The Pima County Sheriff’s Department says it is “fully committed” to finding Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, as the case approaches 100 days with no named suspect.
In an update given to Us Weekly’s report on the sheriff’s latest statement, the department said the investigation remains “active and ongoing” and that it continues to work “closely with our partners at the FBI.”
That posture matters because the public has been living on fragments: a masked man on a porch camera, unanswered questions about what happened inside the home, and a family left pleading for help while investigators ask the public for tips, “even small details.”
Nancy Guthrie was reported as abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on February 1, and Tuesday, May 12, “will mark 100 days” since she disappeared. Authorities still have not named a suspect.
The sheriff’s office also said “DNA and video analysis are underway, supported by laboratories across the country,” adding that “advances in technology are aiding investigative efforts,” and that tips “continue to be received and reviewed.”
From the start, the investigation has revolved around what law enforcement could capture, and what it could not. Us Weekly reported that black-and-white doorbell security camera images showed a man in a ski mask on Nancy Guthrie’s porch the morning of her disappearance.
National Review later described newly recovered doorbell-camera footage that appears to show a masked, armed person tampering with Nancy Guthrie’s camera in the early hours. National Review also reported that Sheriff Chris Nanos said Nancy Guthrie was dropped off at her home around 9:50 p.m. on January 31 and that her pacemaker app was disconnected from her phone at 2:28 a.m. on February 1.
Us Weekly separately reported that, “the same night,” law enforcement revealed Nancy Guthrie’s pacemaker had stopped syncing with her Apple Watch, and that she had a pacemaker and needed important medication to survive.
The scene itself has fed public concern. The Associated Press reported that Nanos acknowledged missteps in the early days, including returning Nancy Guthrie’s home to the family too soon before the scene was resecured, after reporters photographed blood droplets there. The AP also reported that authorities released surveillance video showing someone approaching the door wearing a ski mask, gun holster and backpack, and that a man was later detained and released after a traffic stop south of Tucson.
Our readers who have followed the case’s unsettling physical evidence will recognize those themes from earlier coverage, including what we laid out in our look at the Tucson home scene and the lack of arrests.
The new sheriff’s office statement is not a breakthrough. It’s a plea for patience paired with a reminder that the work continues, DNA, video, and the slow grind of running down tips.
But it also underscores a hard truth about high-profile crimes: trust is earned in inches, and law enforcement’s words matter because families and neighbors have little else to hold onto. AP captured Nanos describing what that scrutiny feels like, while also acknowledging the need to withhold certain details.
In that same AP account, a retired chief U.S. marshal, Tom Morrissey, explained the pressure on investigators when the public expects constant updates. He warned that the suspect can watch law enforcement’s moves in real time, which can affect the ability to make an arrest.
Even so, the sheriff’s office is the institution with the badge and the budget. And when a case hits the 100-day mark without a suspect, “we’re working on it” is not enough by itself; it has to be matched with credible communication and a clear chain of cooperation.
That’s why the department emphasized it is working “closely” with the FBI. Anyone with credible information has been urged to contact 88-CRIME or the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
As the case has stretched on, conflicting claims have surfaced around what the public has seen in released images. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department pushed back on suggestions that the suspect was seen at the home on a day earlier than the disappearance.
In a statement quoted by the Washington Examiner, the department said:
"There is no date or time stamp associated with these images. Therefore, any suggestion that the photographs were taken on different days is purely speculative,”
That matters because speculation doesn’t just mislead the public, it can also swamp a tip line and distract from verifiable leads. If officials want “even small details,” they also owe the public clean boundaries between what’s known and what’s conjecture.
Another example: physical evidence can look damning until it’s tested. Just the News reported that Sheriff Chris Nanos said DNA found on gloves near Guthrie’s home belonged to a restaurant worker across the street and that the person is not a suspect.
Readers can also revisit our prior reporting on the forensics angle, including a previous update on FBI DNA results tied to evidence from the home.
Us Weekly reported that Savannah Guthrie, a 54-year-old coanchor on NBC’s Today, stepped away from the show for two months amid her mother’s disappearance and returned to the program on April 6.
In March, Us Weekly reported, Savannah Guthrie spoke to Hoda Kotb and recalled asking whether her mother could have been targeted “because of me.” She quoted her brother Camron’s response: “I’m sorry, sweetie, but yeah, maybe,” while adding that the family still doesn’t know what happened.
She also described the thought that she “brought this to her bedside” as “too much to bear,” and she speculated that someone might have thought they could “make a quick buck,” while emphasizing, “we don’t know.”
Beyond interviews, the family has asked the public for prayers. Us Weekly reported that Savannah Guthrie wrote on Instagram on February 2: “We believe in goodness. we believe in humanity. above all, we believe in Him.” She also wrote: “Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant. raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. We need you.”
Us Weekly also reported that Savannah Guthrie and her family increased the reward for their mother’s recovery to $1 million.
We’ve also tracked how the sheriff’s public posture has evolved as the case dragged on, including in our earlier coverage of the sheriff answering criticism about the investigation.
At the 100-day mark, the most important facts are painfully basic: Nancy Guthrie remains missing, authorities have not named a suspect, and investigators say they are still working DNA and video analysis while reviewing tips.
The AP reported Nanos has tried to keep the public informed while withholding details only the abductor would know, and that he acknowledged at least one misstep involving control of the home as a scene. That kind of candor is better than stonewalling, but it also highlights the stakes: early errors can harden into permanent blind spots.
The sheriff’s office can’t solve a case by press release. Still, communication is part of the job, especially when fear spreads beyond one family and into a whole community.
As disputes have swirled about the sheriff’s handling of the case, readers who want more context can also see our previous write-up on allegations of tension involving the FBI.
When government asks citizens for trust, it should show the work, level with the public about what’s knowable, and keep the focus on results, not on managing criticism.
Taxpayers fund law enforcement to bring order and answers; families shouldn’t have to mark “100 days” as a milestone for basic accountability.