Dominic Evans, an elementary school teacher and bandmate of Nancy Guthrie’s son-in-law, was suspected by many people online, but not by law enforcement
The lack of answers surrounding the apparent kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie has had real-life consequences for an Arizona man who became the focus of several online sleuths.
Dominic Evans, a fifth-grade teacher and a bandmate of Guthrie’s son-in-law, spoke to The New York Times about his nightmarish experience since his name began circulating online as a potential suspect in the search for the missing 84-year-old — despite the fact that law enforcement never named him one.
“I feel like someone’s taken my name,” Evans told the Times. But for what reasons? “I don’t know — monetary, clickbait, to be relevant, entertainment — but there are innocent people that get hurt.”
According to the Times, Evans spoke to law enforcement once in the wake of Guthrie’s disappearance, weeks ago, and has not been contacted since.
Regardless, Evans said he became the target of significant online speculation.
After his name emerged online, Evans, who only met Guthrie once, told the paper that he and his wife, a school principal, were too afraid to pick up their son from his grandmother’s home and that they hid in their bedroom with the lights off.
Further, the Times reported, when a SWAT team was dispatched to a home two weeks after Guthrie vanished, Evans said several people showed up outside his home thinking that’s where the team was heading. In reality, they had been sent to search a home 30 minutes away.
“This one felt really, really, really scary, because it was like everyone was waiting for someone to come to our house,” Evans reportedly said.
The Times spoke to Chris Nanos, the Pima County Sheriff, about Evans’ experiences.
“He’s going through hell, and it is horrible,” Sheriff Nanos said. “And I don’t know what to tell him except he probably should be speaking with some attorneys and sue some of these people for libel.”
The paper reported that Evans’ name emerged because of his connection to Tommaso Cioni, Guthrie’s son-in-law, who also has been a target of speculation online.
Nanos has since ruled out Guthrie’s family members as suspects.
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Guthrie, the mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing on Feb. 1 after she failed to show up for church.
She is believed by authorities to have been kidnapped and law enforcement has since circulated surveillance footage showing a masked, armed person appearing to tamper with Nancy’s doorbell camera outside her home in Tucson, Ariz.
The Guthrie family is offering a reward of up to $1 million for information that leads to Nancy’s recovery, while the FBI is offering a reward of $100,000.
