The Pima County Sheriff’s Office has found itself at the center of a storm of criticism following a social media post that inadvertently led locals to believe a missing woman, Nancy Guthrie, had been found. The confusion arose after the sheriff’s office shared a missing person alert for Nancy Radakovich, an 82-year-old woman who had vanished from her Tucson residence.
On Thursday evening, the sheriff’s office in Tucson posted a missing notice for Radakovich, who had disappeared that afternoon along with her Toyota. Fortunately, a few hours later, the office updated their social media, announcing, “Update: Nancy has been located,” after she was found safe and sound.
This announcement, however, sparked backlash online, as users quickly pointed out the mix-up with Nancy Guthrie, a different missing woman who has been unaccounted for since February 1. Guthrie’s disappearance from her $1.4 million Tucson home remains unsolved, with her kidnapper still at large.
Critics did not hold back, expressing their frustration with the sheriff’s office’s perceived incompetence. One commenter remarked, “Pima County is a joke. It’s great that this lady was found, but it’s mind-boggling that the office didn’t realize people would think it was Nancy Guthrie. They even look alike.”
Another exasperated voice added, “No wonder her kidnapper got away with it. HORRIBLE PD!” The miscommunication has only fueled public discontent, highlighting the urgency and sensitivity required in ongoing missing person cases.
‘No wonder her kidnapper got away with it. HORRIBLE PD!’
Another said: ‘What an embarrassing police department to do that. Nice that they found her though, but wow.’
A third wrote: ‘You knew what you were doing with that title. What the hell!’
Pima County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona sparked outrage with a ‘Nancy has been found’ X post after an elderly woman with the same first name as Nancy Guthrie went missing, only to be located a few hours later
Locals in Pima County, which includes the city of Tucson, have been on edge since the abduction of Nancy Guthrie from her home there in February (Nancy pictured with her Today star daughter Savannah in 2015)
And a fourth person even suggested Pima County Sheriff’s Office had deliberately chosen their words to be provocative.
That woman wrote: ‘LAST NAME IN YOUR CLICK BAIT POST PLEASE WOW.’
The topic of Nancy Guthrie remains a sensitive one for Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos and the residents of Tucson.
Nancy, the mother of Today star Savannah Guthrie, vanished without a trace from her home almost three months ago.
Sheriff Nanos was criticized for a catalog of subsequent blunders.
He was accused of failing to send up a search plane during the vital early hours of the hunt because of staffing issues.
His team were branded too inexperienced to deal with the seemingly well-planned kidnap of the mother of a public figure, with the FBI since taking over the case.
Nanos has also been blasted after his deputies left the crime scene open to reporters, with cordons going up and down multiple times during the first few weeks of the search for Nancy.
Nanos’s words to reporters during press conferences further raised eyebrows.
Internet users were quick to react with shock over the post, suggesting the sheriff’s office should have used the woman’s surname
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, pictured in February, has come under fire for his handling of Nancy Guthrie’s abduction
Asked by one reporter in February about potential suspects and motives, Nanos said: ‘You guess is as good as mines.’
Nanos, a Democrat, could now face a potential recall election that may end in him losing his job.
Nancy vanished from her home after a dinner with her other daughter Annie and son-in-law Tommaso Cioni.
Terrifying footage obtained from a Nest doorbell camera two weeks later showed a masked gunman in black nitrile gloves show up on her doorstep that evening.
Multiple ransom notes were sent in the early days of the search, but nothing ever came of them.
Nancy suffers from serious mobility issues and requires daily heart medication to stay alive.
Savannah offered a $1 million reward for the return of her mother, while conceding that she may no longer be alive.
During an interview with Today co-host Hoda Kotb last month, she said she believed two of the initial ransom notes may have been genuine, but that others were forgeries.
Terrifying footage of a masked gunman in black nitrile gloves was obtained from Nancy’s doorbell camera a few weeks after her abduction
The figure is seen on Nancy’s doorstep on the night of her disappearance
Nancy’s Tucson home is pictured. She suffers mobility issues and can only walk to the end of her driveway
It is unclear why Nancy was targeted, but Savannah says she fears her fame and fortune may have triggered her mother’s kidnap.
Sheriff Nanos has ruled out all members of the Guthrie family and in-laws but investigators have yet to name any possible suspects.
On Thursday it was revealed that the FBI have found new hairs at Nancy’s home which are being tested for DNA in a Florida lab.
Investigators hope the breakthrough may finally lead them towards a possible suspect or suspects.
