Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos Says Nancy Guthrie Case Nears Breakthrough After 100 Days

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos provided an update on the Nancy Guthrie case, which reached its 100-day mark on Monday. Nanos, who has faced significant public scrutiny as the mother of Today anchor Savannah Guthrie remains missing after an alleged abduction, expressed optimism about the investigation’s progress.

“Everyday our DNA labs are working with our investigators and they’re coming up with different ideas and different thoughts of how to help them make this DNA work for us,” Nanos told People. “How can we do more with what we have? And so that’s why I say it is — I think we’re getting closer.”

Nanos also recounted the moment he was notified of Guthrie’s disappearance. He received a text alert around 2 p.m. on February 1. Shortly afterward, he received an update from the scene indicating that circumstances “didn’t look right,” prompting authorities to call in the homicide unit. Nanos clarified that the homicide team’s involvement did not imply assumptions about the case’s outcome, stating, “They are the investigative unit in charge of missing person. Search and rescue is their operational team that helps assist with these issues.”

FBI Director Criticizes Initial Exclusion from Investigation

Nanos’ update follows criticism from FBI Director Kash Patel, who accused the Pima County Sheriff’s Department of delaying the FBI’s involvement in the case. Patel made the remarks during an appearance on the Hang Out With Sean Hannity podcast.

“And when we were finally let in … look what we did. We went in and got the Ring doorbell. We said, ‘Hey, is anyone talking to Google?’ I called the leadership at Google and I said, ‘Look, we know that there was not a subscription service to capture all of the data that would have been captured had there been a subscription service. But can we go into the cache? Can we go into the data before it’s deleted and see what we can find?’ That’s why you have that image, because the FBI worked with Google to put that image out.”

Patel also claimed that the FBI had a fixed-wing aircraft ready to transport DNA evidence from the Guthrie case to Quantico but was denied by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.

Pima County Sheriff’s Department Responds to FBI Criticism

In response to Patel’s statements, a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department issued a statement to TheWrap, asserting:

“Sheriff Nanos responded to the scene the night of the incident, providing immediate local leadership and oversight. A member of the FBI Task Force was also notified and present at that scene working alongside our personnel. The FBI was promptly notified by both our department and the Guthrie family. While the FBI Director was not on scene, coordination with the Bureau began without delay.”

The statement continued, “Decisions regarding evidence processing were made on scene based on operational needs. The laboratory utilized by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI Laboratory in Quantico have worked in close partnership.”