Sheriff In Nancy Guthrie Case Scolds Media And Skeptics About Accusing Family Without Proof

Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance has now entered its third week, and as investigators continue to search for her, the lead sheriff in the case has some words of caution for those implicating Guthrie’s family without any proof.

In a recent interview discussing the case, Sheriff Chris Nanos urged both the media and the general public against spreading theories that Guthrie’s family members are involved in her abduction, specifically her son-in-law.

During an in-depth interview with the Daily Mail on Sunday, February 15, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos had strong words for the media and online skeptics who have spread theories that Nancy Guthrie’s family is responsible for her disappearance, specifically mentioning her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni.

“People out there can get pretty ugly and mean and nasty and not have the facts,” Nanos said. “I tell my journalists, you guys need to be a little more responsible… because that's just really nasty stuff.”

The sheriff went on to stress that by rushing to implicate Cioni in Guthrie’s disappearance, it could put an unfair target on his back without concrete evidence.

“But I've really told people, this is a lot of stress. If he [Tommaso Cioni] is guilty, if he's the one who did it, and we're able to prove that, then at that time jump on it, but don't come out of nowhere with this,” Nanos told the outlet.

“I understand the pundits are out there,” he continued. “They're gonna say, ‘well, he's the last one to see her alive.’ We understand that stuff. But, my goodness, you're putting a mark on somebody who could be completely innocent. And more important than that, he's family.”

Initial rumors labeling Cioni as the prime suspect began shortly after her disappearance. Many believe that he was targeted because he and his wife, Annie Guthrie, Nancy’s daughter, had dinner with the 84-year-old the evening before she disappeared.

Sheriff Nanos said he and his team know who the last person to see her alive is, but will not release that information publicly.

“We know who it is, but… when we saw everybody was attacking everybody and saying it's this, we just thought, you know what? We'll say it was family,” he told the Daily Mail.

Nanos also shared that the Guthrie family, including “Today” show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, has been very cooperative with the investigation.

“Everything we've asked for, they've given us,” he shared. “They're in such a state of grief. But they're also, you know, I think they're a little weary too, of what's been going on and being said about them.”

Nanos ended the interview with words for Guthrie’s abductor(s) and also for the beloved grandmother.

“Let her go,” he directed to her captor(s). “No questions asked. We'll worry about prosecuting… another day. Right now, it's about… let's get Nancy back.”

He then sent a special message to Guthrie in case she could hear him. “We're not giving up on you. We're gonna find you. Just… stay safe as best you can. We'll find you,” Sheriff Nanos said.

Via the New York Times, Sheriff Nanos said that the search for Guthrie could take much longer than her loved ones hope for.

"Maybe it’s an hour from now," he previously shared with the outlet. "Maybe it’s weeks or months or years from now. But we won’t quit. We’re going to find Nancy. We’re going to find this guy."

His comments come days after authorities have detained and released multiple people for questioning in the case without resulting in any concrete evidence to link them to Guthrie’s disappearance.

During a recent episode of her Katie Couric Media Substack Live, former "Today" show anchor Katie Couric interviewed two retired FBI agents regarding Guthrie’s case, according to Parade.

One of the agents, Kristy Kottis, said she believes the surveillance footage "seemed and felt like a staged video," largely due to the suspect's behavior.

Kottis pointed specifically to the individual's heavily layered clothing, the brief moment when they looked directly toward the camera, and the way the gun was placed in front of the suspect’s waist, which made its presence conspicuously obvious.

"It was an individual, we don't know whether it's a male or female, showing us what they want us to see," she said.

In a new Instagram video posted  on February 15, Savannah said she is still holding out hope for her mother’s safe return.

"It's been two weeks since our mom was taken. And I just wanted to come on and say that we still have hope. And we still believe," she said.

"I wanted to say to whoever has her or knows where she is that it's never too late, Savannah continued. “And you're not lost or alone. And it is never too late to do the right thing. And we are here. And we believe. And we believe in the essential goodness of every human being."