{"id":199678,"date":"2026-02-08T18:04:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T18:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/sheriff-leading-guthrie-investigation-spotted-at-basketball-game-as-family-pleads-again-with-alleged-ransomers-930-wfmd-free-talk\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T18:04:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T18:04:04","slug":"sheriff-leading-guthrie-investigation-spotted-at-basketball-game-as-family-pleads-again-with-alleged-ransomers-930-wfmd-free-talk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/sheriff-leading-guthrie-investigation-spotted-at-basketball-game-as-family-pleads-again-with-alleged-ransomers-930-wfmd-free-talk\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheriff leading Guthrie investigation spotted at basketball game as family pleads again with alleged ransomers – 930 WFMD Free Talk"},"content":{"rendered":"

EXCLUSIVE: <\/strong>TUCSON, Ariz. \u2014 The sheriff investigating the apparent kidnapping of \u201cToday\u201d show anchor Savannah Guthrie\u2019s<\/a> mother was spotted sitting near the front row at a college basketball game Saturday night, even as Guthrie and her two siblings posted a plaintive plea on Instagram for the safe return of their mother.\u00a0
Fox News Digital obtained photos of Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who is facing increased scrutiny as the investigation into Nancy Guthrie<\/a>\u2018s disappearance drags on, attending a matchup between the University of Arizona and Oklahoma State. Early Sunday morning will mark one week since Guthrie, 84, disappeared from her suburban Tucson home.\u00a0
The source of the photos, who requested anonymity, slammed Nanos for attending the game while the search continues.\u00a0
\u201cI think it wasn\u2019t a good move. This whole thing being so fresh and nationwide, maybe worldwide,\u201d the source said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it was good for him to do it. He\u2019s a major part of the investigation, so it didn\u2019t look good to me. Very sad to see him at the Arizona basketball game.\u201d
Only minutes after the game ended, Savannah Guthrie and siblings Annie and Camron shared a third message on the NBC star\u2019s Instagram page, pleading with possible ransomers to contact them.
\u201cWe received your message and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,\u201d Savannah Guthrie said, seated between her brother and sister. \u201cThis is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.\u201d
WHO IS CHRIS NANOS? PIMA COUNTY SHERIFF WITH 50 YEARS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT HEADS NANCY GUTHRIE INVESTIGATION<\/strong><\/a>
On Friday, a second purported statement from alleged kidnappers was sent to 13 News in Tucson. Details of the contents of the statement have not been made public, but the message did not provide proof of life.
Nanos has come under fire<\/a> twice in recent days for his handling of the investigation.
Fox News Digital learned on Friday that a critical aspect of the investigation was delayed due to Nanos\u2019 dispute with the pilot of the sheriff\u2019s department\u2019s high-tech search aircraft. The pilot was demoted to street patrol after the dispute.
NEIGHBOR SPOTTED MYSTERIOUS WHITE VAN BEFORE SAVANNAH GUTHRIE\u2019S MOTHER VANISHED FROM HOME: REPORT<\/strong><\/a>
Consequently, the plane\u2019s takeoff was delayed for three hours after the investigation began.
\u201cThree hours in a search for a vulnerable adult is an eternity,\u201d a law enforcement source with knowledge of the situation told Fox News Digital.
The Pima County Deputy\u2019s Organization said it disagreed with the decision to transfer the \u201chigh-performing pilot\u201d at the time, as it left a crucial law enforcement asset short-staffed.
41-MINUTE TIMELINE IN NANCY GUTHRIE CASE RAISES RED FLAGS FROM EX-HOMICIDE DETECTIVE<\/strong><\/a>
\u201cThe pilot even made a personal plea to Sheriff Nanos but was ignored, and he was sent to patrol,\u201d a union official told Fox Digital. \u201cThis is unfortunately typical of Sheriff Nanos\u2019 leadership style. The most experienced Search and Rescue deputy in the department was transferred to Patrol late last year, without a replacement, simply because he\u2019d \u2018been there too long.\u2019 This left a critical unit short-staffed during one of the highest profile searches in PCSD history and during the busiest time of year for Search and Rescue.\u201d
Nanos also admitted in a Friday interview with the Arizona Republic<\/a> that he made other missteps early<\/a> in the investigation.
He said his department released Guthrie\u2019s home as a crime scene too soon, only to return days later<\/a> to recover additional evidence. Nanos acknowledged that the scene should have remained secured longer and that other agencies could have been called in earlier.
AUTHORITIES SAY NO SUSPECTS IN DISAPPEARANCE OF NANCY GUTHRIE AS OFFICIALS OFFER $50K REWARD<\/strong><\/a>
He has received scathing criticism on X <\/a>from those following the investigation, where he has been called a \u201cbumbling idiot\u201d and a \u201ccomplete embarrassment.\u201d
Nanos has been a law enforcement official<\/a> for half a century, beginning his career with the El Paso Police Department in Texas in 1976.
In 1984, he became a corrections officer in Pima County, and the next year was promoted to deputy.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE PLEADS WITH MOTHER NANCY\u2019S CAPTORS IN HEARTBREAKING VIDEO AND MORE TOP HEADLINES<\/strong><\/a>
In the 30 years that followed, he focused on violent crimes, sex crimes and narcotics interdiction as he rose through the ranks of the department. He became chief of the department\u2019s investigative bureau in 2012, and in 2014, he became chief deputy.
The next year, he was appointed sheriff, but lost an election in 2016 to retain the position. He ran again in 2020, winning by a narrow margin.
His 2024 re-election bid, which he won by a mere 481 votes, was marred by scandal.
HARVEY LEVIN GIVES EXPLOSIVE UPDATE ON PURPORTED NANCY LEVIN RANSOM NOTE ON \u2018HANNITY\u2019\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>
In the weeks leading up to that election, Nanos reportedly<\/u><\/a> placed his opponent Heather Lappin, a lieutenant at the Pima County Jail, on administrative leave, ordering her not to discuss the reasoning for his decision. He did the same to Sgt. Aaron Cross, an outspoken opponent of Nanos and the head of the Pima County Deputies Organization.
Cross reportedly campaigned against Nanos, holding a sign on a street corner saying \u201cDeputies Don\u2019t Want Nanos,\u201d just before he was placed on leave. Nanos claimed Cross campaigned against him while wearing his Pima County sheriff\u2019s uniform in breach of department rules, which Cross denied. Cross later filed<\/u><\/a> a federal lawsuit against Nanos, claiming the sheriff violated his First Amendment rights.
Nanos also reportedly<\/u><\/a> faced a criminal election interference investigation stemming from the matter.
The sheriff has also faced heat<\/u><\/a> for his handling of an internal investigation into a 2022 sexual assault of a female deputy by a supervisor in 2022.
Fox News\u2019 Stepheny Price contributed to this report<\/i>.
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source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EXCLUSIVE: TUCSON, Ariz. \u2014 The sheriff investigating the apparent kidnapping of \u201cToday\u201d show anchor Savannah Guthrie\u2019s mother was spotted sitting near the front row at a college basketball game Saturday night, even as Guthrie and her two siblings posted a plaintive plea on Instagram for the safe return of their mother.\u00a0Fox News Digital obtained photos […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":199679,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-199678","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}