The sheriff leading the search for missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie has a blunt message for whoever took her: just let her go. But as the case stretches into its second month, her family is begging the public to take a fresh look.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told local station News 4 Tucson he has no second thoughts about how his team handled the early stages of the investigation, even as the case remains unsolved. “I have no regrets about my team and their efforts,” Nanos said, brushing aside any suggestion they released the crime scene too soon.
Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie, vanished the night of January 31 after returning from dinner with family. She was reported missing the next day when she didn’t show up for church. Investigators released doorbell video of a masked suspect outside her Catalina Foothills home that night, but no arrests have been made.
When asked what he’d say to the person responsible, Nanos issued a direct appeal. “Just give her up. Let her go,” he said.
“Take her to a clinic, a hospital. Drop her off. Just let her go.”
Her family is amplifying that call, urging the community to reexamine any detail that might matter. In a weekend Instagram post, they wrote, “We desperately ask this community for renewed attention to our mom’s case. Please consult camera footage, journal notes, text messages, observations, or conversations that in retrospect may hold significance.”
They highlighted key time windows: the evening of January 31, the early hours of February 1, and the late evening of January 11, when a masked man reportedly appeared at her door weeks before she vanished. “No detail is too small. It may be the key,” the family said.
The case has shaken Tucson, where strangers and neighbors alike have rallied. A former colleague recalled Nancy as a quiet force who helped save a poison information center by gathering thousands of signatures before the internet age. Another described her as “a huge champion of journalism” with a quiet power.
Support has spread beyond her neighborhood. One woman started making yellow ribbons of hope, remembering similar efforts for Laci Peterson and Natalee Holloway. Now employees at El Charro, the restaurant where Nancy had lunch with her daughters months before, wear those ribbons daily.
“We’re still supporting them, and we’re still thinking about them every single day,” one worker said.
Neighbors in the Catalina Foothills are organizing too—collecting surveillance footage, cross-referencing video, and passing tips to law enforcement. One told the station their goal is to be “targeted and useful.”
Outside Nancy’s home, a growing shrine of flowers, candles, and notes has become a symbol of heartbreak and hope. Savannah Guthrie and family members returned there earlier this month, visibly emotional.
In their latest message, the Guthrie family wrote, “We miss our mom with every breath, and we cannot be in peace until she is home. We cannot grieve. We can only ache and wonder.”
A reward of more than $1 million is available for information leading to her recovery. Anyone with tips can contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
What would it take for someone to finally speak up?
