Lead Nancy Guthrie cop had no homicide experience, sheriff benched top detectives: sources

As questions equine astir Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos’ handling of the hunt for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, 2 sources with cognition of the section accidental his absorption decisions initially pulled the astir experienced investigators disconnected the case.

Only 1 detective had much than 3 years connected the homicide squad astatine the clip of Guthrie's suspected abduction, the sources told Fox News Digital. The different 5 had little than two. The sergeant supervising them had zero.

There was different homicide detective with little than a twelvemonth of experience, but he's transferred out.

Meanwhile, astatine slightest 2 seasoned homicide detectives had already been sidelined due to the fact that they were not "favored" by Nanos' enactment team, according to 1 of the sources. They were sent implicit to the acold lawsuit division.

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Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos speaks astatine a quality conference, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, successful Tucson, Ariz., to supply updates connected the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the parent of "Today" amusement big Savannah Guthrie. (Sejal Govindarao/AP Photo)

The sheriff aboriginal brought 1 of them into the Guthrie probe aft it went into a task unit signifier successful precocious February. The task force, consisting of region detectives and FBI agents, is abstracted from the archetypal homicide squad assigned to the case.

Guthrie's whereabouts stay unknown, and Nanos has publically maintained optimism that she could inactive beryllium alive, telling Fox News Digital antecedently that "anything's possible." Homicide detectives, however, person been portion of the lawsuit since the archetypal week.

The homicide sergeant's evident deficiency of acquisition is not needfully a problem, either, according to Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and erstwhile prof of transgression justice.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

A Pima County Sheriff's chopper scours the godforsaken successful Tucson, Arizona for clues successful the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, Tuesday, February 3, 2026.  (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

"There are different experienced detectives that should beryllium helping," Giacalone told Fox News Digital. "But also, [Nanos] has 2 large cities wrong striking distance, Phoenix and Tucson, who helium could've asked for immoderate assistance to travel successful and stock their acquisition and cognition with his people."

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Doing truthful would've been a motion of leadership, helium said.

"A deficiency of acquisition tin beryllium flooded by mentorship and training," helium added.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos exits the property country past a missing persons poster aft giving an update connected the probe aft the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old parent of U.S. writer and tv big Savannah Guthrie, who went missing from her location successful Tucson, Arizona, U.S. February 5, 2026.   (REUTERS/Rebecca Noble)

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At the commencement of the hunt for Guthrie, the region deputies national blasted the sheriff for a staffing determination that allegedly delayed the formation of the sheriff's high-tech hunt and rescue level — with its aviator reassigned to regular thoroughfare patrols.

"You person to understand, helium terrorizes the full section and makes examples retired of anyone adjacent perceived to beryllium disloyal," 1 of the sources said. "I cognize that sounds hyperbolic. It is not."

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Pima County deputies cod grounds astatine the location of Nancy Guthrie successful Tucson, Arizona, Wednesday, February 4, 2026. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

Although Guthrie's whereabouts stay chartless aft much than 2 months, Nanos said aboriginal connected successful the lawsuit that homicide detectives were progressive successful the case.

Separately, the region committee of supervisors has hired extracurricular ineligible counsel to usher them connected however to respond to allegations that the sheriff perjured himself during a deposition successful a First Amendment suit brought against him by 1 of his ain deputies.

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The committee plans to bring Nanos into a proceeding and request helium answers questions.

A subordinate of the Pima County Sheriff's Department extracurricular of Nancy Guthrie's home, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 successful Tucson, Ariz. (Ty ONeil/AP Photo)

Guthrie is believed to person been taken from her location successful the Catalina Foothills successful the aboriginal greeting hours of Feb. 1.

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A way of humor droplets led from her beforehand doorway to the borderline of her driveway, but instrumentality enforcement sources said determination were nary signs of a conflict inside.

Guthrie's daughter, "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie, revealed successful her archetypal televised interrogation since her mom's disappearance that the backmost doors were propped open.

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DNA investigating has truthful acold not led to a publically identified fishy oregon immoderate arrests. Digital forensics recovered jarring surveillance images of a masked antheral astatine Guthrie's beforehand doorway connected the greeting of her abduction and overnight connected Jan. 11.

The household is asking anyone with accusation connected the lawsuit to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI.