As the search for Nancy Guthrie approaches the two-month mark, the lead investigator, a sheriff, is making a direct appeal to those potentially responsible for her disappearance, while Guthrie’s family is urging for renewed public focus on the case.
In a recent conversation with News 4 Tucson, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos stood by his department’s approach to the investigation. Despite the case remaining unresolved, he expressed no regrets about the decisions made early in the process.
“I stand by my team’s efforts,” Nanos stated. “I don’t regret the timing of releasing the crime scene or any actions we took at the outset.”
Eighty-four-year-old Guthrie, mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, was last seen on the night of January 31 after having dinner with her family. She was declared missing on February 1 when she did not attend a scheduled church meeting.
Authorities have shared doorbell camera footage that captures a masked individual outside Guthrie’s home in the Catalina Foothills on the night she disappeared. Investigators continue to focus on digital leads, including cellphone records, surveillance videos, and other forensic clues, though no arrests have been made yet.
When questioned about his message to those responsible for Guthrie’s disappearance, Nanos offered a straightforward plea.
“Just give her up. Let her go,” he said. “Take her to a clinic, a hospital. Drop her off. Just let her go.”
As investigators continue their work, Guthrieâs family is urging the public to take a fresh look at anything that could help break the case.
“We desperately ask this community for renewed attention to our momâs case,” the family wrote in an Instagram post shared over the weekend. “Please consult camera footage, journal notes, text messages, observations, or conversations that in retrospect may hold significance.”
“No detail is too small. It may be the key.”
The family pointed to several critical timelines, including the evening of Jan. 31, the early morning hours of Feb. 1 and the late evening of Jan. 11, suggesting previously released video of a masked man at Guthrieâs doorstep weeks before her disappearance could be significant.
“We continue to believe it is Tucsonans, and the greater Southern Arizona community, that hold the key to finding resolution in this case,” the statement said. “Someone knows something. Itâs possible a member of this community has information that they do not even realize is significant.”
“Someone knows something,” the family wrote. “Itâs possible a member of this community has information that they do not even realize is significant.”
News 4 Tucson’s special also highlighted the deep toll Guthrieâs disappearance has taken on Tucson, where colleagues, neighbors and strangers alike have rallied around her family with vigils, tips, flowers and handwritten messages of hope.
Former colleagues described Guthrie as a quiet but powerful force in southern Arizona, someone whose work left a lasting mark on public health, education and journalism. Jacqueline Sharkey, a former University of Arizona professor who worked with Guthrie for decades, remembered her as “this quiet leader who was so effective without ever working at it,” according to the outlet.
Others recalled Guthrieâs role in helping save the poison information center at the University of Arizona, gathering more than 20,000 signatures before the internet era to keep the program alive â work that one colleague said went on to benefit thousands of Arizonans.
Dave Cuillier, who worked with Guthrie on the journalism schoolâs advisory council, called her “a huge champion of journalism and the University of Arizona” and said “she had a quiet power,” according to News 4 Tucson.
The special also showed how support for Guthrie has spread well beyond her neighborhood.
One moment highlighted Melanie, who began making yellow ribbons of hope to keep attention on the case â something she and a friend had previously done for other missing women, including Laci Peterson and Natalee Holloway. This time, compelled by Guthrieâs story, she began making them again and sending them to Tucson.
The ribbons are now being worn by employees at El Charro, the Tucson restaurant where Guthrie had lunch with her daughters just months before her disappearance.
Ray Flores, president of Flores Concepts, said the case hit hard after staff realized “it wasnât just a simple lost person issue.” Though he said he did not know Nancy personally, he recalled seeing the closeness between Guthrie and her daughters during that visit and said the pain has been felt across the city.
“You could tell they were a very loving family,” Flores said, according to News 4 Tucson. “Whenever you have that kind of pain hit, it affects you because you can feel it in your own community and your own heart.”
El Charro workers have embraced the ribbon campaign as a way to keep awareness alive as the weeks drag on.
“Weâre still supporting them, and weâre still thinking about them every single day,” one employee said.
Beyond the ribbons and tributes, the special showed how Guthrieâs disappearance has left a lasting mark on her own neighborhood.
At the same time, neighbors in the Catalina Foothills have quietly organized their own efforts â gathering surveillance footage, cross-referencing video from nearby homes and passing potentially useful material on to law enforcement.
One neighbor told the station the groupâs goal is simple: to help investigators by being “targeted and useful.”
Residents say they are also checking in more often, taking extra security measures and even considering reviving a neighborhood watch.
The special described the case as “a community united with one plea” â bring her home.
That support has only deepened as the investigation has stretched on. Outside Guthrieâs home, a growing shrine of flowers, candles and handwritten notes has become a symbol of the communityâs heartbreak and resolve. Savannah Guthrie and family members returned to the site earlier this month, visibly emotional as they took in the tributes left behind.
In their latest message, the family made clear that their focus remains singular.
“We miss our mom with every breath, and we cannot be in peace until she is home,” they wrote. “We cannot grieve. We can only ache and wonder.”
A reward of more than $1 million is being offered for information leading to Guthrieâs recovery.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip through law enforcement.
