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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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A former FBI agent told Newsweek that the sheriff leading the search for Nancy Guthrie will likely never “recover” from the criticism over his handling of the case.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has come under increasing scrutiny over his handling of the case, with critics accusing him of making several mistakes early in the investigation.
As the search for the missing 84-year-old continues for a seventh week, a congressional candidate has launched an effort to recall Nanos. Meanwhile, the Pima County Board of Supervisors is set to discuss Nanos’ “work history misrepresentation and apparent false testimony” given in a previous sworn deposition, which was revealed earlier this month by The Arizona Republic.
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Jennifer Coffindaffer, a retired FBI agent, said she doesn’t believe Nanos will be able to come back from the criticism, regardless of the outcome in the Guthrie case.
“There is no way, I don't believe, for Sheriff Nanos to recover from the mistakes that were made in this case because of the public perception of those mistakes,” she said.
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The Context
Guthrie, the mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie, has been missing for more than six weeks. She was last seen at her home in Tucson, Arizona, on January 31, and was reported missing the following day. Authorities believe she was kidnapped.
Since her disappearance, authorities have expressed concern about her health because she needs vital daily medication.
On February 10, the FBI released video from a doorbell camera showing a man wearing a ski mask, a jacket, long pants, gloves and a handgun holster on Nancy Guthrie's porch on the night she disappeared. Authorities have not publicly identified the person they called a suspect, but the FBI described him as a male about 5-foot-9 or 5-foot-10 with an average build and said he was carrying a 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack.
What To Know
Coffindaffer compared the criticism of Nanos to the scrutiny faced by James Fry, who was the police chief in Moscow, Idaho, when four University of Idaho students were fatally stabbed in their home in November 2022.
She said that even though police arrested Bryan Kohberger for the murders about six weeks later, Fry’s standing in the community took a hit. Fry retired from the department in February 2024, unsuccessfully ran for Latah County Sheriff and now heads the police department in West Richard, Washington.
“If you look at Chief Fry and the mistakes he made, he ran for sheriff right after and didn't make it by a large margin,” she said. “He basically, in a sense, lost his standing in Idaho as a police chief and as a head of a department.”
She added, "I think in that same vein, just like Chief Fry suffered in terms of his reputation, in terms of how he handled the case, in terms of his downplaying the danger to the community, and then we saw how he suffered, how his career suffered, we're going to see the same thing here."
Fry told The New York Times in a recent interview that he sees similarities between the two cases and spoke about the toll that the Idaho investigation had on him. He also expressed regret for waiting more than three days to address the public after the murders.
“I have said many times that it was a failure on my part,” he said.
Nanos has acknowledged missteps, including that he should have waited longer to release Guthrie’s home to her family. Before authorities resecured the scene to collect additional evidence, reporters had been able to walk up to the front door to photograph blood droplets that the sheriff said were Guthrie’s. Critics also said the sheriff waited too long to get security camera footage from Guthrie’s home and from neighbors.
Critics also called him out for attending a University of Arizona basketball game early in the investigation.
Nanos responded to the recall effort on Wednesday, saying in a statement to Newsweek that “it’s the right of the people."
What People Are Saying
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said in a statement to Newsweek: "We’re aware of the recall, and it’s the right of the people. We’ll always honor the will of the people, and that’s what makes democracy."
Savannah Guthrie said on Instagram on March 2: "We feel the love and prayers from our neighbors, from the Tucson community and from around the country.…Please don't stop praying and hoping with us. bring her home."
What Happens Next
Anyone with information about Nancy Guthrie is urged to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), 520-351-4900 or 88-CRIME or visit tips.fbi.gov.
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