An 84-year-old woman vanished from her upscale neighborhood two weeks ago.
The Democrat sheriff leading the investigation attended a college basketball game while her family begged kidnappers to return her.
Now federal sources say he's blocking the FBI from evidence that could find Savannah Guthrie's mother – and the Tucson crime he's supposed to stop is drowning his city.
FBI Blocked From Nancy Guthrie Evidence As Sheriff Sends DNA To Florida Lab
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos refused to hand over critical evidence to the FBI's crime lab at Quantico, Virginia.
Federal officials asked Nanos for gloves and DNA found inside Nancy Guthrie's Tucson home so they could be processed at the FBI's national crime laboratory.
Nanos insisted on sending the evidence to a private lab in Florida instead.
The sheriff's department spent roughly $200,000 sending evidence to this Florida contractor while the FBI's state-of-the-art facility sat ready to process it immediately.
"It risks further slowing a case that grows more urgent by the minute," a federal law enforcement official told Reuters.
The FBI will likely have to re-test everything Nanos already sent to Florida – wasting precious time while an elderly woman remains missing.
Nanos waited two days before bringing the FBI into the investigation.
He released Guthrie's home as a crime scene too early, allowing journalists to walk up and photograph blood droplets on her front door.
He later admitted that was a mistake and had to return to recover additional evidence.
Chris Nanos Attended Basketball Game While Guthrie Family Recorded FBI Ransom Response
Nanos sat near the front row at a University of Arizona basketball game on Saturday, February 7 – one week into the search.
Minutes after the game ended, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings posted a video begging alleged kidnappers to return their mother.
"We received your message and we understand," Savannah said. "We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her."
While the Guthrie family was recording that desperate plea with FBI agents, Nanos was watching college basketball.
Even a fellow Democrat called him out.
"That does not look good," said Dr. Matt Heinz, who serves on Pima County's government board. "I mean, dude, watch the game at home."
The basketball game wasn't Nanos's only delay.
He got into a dispute with his department's search aircraft pilot and demoted him to street patrol.
That delayed the plane's takeoff by three hours after the investigation began.
"Three hours in a search for a vulnerable adult is an eternity," a law enforcement source told Fox News.
Tucson Arizona Crime Rate Spins Out Of Control Despite FBI Warnings
Tucson's violent crime rate is one of the highest in the nation.
Your chance of becoming a victim of violent crime in Tucson is one in 171.
The city recorded 54 homicides in 2025 – down from 69 in 2024 and a high of 78 in 2021, but still concentrated on the south side, west side, and north of downtown.
Property crime is even worse – your chance of being a victim is one in 30.
Tucson has one of the highest motor vehicle theft rates in the country.
The Catalina Foothills, where Guthrie lived, sits about three miles from massive homeless encampments filled with drugs and criminal activity.
Local business owner Josh Jacobson works with the Tucson Crime Free Coalition, which advocates for adequate law enforcement resources.
He describes Pima County as relatively safe but points to Tucson as the problem.
"It's really the city of Tucson that's where crime spins out of control," Jacobson said.
Those encampments contain piles of junk, stolen property, open drug use, and dealers operating in broad daylight.
Fox News photographed one culvert near Guthrie's home packed with what deputies called "stolen stuff."
Pima County Sheriff Department Free Buses Became Criminal Getaway Routes
Tucson implemented fare-free transit in 2020 as COVID relief.
Criminals now time the buses to rob stores and escape before police arrive.
"Folks will actually time the bus so that they can go into a big box store, steal a bunch of merchandise, run out and jump on the bus right as it's pulling up," Jacobson said.
The free buses spread crime across the city and county because there's no accountability.
Law enforcement is understaffed and under-resourced, so calling 911 might mean waiting hours for an officer.
Some bus stops serve as open-air drug markets where people buy, sell, and smoke fentanyl and methamphetamines.
Tucson sits 60 miles north of the Mexico border.
Drugs cross there first before spreading to the rest of America.
"Pima County is one of the largest drug trafficking corridors in the state," Jacobson said.
Nanos allegedly refuses to work with Border Patrol and ICE despite the massive trafficking problem.
Democrat Sheriff Won Reelection By 481 Votes After Placing Opponent On Leave
The Democrat sheriff barely survived his 2024 reelection, defeating Republican Heather Lappin by just 481 votes.
That race included controversy after Nanos placed Lappin on administrative leave from her sheriff's department job weeks before Election Day.
She sued, alleging he took that action to undermine her campaign.
Nanos first became sheriff in 2020 after defeating a Republican incumbent.
He has 50 years in law enforcement but admits he's not used to accountability.
"I'm not used to everyone hanging onto my every word and then holding me accountable for what I say," Nanos told reporters on the investigation's third day.
The national spotlight on the Guthrie case exposed what locals already knew – Nanos prioritizes politics over public safety.
FBI Phoenix Special Agent Heith Janke recorded a response video with the Guthrie family to a ransom demand on the same day Nanos attended that basketball game.
Federal investigators are doing the work while the sheriff blocks their access to evidence and takes in college hoops.
Two weeks have passed since Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her Catalina Foothills home.
The FBI doubled the reward to $100,000 for information leading to her return or an arrest.
Authorities released surveillance footage showing a masked suspect wearing an Ozark Trail backpack approaching her doorbell camera.
Nanos says there are "good leads" but no suspects have been identified.
Meanwhile, Tucson bleeds while a Democrat sheriff cares more about basketball and jurisdiction fights than finding an 84-year-old woman who needs daily medication to survive.
Sources:
- Michael Ruiz and Adriana James-Rodil, "Savannah Guthrie's mother abducted from upscale neighborhood as Tucson crime 'spins out of control'," Fox News, February 13, 2026.
- "Sheriff Chris Nanos blocks FBI from accessing Nancy Guthrie case evidence," Fox News, February 13, 2026.
- "Sheriff Chris Nanos spotted at basketball game during Nancy Guthrie search," Fox News, February 8, 2026.
- "Pima County Sheriff under a microscope as Nancy Guthrie remains missing," Arizona's Family, February 12, 2026.
- "FBI Blocked From Key Access to Evidence in Nancy Guthrie Abduction Case, Source Says," Reuters via U.S. News, February 12, 2026.
- "Tucson Crime Rates and Statistics," NeighborhoodScout, accessed February 13, 2026.
- "Homicides dropped in Tucson in 2025," AZPM, January 26, 2026.
