A Tucson elementary school teacher says his family is still recovering after being unexpectedly pulled into the national spotlight during the search for Nancy Guthrie.
Dominic Evans, 48, a fifth-grade teacher and musician who plays in a band with Nancy’s son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, told The New York Times that his name began spreading rapidly online as speculation around the case intensified. Authorities have not publicly connected him to Nancy’s disappearance.
Evans said the sudden attention disrupted the quiet rhythm of his neighborhood and left his family shaken as they tried to navigate days of scrutiny they never anticipated.
Online Speculation Brings Unwanted Attention to Family Home
GettyEvans said people began drawing connections online after a masked figure was seen near Nancy’s home the night she vanished in the early hours of February 1. Some users claimed the person’s eyes resembled his.
Others pointed to a decades-old 1999 arrest involving minor theft as part of their speculation.
Within days, Evans said, people began gathering outside his home.
His wife recalled the tension inside as they tried to shield their family from the attention. “It was all night looking through the window, trying not let any light out of our home,” she said, describing herself as “scared numb.”
Their six-year-old son was staying with his grandmother when the situation intensified. Evans said the circumstances led to the child spending an unexpected night away from his parents while they worked to ensure everyone felt safe.
‘I Feel Like Someone’s Taken My Name’
GettyEvans told the Times that investigators briefly interviewed him about his friendship with Cioni, their band Early Black, and his whereabouts the night Nancy disappeared.
He said sitting down to answer those questions was surreal and deeply unsettling.
“I feel like someone’s taken my name,” Evans said. When asked why he believed he became a focus online, he responded: “I don’t know – monetary, clickbait, to be relevant, entertainment – but there are innocent people that get hurt.”
According to the Times report, Evans said he first met Cioni in 2007 after answering a Craigslist ad seeking musicians. What began as a shared love of music turned into a long friendship.
He met Nancy only once, he said, during an Easter gathering at her Tucson home in 2011.
When he learned Nancy was missing, Evans said his first instinct was to text Cioni and offer support.
Within days, he said, that simple act of friendship was overshadowed by online speculation that pulled both men into a storm they never expected.
Sheriff Addresses Impact of Public Speculation
GettyPima County Sheriff Chris Nanos acknowledged the emotional strain the public speculation has placed on Evans and others caught in the online conversation.
“He’s going through hell, and it is horrible,” Nanos said of Evans, as reported by The Times.
“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.”
Nanos said the wave of online accusations has made an already difficult investigation even more challenging. “I wish I could jump out and defend every single one of them that’s been falsely accused,” he said.
Twenty-five days into the search, authorities have not announced any arrests or identified official persons of interest.
Investigators returned to Nancy’s home this week to take another look at the front door area, where blood drops had previously been reported.
GettyEvans said a brief sighting of a SWAT vehicle leaving the sheriff’s office triggered new assumptions online that he was being taken into custody. He later learned the activity was unrelated and occurred miles away.
In recent days, the attention has begun to ease. Evans has returned to his fifth-grade classroom. He said he felt relieved when his students did not treat the rumors as true.
The search for Nancy continues. Savannah Guthrie has offered a $1 million reward for information that could lead to answers about her mother’s disappearance.
