Top Investigator in Nancy Guthrie Case Resigned Previous Police Post Amid Disciplinary Concerns

The attorney for Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who is leading the extensive search for Nancy Guthrie, has addressed a series of concerns raised by local leaders regarding his leadership skills.

Nanos, through his lawyer, admitted to resigning from the El Paso Police Department in 1982 to avoid a three-day suspension for insubordination. He also defended the perceived inconsistencies in his sworn deposition regarding his disciplinary record.

On April 7, the Pima County Board of Supervisors requested that the sheriff respond to questions following allegations of perjury stemming from his deposition in a First Amendment lawsuit filed by Sgt. Aaron Cross, president of the Pima County Deputies Association.

During his testimony, Nanos asserted that he had never been suspended as a result of disciplinary measures in his law enforcement career.

An image shows Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos addressing reporters about Nancy Guthrie’s suspected abduction, juxtaposed with a picture of Guthrie playing mahjong. (Rebecca Noble/Reuters, Courtesy of NBC)

According to an April 21 letter from his lawyer, James Cool, he misunderstood the question.

Nanos has never been suspended from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in a career that began in 1984. Cool acknowledged that he was suspended repeatedly in his prior role at the El Paso Police Department in Texas, a job he resigned from in 1982 to avoid further disciplinary action.

“It is 100% correct that Sheriff Nanos was never suspended during his four decades of decorated and faithful service with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department (‘PCSD’),” Cool wrote in a 12-page letter to the board. “However, Sheriff Nanos was suspended more than forty years ago while employed by El Paso Police Department. In the context of his live deposition, Sheriff Nanos did not understand the question related to discipline with a different agency not governed by the Arizona Peace Officer’s Bill of Rights.”

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos updates the media on the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, mother of “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, in Tucson, Ariz., on Feb. 5, 2026. (Sejal Govindarao/AP Photo)

Nanos’ lawyers accused Cross and former PCSD Lt. Heather Lappin, Nanos’ most recent election challenger, of “sustained findings of misconduct.”

“Chock full of lies,” Cross said of Cool’s letter. “But did you notice it wasn’t a sworn statement, as required?”

The board voted on April 7 to have Nanos answer questions “under oath.”

County board members have questioned whether Nanos used his position to interfere with the election and wrongfully targeted Lappin for investigation during the campaign.

Law enforcement and news broadcasters are stationed outside Nancy Guthrie’s residence in Tucson, Ariz., on Feb. 10, 2026, as searches continue for the 84-year-old mother of journalist Savannah Guthrie. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Attached to the letter, Cool included a copy of a March 11 note from the Justice Department informing County Administrator Jan Lesher that the former U.S. attorney for Arizona under the Biden administration found “no federal predicate” for a criminal investigation into the election allegations.

“We have no further response to provide beyond what was already communicated in December 2024,” current U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Timothy Courchaine wrote.

Cool defended Nanos’ handling of the sheriff’s department budget, argued that the sheriff should not have to answer all of the board’s questions in a public setting, and downplayed concerns of retaliation against Cross and Lappin. Both of them have pending lawsuits.

A member of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department stands in front of the house of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, in Tucson, Ariz., on Feb. 10, 2026. (Ty ONeil/AP)

Cool also included a copy of Nanos’ 1984 resume, which lists his hobbies as “boxing, fishing, pool, crosswords and physical exercise.”

After leaving the El Paso Police Department, Nanos worked briefly in sales and then as a security guard before joining the PCSD in 1984 as a corrections officer.

Savannah Guthrie visits the “Today” show at Rockefeller Plaza in New York on March 5, 2026. (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Guthrie is believed to have been abducted from her home in the Catalina Foothills, north of Tucson, Arizona, in the early hours of Feb. 1. A masked intruder appears on doorbell camera video. Her back door was found propped open the following morning. Her whereabouts remain unknown.

She is the mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, who has put $1 million toward the combined reward for finding her.