Arizona Locals Demand Dismissal of Sheriff Nancy Guthrie Amid Growing Controversy

The sheriff leading the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance is under pressure as calls for his dismissal grow louder amid escalating concerns for her safety.

In a recent development, Daniel Butierez, a Republican candidate for Congress, has taken steps to initiate the recall of Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, as reported by the New York Post.

Butierez has mobilized a team of 500 volunteers tasked with gathering at least 120,000 signatures—a necessary step in the complex recall process aimed at removing the sheriff from his position.

“He has been an embarrassment to Tucson and to Pima County with this Nancy Guthrie case,” Butierez expressed, reflecting the frustration of many locals.

The urgency of the situation is underscored by a somber revelation from one of the investigators involved. Speaking to the Daily Mail, the investigator admitted that he fears Nancy Guthrie may no longer be alive, a grim perspective formed over six weeks since her abduction from her million-dollar home.

‘Is she alive? I think that’s very unlikely,’ a source close to the probe somberly said. ‘Everybody is coming to grips with that.

‘She’s elderly, had health problems and to survive in captivity for so long… we obviously don’t know for sure, but it would be a miracle.’

NBC Today co-host Savannah Guthrie previously acknowledged the prospect that her missing 84-year-old mom is dead in a gut-wrenching social media video 24 days into the hunt, saying: ‘She may be lost. She may already be gone.’

But this is the first time anyone has revealed the thinking inside the investigation.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who is in charge of the Nancy Guthrie abduction case investigation, is facing the possibility of being fired, according to a source in his department

An investigator in Nanos’s office said that they have reluctantly come around to the view that Nancy is dead. Nancy is pictured with her daughter, Savannah, who co-hosts NBC Today 

Republican congressional candidate Daniel Butierez has initiated the recall process to remove Sheriff Nanos from office

Nancy was snatched from her house in the affluent Catalina Foothills area of Tucson, Arizona, in the early hours of Sunday, February 1.

Since that day, Savannah, 54, and her close family have endured continual heartbreak amid an initially massive but so far fruitless search by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI.

Sheriff Chris Nanos – under fire for his handling of the case from the outset – was accused by several sources of ‘locking down’ the probe amid escalating tensions between his team and federal agents.

In particular, he was allegedly keeping key decisions to himself and two of his highest-ranking inner circle, effectively sidelining the small team of relatively inexperienced investigators at his disposal.

Butierez told the New York Post that Pima County deputies had wanted to begin the process to recall Nanos themselves, but they were worried about retaliation from the sheriff. 

He added that police in Pima County ‘had a unanimous vote of no confidence’ in Nanos on Friday. Butierez has taken up the recall initiative because ‘I’m a congressional candidate… and I don’t see Nanos messing with me,’ he said.   

Now, the Daily Mail can reveal, four Pima County detectives are working directly out of the Tucson FBI building in a shake-up welcomed by other officers frustrated at Nanos’s approach to the probe. 

Nanos has been criticized for his handling of Nancy’s abduction case since its outset more than six weeks ago

Butierez is working on collecting at least 120,000 signatures on a petition to remove Nanos from office, which is the first step in the recall process. He is pictured in a still from a video on his Instagram page announcing the move

Butierez said that Pima County deputies wanted to initiate the process to recall Nanos themselves, but they were worried about retaliation. Butierez is pictured with police officers

‘This case had been at a standstill,’ said the source at the sheriff’s department. ‘And while Nanos still has overall control and the ultimate say over the investigation, now he is not as involved in the day-to-day things that are being scrutinized.

‘This is good. There will be less meddling from command staff. Few people know the inner workings of what that joint team are currently running down, but it seems like they’re operating well together.’

The team is still banking on a frustrating mixture of DNA results taken from Nancy’s home for the identity of the armed and masked man captured on porch video when she was snatched, the source said.

‘They’re absolutely counting on that. But it’s taking time because there was such a mix of DNA,’ he added. ‘The lab in Florida is trying to accelerate technology they were due to roll out next year in order to unravel it faster.’

