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As scrutiny intensifies over the Pima County Sheriff’s Office and its handling of the search for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, insider sources reveal that Sheriff Chris Nanos may have initially removed the most seasoned investigators from the case.
According to sources familiar with the department, during the time of Guthrie’s suspected abduction, only one detective on the homicide squad had more than three years of experience. The remaining five detectives had been on the squad for less than two years, and their supervising sergeant had no prior experience in homicide investigations.
Additionally, there was another detective with less than a year of experience, who has since been reassigned.
At the same time, at least two experienced homicide detectives were reportedly set aside due to not being in favor with Nanos’ leadership, as stated by one source. These detectives had been moved to the cold case division.
During a press conference in Tucson, Arizona, on February 3, 2026, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos addressed the ongoing search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie. (Sejal Govindarao/AP Photo)
The sheriff later brought one of them into the Guthrie investigation after it went into a task force phase in late February. The task force, consisting of county detectives and FBI agents, is separate from the initial homicide squad assigned to the case.
Guthrie’s whereabouts remain unknown, and Nanos has publicly maintained optimism that she could still be alive, telling Fox News Digital previously that “anything’s possible.” Homicide detectives, however, have been part of the case since the first week.
The homicide sergeant’s apparent lack of experience is not necessarily a problem, either, according to Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and former professor of criminal justice.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Pima County Sheriff’s helicopter scours the desert in Tucson, Arizona for clues in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, Tuesday, February 3, 2026. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“There are other experienced detectives that should be helping,” Giacalone told Fox News Digital. “But also, [Nanos] has two major cities within striking distance, Phoenix and Tucson, who he could’ve asked for some assistance to come in and share their experience and knowledge with his people.”
Doing so would’ve been a sign of leadership, he said.
“A lack of experience can be overcome by mentorship and training,” he added.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos exits the press room past a missing persons poster after giving an update on the investigation after the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of U.S. journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie, who went missing from her home in Tucson, Arizona, U.S. February 5, 2026. Â (REUTERS/Rebecca Noble)
At the start of the search for Guthrie, the county deputies union blasted the sheriff for a staffing decision that allegedly delayed the flight of the sheriff’s high-tech search and rescue plane — with its pilot reassigned to regular street patrols.
“You have to understand, he terrorizes the entire department and makes examples out of anyone even perceived to be disloyal,” one of the sources said. “I know that sounds hyperbolic. It is not.”
Pima County deputies collect evidence at the home of Nancy Guthrie in Tucson, Arizona, Wednesday, February 4, 2026. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Although Guthrie’s whereabouts remain unknown after more than two months, Nanos said early on in the case that homicide detectives were involved in the case.
Separately, the county board of supervisors has hired outside legal counsel to guide them on how to respond to allegations that the sheriff perjured himself during a deposition in a First Amendment lawsuit brought against him by one of his own deputies.
The board plans to bring Nanos into a hearing and demand he answers questions.
A member of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department outside of Nancy Guthrie’s home, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (Ty ONeil/AP Photo)
Guthrie is believed to have been taken from her home in the Catalina Foothills in the early morning hours of Feb. 1.
A trail of blood droplets led from her front door to the edge of her driveway, but law enforcement sources said there were no signs of a struggle inside.
Guthrie’s daughter, “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, revealed in her first televised interview since her mom’s disappearance that the back doors were propped open.
DNA testing has so far not led to a publicly identified suspect or any arrests. Digital forensics recovered jarring surveillance images of a masked man at Guthrie’s front door on the morning of her abduction and overnight on Jan. 11.
The family is asking anyone with information on the case to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI.
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