Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is sending a message to Nancy Guthrie’s family, including Today’s Savannah Guthrie, six months after her abduction.
“We’re still here. We’re not going away. If you could just see the team working, you’d see the energy, the concern. They’re fired up and we will continue to work this case hard,” Nanos said in a video shared on Saturday, August 1, per the official Pima County Sheriff’s Department social media account, when asked if he had a message for the matriarch’s family.
Nancy was taken from her home in Arizona six months ago, igniting an investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI. In the clip posted on Saturday, Nanos reiterated that the investigation into Nancy’s disappearance is “very active” despite authorities having zero leads or suspects.
“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of work but we still have more. Not just in DNA — labs across the country are working together — but in forensics, analysis of thousands and thousands of videos, photos. And we also have still tens of thousands of tips that come in and we [are] actively working on. It’s a very active investigation.”
Nanos also went on to explain the two reasons why the sheriff’s department chose to release alleged ransom notes six months before Nancy was taken.
“One, it’s out there. [The] media has covered some of this. We just saw what was being said and we felt like we need[ed] to put something out that’s really accurate. This was the time. Investigators felt like there [were] a number of pieces of information in these notes that it just might jar someone to say, ‘I’ve heard that.’ Or, the wording, the style of the writing, might jog somebody to kind of think about, ‘Who would have written this? How was this done?’” he said.
“I think anybody who reads them — my investigators, we look at it — and clearly there’s things in there that are very concerning to our investigative team. We hope that by releasing the actual note, we will get some response from the community,” Nanos explained, adding that the Guthrie family “absolutely” knew about their plan to release the message.
Since Nancy’s disappearance, authorities have released Nest doorbell footage of a masked figure approaching her home. No suspects have been named. Authorities and the Guthrie family are offering significant monetary rewards to anyone who can give them any credible leads.
“A number of issues have been brought up about people being cleared of this investigation,” Nanos said. “We served a few search warrants. We talked to individuals and we move on because if the evidence is there, we continue that path. But that doesn’t mean those individuals are cleared. It just means that we met with them because we felt like there was a need. There was probable cause, established through evidence, tips, whatever, and presented to the court and we went on.”
He continued, “Does that mean those individuals are cleared? Not necessarily. It just means that we took a look at something that was concerning to us and now the evidence takes us elsewhere. But more to that point, I can’t be more clear. I said this earlier on and I say it again. The Guthrie family has not and have not been suspects in this investigation. We talked with them, worked with them. They are not suspects. They are victims. Victims of a very horrific crime.”
Savannah, for her part, issued a public plea to bring Nancy home as the case hit the six month mark.
“We are begging for help. We are desperate. We need someone to come forward. Someone knows something. Someone suspects something. Someone recognizes the writing in the ransom demand notes. Someone has noticed something different, strange, troubling or just unusual — perhaps with someone they deeply love. Perhaps they are afraid to come forward. Perhaps they are conflicted. Perhaps they are angry or upset for being in this situation,” Savannah wrote, in part, via Instagram on Saturday. “There is a way out — to tell what you know. You can do so anonymously. The reward is available. There is a way to end this situation and do the right thing.”
Savannah went on to note that her family is “real people, facing real grief, doing the best we can, and counting our many blessings along the way — most especially the prayers and love from good people, which we feel deeply.”
“We need your prayers, we need your kindness. We need the good to be stronger than the evil. If you are following this story for entertainment or for profit, you are not on her side – you are part of the harm perpetrated against her,” she wrote. “We will never stop looking for answers – and we will never stop looking for the light. We will always be hoping and praying and believing in the best of our world – in spite of circumstance. This is what our faith makes possible.”
She concluded, “Please. Bring her home. 💛.”
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