrie’s home shortly before authorities believe she was abducted or kidnapped.
The suspect is described as a male between 5-foot-9 and 5-foot-10, with an average build. He was wearing an Ozark Trail Hiker Pack.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office did not return a comment request.
DNA Labs International declined to comment.
Nancy Guthrie disappearance timeline:
Jan. 31, 2026
• Between 9:30–9:45 p.m. – Family drops Nancy off at home
• 9:50 p.m. – Garage door closes (per authorities)
Feb. 1, 2026
• 1:47 a.m. – Doorbell camera disconnects
• 2:12 a.m. – Security camera detects motion
• 2:28 a.m. – Pacemaker disconnects from phone application
• 11:56 a.m. – Family checks on Nancy after she misses weekly church livestream gathering
• 12:03 p.m. — 911 called
• 12:15 p.m. — Sheriff’s deputies arrive at home
