> Records also show that several people told police early in the 2021 search that Pennel had connections with Guzmán worth investigating. But investigation records show no indication that police interviewed him, despite having visited his property with several of her family members days after she was reported missing.
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> Pennel acknowledged he was never contacted by authorities about Guzmán’s disappearance in 2021.
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> During that September 2021 visit to Pennel’s neighborhood, Guzmán’s grandmother and a family attorney told ESPN, a strong odor of decay was obvious, but police told the family the smell probably was from a dead animal, and they did not expand their search to the place from where the smell was emanating -- Pennel’s backyard.
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> …
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> Prosecutors say they are pursuing the case as a homicide, although no cause of death has been released.