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TUCSON, Ariz. — More than five weeks have passed since the unsettling disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie. As the search continues, Arizona authorities have confirmed that the cadaver dogs initially utilized in the investigation are no longer actively being employed.
The incident reportedly occurred in the early hours of February 1, around 2:30 a.m., when Nancy Guthrie is believed to have been abducted from her residence in the Catalina Foothills area of northern Tucson.
Although the investigation has yet to yield any public identification of suspects or locate Guthrie, cadaver dogs played a role in the earlier stages, according to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos. However, these specialized canines have not been seen in action for several weeks now.
Despite their absence, Sheriff Nanos assured Fox News Digital that the dogs remain on standby and can be redeployed if necessary as the situation evolves.
Meanwhile, a member of the Pima County Sheriff’s Office continues to stand vigil outside Nancy Guthrie’s home, underscoring the ongoing commitment to unraveling the mystery of her disappearance.
There are a number of reasons not to be using cadaver dogs at this stage in the investigation, according to Betsy Brantner Smith, a retired police sergeant and spokeswoman for the National Police Association.
Savannah Guthrie visits the Today show at Rockefeller Plaza in New York on Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
One would be if there’s credible information that Guthrie is still alive.
“Anything is possible,” Nanos told Fox News Digital last week, adding that he would not discuss specific leads or evidence in the case.
Brantner Smith, who is not involved in the case, said departments may hold back K-9 resources for several reasons. Those could be that authorities don’t have a good idea of where to search, they think she might be concealed in a place where dogs would have a hard time detecting her, or they believe she’s been taken to Mexico, according to Brantner Smith.
Law enforcement agents walk around the neighborhood where Annie Guthrie, whose mother Nancy Guthrie has been missing for more than a week, lives just outside Tucson, Ariz. (Ty ONeil/AP Photo)
“I do believe that the sheriff’s department has much more information that they are not releasing to the public,” she told Fox News Digital. “And I’m not sure at this point why that would be, unless they have a solid suspect and don’t want to tip them off.”
Most departments, including the Pima County Sheriff’s, don’t have their own cadaver dogs and borrow them from state and federal authorities or neighboring jurisdictions.
An investigator looks inside a culvert in the neighborhood where Annie Guthrie, whose mother Nancy Guthrie has been missing for more than a week, lives just outside Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (Ty ONeil/AP Photo)
In Guthrie’s case, the sheriff’s department sought K-9 assistance from the local Border Patrol office earlier in the investigation.
PCSD deferred further comment on the K-9s to Customs and Border Protection, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A member of the Pima county sheriff’s office walks around Nancy Guthrie’s home on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (Ty ONeil/AP Photo)
The biggest lead so far has been Nest camera video showing a masked intruder on Guthrie’s doorstep the morning of her abduction.
He is described as about 5 feet, 9 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall of medium build.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, has been missing from her Arizona home since Jan. 31, 2026. (Don Arnold/WireImage/Getty Images)
He was wearing a black Ozark Trail backpack.
Authorities have said they won’t consider the case cold until they run out of viable leads to follow up on — and tens of thousands have come in so far.
Savannah Guthrie has asked anyone with information to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI.
There’s a combined reward of more than $1.2 million for information that leads to her mother’s recovery.
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