With the abductor still on the loose, fear remains among elderly people living in the rolling hills around Tucson. Nanos has said he believes Nancy was targeted, but that the kidnapper could strike again.

And our source warned: ‘This guy is emboldened. We’ve thrown everything at him, and we haven’t caught him yet.

‘He’s probably watching the news and thinking, man, they’re not even close to me. At least from what he’s seeing. So, he’s still out there and that’s a big worry for folks.

‘He is a very careful suspect who did not appear to leave a huge footprint on the crime. And then the scene was mishandled when it was opened up so quickly. Who knows what forensic clues were lost.’

Investigators are hoping for a break in the case through DNA analysis to identify the armed and masked man captured on porch video when Nancy was abducted

A source in Nanos’s department said that the abductor captured in the porch video may be ’emboldened’ by the lack of progress in the case

At one point, the sheriff’s department tipline center was receiving up to 4,000 calls a day. But that has now subsided to a trickle of around two dozen and just two people are manning the phones, said the source.

Meanwhile, the $6million Bitcoin ransom demand letters, which put the Guthrie family through inexplicable extra turmoil with two cruel deadlines, are now largely being discounted, we are told.

They appeared to reveal inside information not known to the public. ‘But the general view now is that these were fakes, people just trying to get some money out of the situation,’ said the source.

‘Nancy gave a tour of her bedroom in a video. There were other clues to her on social media. The scammers could have simply put all that together and made themselves seem like something they weren’t.’

Savannah returned to New York City after several weeks holed up with her close family in Tucson, in plans first revealed by the Daily Mail. The co-anchor grew up with her elder sister Annie, 56, in Nancy’s house.

She was seen visiting NBC colleagues in Rockefeller Center last week in an emotional appearance away from the TV cameras.

The star, a mom of two young children and married to Democrat political adviser Michael Feldman, announced a $1million reward for Nancy’s return in her February 24 video.

Fighting tears, she said: ‘It is day 24 since our mom was taken in the dark of night from her bed.

Savannah announced a $1million reward for the return of her mother in a video posted on February 24. She is pictured embracing Nancy

Savannah had already acknowledged the possibility that her mother is dead in the February 24 video, which is now three weeks old. The mother and daughter are pictured together

‘And every hour and minute and second and every long night has been agony since then. Worrying for her, fearing for her, aching for her.

‘We still believe. We still believe in a miracle. We still believe that she can come home.

‘Hope against hope, as my sister says, we are blowing on the embers of hope.’

Savannah then directly confronted the possibility of her mother’s death, saying: ‘We also know that she may be lost, she may already be gone. She may have already gone home to the lord that she loves.

‘But we need to know where she is. We need her to come home. For that reason, we are offering a family reward of up to $1 million for any information that leads us to her recovery.

‘Somebody knows and we are begging you to please come forward now.’

She then implored: ‘Tell us what you know and help us bring our beloved mom home so that we can either celebrate a glorious, miraculous homecoming or celebrate the beautiful, brave and courageous and noble life that she lived.’

Sheriff Nanos first came under the critical spotlight when investigators probed the crime scene on four occasions, but each time left allowing almost anyone access – and possibly contaminating undiscovered evidence.

Nanos allegedly mishandled the first hours of the search for Nancy, during which there was a delay in sending search-and-rescue aircraft 

Nanos was also criticized for potentially allowing evidence to be contaminated at the crime scene in Nancy’s home. Sheriff’s department vehicles are pictured outside the home on the day after the abduction

The Daily Mail also reported his alleged mishandling of the very first hours of the search for Nancy, which included a serious delay in sending up a vital search-and-rescue aircraft.

For Nanos to be fired, Butierez has 120 days to collect around 120,000 signatures, which is equivalent to 25 percent of the number of ballots cast in the 2024 Pima County sheriff election. 

The congressional candidate told the New York Post that he doesn’t think he will have trouble doing so and that he is aiming to acquire around 135,000 signatures. 

If he is successful, the Pima County Recorder will have 60 days to verify the signatures against voter registration records. 

Nanos would then have five days to decide whether to resign or ask for a Special Recall Election.