More than 40 days after 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, the mother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie, is believed to have been abducted from her Tucson home, a retired K-9 investigator is raising pointed questions about the Pima County Sheriff's Department's decision to stop deploying cadaver dogs in the search.
Michael Gould, a former K-9 investigator with the NYPD and Nassau County Police Department, did not mince words about the call.
"Cadaver dogs, human remains detection dogs, they are the primary technology available to humans to detect odor of missing people. They're considered in court a scientific instrument. So why the sheriff chose not to use them, I don't understand."
According to Fox News, the department borrowed K-9s from the local Border Patrol office earlier in the case, but is no longer deploying them. Sheriff Chris Nanos has said that if he deemed cadaver dogs were needed, he'd send them back out. When asked whether he believes Guthrie is still alive, Nanos offered only two words: "Anything is possible."
That's not an answer. It's a hedge.
Guthrie is believed to have been taken against her will in the early hours of Feb. 1. Her pacemaker last synced with her Apple devices around 2:30 a.m. that morning. Authorities issued a silver alert describing her as a vulnerable adult whose life depends on prescription medication and who has mobility issues that could have prevented her from traveling far on foot.
Federal law enforcement sources say a masked suspect visited her home at least once prior, on Jan. 11. Surveillance footage from a missing Nest doorbell camera was eventually recovered after the FBI and Google worked together to retrieve the video. The suspect has been described as between 5 feet, 9 inches and 5 feet, 10 inches tall. As of Tuesday, investigators had not publicly identified anyone by name.
Gould noted that the case does not fit the profile of a typical abduction. He explained the investigative posture early on:
"It was considered a kidnapping so they were investigating it as a life and death situation — that's why they executed a lot of search warrants that people questioned the legitimacy of."
But seven weeks in, with no proof of life, the nature of the investigation has to evolve. Gould said the family appears to understand that reality.
"After six weeks, without proof of life, without anything else, the family has come to terms with the fact, I think, that this is a homicide investigation, and it's got to be treated like that."
Gould laid out the binary that the sheriff's decision creates. If cadaver dogs are on hold, only two conclusions follow:
"There's only two assumptions, two implications there, that A, she's still alive, that's one implication, or B, they've given up searching for her."
Neither explanation is satisfying. If authorities believe Guthrie is alive, they owe the public that information. If they've quietly shifted away from active search efforts, the family and the community deserve to know that too. Nanos has declined to discuss specific leads or evidence, which may be operationally sound but leaves a vacuum that breeds frustration.
Gould called on the sheriff to either deploy the dogs or explain the decision. His assessment was blunt: "It defies logic."
That kind of restraint from a veteran investigator carries weight precisely because it isn't theatrical. He's not accusing anyone of a cover-up. He's asking why the most reliable forensic tool available for locating human remains is sitting idle in a case where a vulnerable 84-year-old woman has been missing for over a month.
The investigation has not been completely static. Two men were briefly detained as separate warrants were served in connection with the case. Both were released without charges. On Feb. 13, the FBI towed a Range Rover from a Culver's parking lot and raided the detained man's mother's home, located about 2 miles from Guthrie's residence.
A mixed DNA sample is reportedly undergoing analysis at a private lab in Florida, and Gould predicted that genetics will play a key role in cracking the case. A task force of Pima County homicide detectives and FBI agents remains on the investigation, and a combined reward of more than $1.2 million has been offered.
Gould acknowledged that investigators may be following up on leads behind closed doors. He pushed back against any suggestion this has gone cold. "If there's tips coming in, it's not a cold case."
But the public-facing reality tells a different story. Updates have slowed to a trickle. The sheriff's office offers little beyond procedural assurances. And the primary forensic tool designed for exactly this scenario sits unused.
Last month, Savannah Guthrie posted a heartbreaking Instagram video in which she thanked millions of supporters for their prayers and acknowledged that her mother may no longer be alive. There is something particularly cruel about a case like this, where a family is forced into the public square by the very absence of information that only authorities can provide.
Gould expressed confidence that the case will ultimately be resolved, but cautioned against expecting it on the public's timeline.
"Very rarely is there only one person that knows what happened. It's gonna be resolved. And people are going to be surprised by the outcome of it."
That's a striking statement from someone who has spent a career in investigative work. It suggests the circle of knowledge may be wider than one suspects, and that pressure, whether from forensic evidence, informants, or the sheer weight of a $1.2 million reward, will eventually produce a break.
Law enforcement agencies routinely ask the public for trust during active investigations. That trust is not unconditional. It requires, at a minimum, the appearance of competence and the deployment of every available tool. When a sheriff's department shelves cadaver dogs in a case involving a missing elderly woman with no proof of life for over 40 days, the public is entitled to ask why.
Not every question is a conspiracy theory. Not every demand for transparency is an attack on the badge. Sometimes the simplest reading is the correct one: a decision was made that doesn't make sense, and the people responsible haven't explained it.
Nancy Guthrie's family is waiting. The public is watching. And the dogs that could help find answers are sitting somewhere, doing nothing.