The sheriff at the center of one of America’s most closely watched missing persons cases will remain in office, at least for now. Arizona’s Pima County Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday night to keep Sheriff Chris Nanos in his position, even as criticism over his handling of the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping continues to mount.
Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC’s Today show host Savannah Guthrie was abducted by a masked intruder more than 100 days ago. And there is still no breakthrough in the case and no suspect has been identified.
The board did not remove Chris Nanos from office but members did unanimously vote to send several perjury allegations against him to the state attorney general, according to NewsNation.
Board member Dr Matt Heinz said the board could only do so much. “We have limited powers,” he said.
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What is Nanos accused of?
The perjury allegations against Nanos are serious. One claim stems from a deposition in which he reportedly said he had never been suspended, a statement that records directly contradict. Documents show Nanos was suspended multiple times during his earlier career with the El Paso Police Department, according to NewsNation. The board also says he lied again more recently when responding to their questions about those same perjury claims.
But the controversy does not stop there. FBI Director Kash Patel publicly blamed Nanos earlier this month, accusing him of keeping federal agents out of the loop during the critical first days after the abduction.
However, Nanos denied the accusations and claimed he had worked alongside federal agents throughout the investigation.
Additionally, a local county official told a different story. Pima County Assessor Suzanne Droubie told The Arizona Republic that the sheriff scolded her after she shared information with the FBI that helped agents develop new leads. Rather than welcoming that progress, Nanos reportedly appeared stressed that it created more work for him.
Heinz described the incident on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.” “When the FBI called upon her to generate some information that they thought would be helpful in this investigation, of course, Sue did exactly what they asked,” he said. “And because she’s a thorough person and very courteous, she reached out to the sheriff to just let him know. And that’s, I guess, when he kind of bit her head off.”
Heinz went further and said that Nanos had misled the public from the very start. “He continues to stand by those lies,” Heinz said. “I just would like the county to get to a point where we have confidence in a sheriff who tells the truth and manages this department with integrity.”
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What investigators know so far?
Despite the controversy surrounding his leadership, Nanos recently spoke to People magazine about how the case unfolded from the very first call.
Nanos said that investigators knew something was seriously wrong within minutes of the first call. Key evidence includes doorbell camera footage of an armed suspect and a glove found near her home. DNA analysis remains the central focus. “Everyday our DNA labs are working with our investigators and they’re coming up with different ideas,” Nanos told People. “I think we’re getting closer.”
