Savannah Guthrie 'Dismisses' Arizona Sheriff From Search for 'Abducted' Mom Nancy as Police Still Have 'Zero Leads': Report
Sheriff Chris Nanos claimed Savannah Guthrie told him she 'didn't need him' on her missing mom's case.
Feb. 13 2026, Published 7:50 p.m. ET
Savannah Guthrie has reportedly had enough of Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos and the job he's done with her missing mother's abduction case, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Nanos claimed he was told by Savannah via text that "she has her own people and didn't need him," 13 days after her mom, Nancy, was taken against her will from her Tucson, Arizona, home, and there are still no leads to her whereabouts or suspects in the case.
Reported Clash With FBI Over Evidence Testing
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has given some very off the cuff news conferences about Nancy Guthrie's disappearance.
The sheriff made the claim to Fox News, according to the Daily Mail. The TODAY co-host has not responded to his allegation she was dismissing him from the case. Savannah has issued several emotional pleas for the public's help in finding her beloved mom, since law enforcement has made no progress.
The latest criticisms of Nanos included his alleged refusal to send a glove that might contain key DNA evidence to the FBI's national lab in Quantico, Virginia, one of the most comprehensive crime labs in the world.
The sheriff had it sent to a private lab in Florida, with which his department is contracted.
“Actually, the FBI just wanted to send the one or two they found by the crime scene, closest to it – mile, mile and a half … I said, 'No, why do that? Let's just send them all to where all the DNA exists, all the profiles and the markers exist.' They agreed, makes sense," Nanos told Tucson NBC affiliate KVOA news.
Accusations About a 'Turf War' With the FBI
Nanos shot down reports that he didn't want to work the Nancy Guthrie investigation with the FBI.
Nanos also brushed aside reports he was slowing down the investigation by refusing to share information with the FBI.
"That’s absolutely crazy. Why would we be reluctant to get all the partners who have great resources and offer them to us? he huffed to Fox News on Friday, February 13.
Nanos continued, "We don’t hold information from anybody that’s going to help us. Why would we do that? There are no egos here. This is all about finding Nancy."
FBI insiders told multiple outlets the day prior that a "turf war" emerged between their top agents on the scene and the higher-ups at the PCSD. Sheriff's officials were allegedly upset that the bureau was trying to "bigfoot" the case away from them, when it was only offering its vast array of investigative capabilities, according to multiple sources within the FBI.
Chris Nanos Accused of Bungling Nancy Guthrie Investigation
NewsNation reportrer Brian Entin filmed blood stains on Nancy Guthrie's doorstep after the PSCD released the crime scene.
Nanos has already made numerous missteps in the case of Savannah's missing mom.
He has been widely criticized by other law enforcement professionals for breaking down the crime scene and releasing Nancy's home after less than 48 hours of investigation. She was still missing, and there were no leads in the case.
It allowed media outlets to walk up to the ailing grandmother's front door and get video of blood splatters, a shocking and horrifying visual when compared to what Nanos had previously shared with the public about Nancy's abduction.
The FBI later put the crime scene tape back up as it continued processing the home and garage after joining the investigation.
Missteps with Nancy Guthrie Son-In-Law 'Suspect' Claims
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Sheriff Nanos claimed Tommasso Cioni was the last person to see Nancy Guthrie before walking back the comments.
The sheriff also made matters worse for the family when veteran journalist Ashleigh Banfield reported that Nancy's son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, "may be the prime suspect" in her disappearance, according to an "impeccable" source she had.
Up until then, it had been reported that Nancy's daughter, Cioni's wife, Annie, drove her mom home from dinner at the couple's house on January 31 and was the last person to see her.
After Banfield's report, Nanos told The New York Times that Cioni had driven Nancy back to her home, going into detail about how he had watched to make sure she was safely inside. That made Cioni the last person to have seen his mother-in-law before her abduction hours later.
Nanos later walked back his comments to the publication and refused to say who the last person to see Nancy alive was, only sharing that it was a "relative" who dropped her off before she vanished.
Bandfield has continued to stand by her reporting, saying on February 13, "Nothing's changed" about Cioni's alleged suspect status.
