The Pima County Sheriff’s Department made adjustments to Sheriff Chris Nanos’ public resume on Tuesday, following a local news report that brought to light an error in his employment history. The report suggested the resume had glossed over a contentious departure from his initial law enforcement position.
According to public records referenced by the Arizona Republic, Nanos stepped down from his position at the El Paso Police Department in Texas in 1982, opting to resign rather than face termination. However, his resume had inaccurately stated that he worked there until 1984, when he transitioned to Pima County as a corrections officer.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Chris Nanos has been at the forefront of various investigations, including a recent update on the case of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance. Nancy is the 84-year-old mother of renowned U.S. journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie, who vanished from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on February 5, 2026. (Photo by Rebecca Noble/Reuters)
In response to the resume discrepancies, a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department communicated with reporters later on Tuesday. “The Pima County Sheriff’s Department recently identified two clerical errors in Sheriff Chris Nanos’ publicly posted resume,” the spokesperson explained. “These discrepancies were purely administrative and never intended to mislead or misrepresent Sheriff Nanos’ career history.”
Notably, the department’s statement did not address the report’s implications that Nanos left his position in El Paso to preempt a firing. This aspect of his past remains a point of contention as the department works to clarify the record.
The statement did not address allegations in the report that he left his role in El Paso to avoid being fired.
“For clarity, Sheriff Nanos served with the El Paso Police Department from 1976 to 1982,” the spokesperson added. “His service with El Paso PD concluded in 1982, not 1984 as previously stated. Additionally, Sheriff Nanos was promoted to the rank of captain in 2007, not 2009.”
Nancy Guthrie, 84, has been missing from her Arizona home since Feb. 1, 2026. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is the head of the investigation. (Don Arnold/WireImage/Getty Images)
According to the report, Nanos served as a decoy who baited out drug dealers and would-be muggers. But he left in 1982 amid allegations of “insubordination” and “consistent inefficiency.”
In six years, he reportedly spent 37 days suspended — for allegations of excessive use of force, off-duty gambling and coming to work late or missing shifts altogether.
Savannah Guthrie and her mother, Nancy Guthrie. (Instagram/Savannah Guthrie)
Near the end of his time in El Paso, he took a 15-day suspension for allegedly sending a suspected robber to the intensive care unit after kicking him in the head during an arrest, according to police records included in the report.
The Republic also published what it described as an emailed response to its reporter’s questions, attributed to Nanos himself, after he reportedly declined to comment on the error.
“That’s your ‘urgent’ request? You sure you don’t want to go back to my high school and ask why I got swats from the principal?” it reads. “Good luck with your hit piece.”
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos speaks at a news conference, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz., to provide updates in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie. (Sejal Govindarao/AP Photo)
Nanos is in charge of the investigation into the suspected abduction of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie.
He’s taken heat over his initial handling of the crime scene, purported disputes with the FBI over bringing the bureau into the case and subsequent lab testing, conflicting statements given at different points in the case and for attending an Arizona Wildcats NCAA game while Guthrie’s adult children were filming a response to her potential abductor.
Pima County Sheriffs involved in a law enforcement operation at the intersection of Camino de Michael and East Orange Grove Road Tucson, Arizona on Friday, February 13, 2026. The location is approximately two miles from Nancy Guthrie’s home. (DWS for Fox News Digital) (DWS for Fox News Digital)
She has been missing since Feb. 1. Nanos held three news conferences that week, with the last coming on Feb. 5. There have been none held since.
In the second, held on Feb. 3, he addressed the weight of massive media attention to the case.
“I’m not used to everybody hanging on my words and then trying to hold me accountable for what I say,” he told reporters.
More than five weeks after her disappearance, authorities have not publicly identified any suspects, persons of interest or any vehicles that could be connected to the crime.
There is a combined reward of more than $1.2 million for information that leads to Guthrie’s recovery.
Anyone with information is asked to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI.
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