Savannah Guthrie’s mom still missing as sheriff defends investigation

As the search for Nancy Guthrie approaches two months, the investigating sheriff is sending a clear message to those responsible and her family is pleading for renewed attention to the case.

In a new interview with News 4 TucsonPima County Sheriff Chris Nanos defended his department’s handling of the investigation and emphasized that he had no regrets about early decisions, even if the case remained unsolved.

“Look, I have no regrets about my team and their efforts,” Nanos said. “I don’t regret letting him leave the scene too soon.”

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

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Authorities have released doorbell camera footage showing a masked suspect outside his Catalina Foothills home the night he disappeared. 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 made a direct appeal.

“Give up on him. Let him go,” he said. “Take him to a clinic, a hospital. Let him go. Let him go.”

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As investigators continue their work, Guthrie’s family is urging the public to take another look at anything that might help solve the case.

“We desperately ask this community to show renewed interest in our mother’s case,” the family wrote in an Instagram post shared over the weekend. “Please look at any footage, diary notes, text messages, observations or conversations that may be significant in hindsight.”

“No detail is too small. It could be the key.”

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The FBI has released new surveillance footage of the suspect in the February 1, 2026 disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. (X/ @FBIDirectorPatel)

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 that previously released video of a masked man standing outside Guthrie’s door in the weeks before Guthrie disappeared may be important.

“We continue to believe that Tucsonans and the greater Southern Arizona community are the key to finding resolution in this case,” the statement said. “Someone knows something. It’s possible for a member of this community to have information they didn’t even realize was important.”

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Ring camera footage from the video shows a vehicle traveling south on Camino Real at 2:36 a.m. on Feb. 1, the morning when Nancy Guthrie is believed to have been abducted from a home in the Catalina Foothills of Tucson, Arizona. (Courtesy of Elias and Danielle Stratigouleas)

“Someone knows something,” the family wrote. “It is possible for a member of this community to have information that they did not even realize was important.”

News 4 Tucson’s special also highlighted the profound impact Guthrie’s disappearance has had on Tucson; where colleagues, neighbors and strangers rallied around his 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. Former University of Arizona professor Jacqueline Sharkey, who worked with Guthrie for decades, remembered him as “this quiet leader who was extremely effective without even working at all,” according to the report.

Others recalled that Guthrie helped save the poison information center at the University of Arizona, collecting more than 20,000 signatures to keep the program alive before the internet age; a colleague said the work has benefited thousands of Arizonans.

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Savannah Guthrie hugs Dylan Dreyer during a visit to the Today show at Rockefeller Plaza on Thursday, March 5, 2026 in New York City. (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Dave Cuillier, who worked with Guthrie on the journalism school’s advisory council, called him “a great champion of journalism and the University of Arizona” and said he “had a quiet strength,” according to News 4 Tucson.

The special also showed that support for Guthrie extends far beyond his neighborhood.

One moment highlighted Melanie, who began making yellow ribbons of hope to draw attention to the cause; this was something she and a friend had previously done for other missing women, including Laci Peterson and Natalee Holloway. This time, moved by Guthrie’s story, he began remaking them and sending them to Tucson.

The ribbons are now worn by employees of El Charro, the Tucson restaurant where Guthrie had lunch with her daughters a few months before her disappearance.

Ray Flores, president of Flores Concepts, said the case took a hit after staff realized “this wasn’t just a simple missing person issue.” Although he said he did not know Nancy personally, he recalled seeing the closeness between Guthrie and his daughters during the visit and said the pain was felt throughout the city.

“You can tell they are a very loving family,” Flores said, according to News 4 Tucson. “Any time you feel that kind of pain, it affects you because you can feel it in your own community and in your own heart.”

As the weeks went by, El Charro workers adopted the ribbon campaign as a way to keep awareness alive.

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“We still support them and we still think about them every day,” one employee said.

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

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Annie Guthrie, her husband Tommaso Cioni, and Savannah Guthrie at the home of their missing mother, Nancy Guthrie, in Tucson, Arizona, on Monday, March 2. (Fox News)

At the same time, neighbors in the Catalina Foothills quietly organized their own efforts; They collected surveillance footage, cross-referenced videos from nearby homes, and forwarded potentially useful material to law enforcement.

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

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Residents also say they are doing more frequent checks, taking extra security measures and even considering reviving neighborhood watches.

Özel described the case as “a community united in one demand: bring him home.”

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This support deepened as the investigation went on. A shrine of flowers, candles and handwritten notes growing outside Guthrie’s home has become a symbol of the community’s heartbreak and determination. Savannah Guthrie and family members returned to the site earlier this month and became visibly emotional as they reviewed the memories they left behind.

In their final message, the family made it clear that their focus was singular.

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“We miss our mother with every breath and we cannot be at peace until she comes home,” they wrote. “We cannot mourn. We can only grieve 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 encouraged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or make a report through law enforcement.

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

Stepheny Price covers crimes including missing persons, murders and immigration crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.