Sheriff shrugs off missteps in Nancy Guthrie case, calls for captor to ‘let her go’ as family pleads for help

As the search for Nancy Guthrie nears two months, the sheriff leading the investigation is delivering a blunt message to whoever may be responsible while her family pleads for renewed attention to the case.

In a new interview with News 4 Tucson, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos defended his department’s handling of the investigation and insisted he has no regrets about decisions made early on, even as the case remains unsolved.

“Look, I have no regrets about my team and their efforts,” Nanos said. “I don’t regret we let the crime scene go too soon or any of that.”

Guthrie, 84, the mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, disappeared the night of Jan. 31 after returning home from dinner with family and was reported missing Feb. 1 after she failed to show up for church.

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Authorities have released doorbell camera images showing a masked suspect outside her Catalina Foothills home the night she vanished. Investigators say they continue to rely heavily on digital evidence, including cellphone data, surveillance video and other forensic analysis, but have not announced any arrests.

When asked what he would say to the person or people behind Guthrie’s disappearance, Nanos issued a direct appeal.

“Just give her up. Let her go,” he said. “Take her to a clinic, a hospital. Drop her off. Just let her go.”

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As investigators continue their work, Guthrie’s 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 mom’s 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.”

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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 Guthrie’s 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. It’s possible a member of this community has information that they do not even realize is significant.”

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“Someone knows something,” the family wrote. “It’s 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 Guthrie’s 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 Guthrie’s 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 — work that one colleague said went on to benefit thousands of Arizonans.

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Dave Cuillier, who worked with Guthrie on the journalism school’s 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 — something she and a friend had previously done for other missing women, including Laci Peterson and Natalee Holloway. This time, compelled by Guthrie’s 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 wasn’t 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.

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“We’re still supporting them, and we’re still thinking about them every single day,” one employee said.

Beyond the ribbons and tributes, the special showed how Guthrie’s disappearance has left a lasting mark on her own neighborhood.

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At the same time, neighbors in the Catalina Foothills have quietly organized their own efforts — gathering surveillance footage, cross-referencing video from nearby homes and passing potentially useful material on to law enforcement.

One neighbor told the station the group’s goal is simple: to help investigators by being “targeted and useful.”

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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” — bring her home.

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That support has only deepened as the investigation has stretched on. Outside Guthrie’s home, a growing shrine of flowers, candles and handwritten notes has become a symbol of the community’s 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.

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“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 Guthrie’s recovery.

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Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip through law enforcement.

Fox News Digital’s Eric Mack contributed to this report. 

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.