Fmr NYPD Chief Chell to Newsmax: 'Turf War' in Guthrie Probe 'Disturbing'

Reports of friction between federal and local investigators probing the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie are "very disturbing," retired New York City Police Department Chief of Department John Chell said Friday on Newsmax.

"One of the concerns I'm seeing is being reported is that the sheriff and the FBI just are not on the same page," Chell told Newsmax's "Wake Up America Early." "It looks like they're a little unorganized down there."

Chell said he is also not happy that multiple crime scenes appear to be "trampled on."

Meanwhile, Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC's "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie, went missing 13 days ago, and "13,000 tips have come in," he said.

"They got the best video they're probably going to get right now," he said, referring to the doorbell video that shows a potential suspect in the case.

"The bag has been identified," said Chell. "We have gloves that we're waiting on DNA. This is a very tough case."

Chell said cases like this often move more slowly than the public expects.

"As a prior investigator, these things take time," he said. "Sometimes it doesn't come back in an hour ... this can go on for a long time."

Still, when asked about reports that local authorities sent a black glove for DNA testing to their own unit rather than to the FBI laboratory at Quantico, Chell said, "It's not normal."

"I've worked with the FBI in many cases," he said. "Just envision this should be a war room, if you will. There's a term that's called marshaling of the evidence."

"Who's got all the evidence? How is it being [accounted] for? Who is running with each piece of evidence?" he said.

And if federal agents and local police are "warring," that is "very disturbing," Chell added.

"We have a crime that is still occurring," he said. "We don't have time for this, and now it's out in the hemisphere. It's not a good look for what's going on in the investigation."

Chell also said he was troubled by what he described as poorly protected scenes, including video showing deliveries in the area.

"I've never seen something like this," he said. "That crime scene is law enforcement's crime scene. You want to appease the media? I got it, I've been there a million times."

"But you make that crime scene as big as you need, and you cordon it off," Chell said.

Investigators are also focusing on an "Ozark Trail Hiker Backpack," which the host described as a Walmart brand with potentially widespread distribution. Chell said tracing purchases is difficult but possible.

"It's not impossible," he said. "I've done many investigations before, and we've backtracked items that were bought at stores to the perpetrators that committed the crime we're investigating."

Chell also criticized the prominence of TMZ in the case after reports the network obtained an alleged additional ransom message.

"Look, I think the letters that are being written that I'm not too confident with, if you will, sending to TMZ, gets that person a little play on the air as an investigator," Chell said.

"And no offense to TMZ, it bothers me immensely that they're involved in this investigation," he added, noting that the case potentially involves a kidnapping or a homicide.

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