Nancy Guthrie Sheriff Recalls Chilling Moment He Realized Her Crime Scene Didn’t ‘Look Right’ as He Confirms if Cops Are Even ‘Close’ to an Arrest

It’s been well over 100 months since Nancy Guthrie was allegedly abducted from her Arizona home. Now, the sheriff leading the case, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, is opening up to People about the early days of the investigation and how soon he realized her unexpected disappearance likely involved foul play.

Sheriff Nanos said he learned of a missing person’s report on the afternoon of Feb. 1, 2026. Just minutes later, after the chief informed him that an 84-year-old woman had vanished from her home, Sheriff Nanos received another text noting that the scene “doesn’t look right, something is wrong. We’re calling homicide.”

Related Stories

Khloé Kardashian Suspects There’s ‘Information’ Nancy Guthrie Cops ‘Aren’t Telling Us’ as She References What She ‘Read’ About Savannah’s Brother-in-Law

Savannah Guthrie’s Co-Workers ‘Fear’ Her New Job Is a ‘Coping Mechanism’ for Nancy Amid Report Her Mom’s Kidnappers Wanted Her to ‘Suffer’

“The reason that homicide was called is because they are the investigative unit in charge of missing person,” Sheriff Nanos explained. “Search and rescue is their operational team that helps assist with these issues.”

Related: ‘Strand of Hair’ Found in Nancy Guthrie’s Bed Would Be ‘High Priority’ for FBI as Expert Explains How 1 DNA Sample Could Crack the Case

Shortly after, a large, multi-agency search for Guthrie—the mother of Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie—was launched. It’s since led to a few major leads, including doorbell camera footage of a masked, armed man and a glove found near her house.

That said, Sheriff Nanos told the outlet that he believes authorities are closer than ever to getting some answers regarding Guthrie’s alleged kidnapping.

“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,” he revealed. “How can we do more with what we have? And so that’s why I say it is — I think we’re getting closer.”

Sheriff Nanos expressed a similar sentiment to Arizona’s KOLD News 13, claiming his team’s “working hard to get this resolved, and I think every day they get closer.”

“It moves at a snail’s pace, I guess for some. But for my investigative team, and for me, we look at this as, no, this is doing exactly what we need it to do,” he continued. “There’s way too much work to be done, that is ongoing, with some of the physical evidence we have. And we’re not going to give up on it just because it’s been 100 days.”

He added, “I believe, at some point in time, we will make an arrest on this case. And whoever that individual is, that individual will have a right to a fair and impartial trial.”