Nancy Guthrie Update Today: Utility Box Probe and Sheriff Scrutiny as Search Enters Week 6
The search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, is now in its sixth week with no confirmed sighting of the missing woman. Investigators are pursuing two new developments: a damaged utility box near her Tucson home and fresh questions about the sheriff overseeing the case.
Damaged Utility Box Tied to Internet Outage on Night of Abduction
The Pima County Sheriff's Department confirmed it is investigating a damaged utility box located around the corner from Nancy Guthrie's Catalina Foothills home. The box may be connected to an internet outage that occurred around the time she disappeared in the early hours of February 1, which could have disrupted home surveillance systems in the area.
Several of Nancy's neighbors told investigators that security camera footage from the night she was taken is either missing or marked "not available," and authorities have asked residents about unusual connectivity problems around February 1.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has since ruled out the utility box as a direct piece of evidence, though the FBI's examination of whether the internet disruption was deliberate remains active and unresolved as of March 11 ET.
Sheriff Chris Nanos Faces Questions Over Employment Record
Separate scrutiny fell on Nanos after records revealed he misstated his law enforcement employment history on his public resume. Documents showed he resigned in lieu of termination from the El Paso Police Department in 1982 — two years earlier than his resume indicates — following a series of disciplinary issues including insubordination, excessive force, off-duty gambling, and tardiness.
Nanos declined to address the discrepancy directly when contacted Monday. The disclosure adds pressure to a sheriff who has already drawn criticism from former federal investigators for repeatedly stating the case was moving closer to resolution without producing an arrest.
What Investigators Have Confirmed So Far
Nancy was last seen at her Catalina Foothills home on the evening of January 31 and was reported missing February 1 after failing to appear for a virtual church service. Bloodstains found at the scene were confirmed to belong to her, and Pima County Sheriff's Department has maintained she was abducted against her will.
On February 10, the FBI released doorbell camera footage showing a masked male suspect — approximately 5 feet 9 or 10 inches tall with an average build — on Nancy's porch the night she vanished. He was carrying a 25-liter Ozark Trail backpack.
DNA recovered from a black glove found roughly two miles from the home was traced to a restaurant employee with no connection to the case. Other gloves recovered nearby are still undergoing testing at a private laboratory in Florida.
The family offered a $1 million reward for information leading to Nancy's recovery on February 24. Multiple ransom notes demanding cryptocurrency payments have been received, though authorities have not confirmed whether any were sent by those responsible for her abduction.
Savannah Guthrie visited the Today studio in New York last week to thank colleagues but has not returned on-air, with her team stating she remains focused on the search. The investigation, now involving the FBI, Pima County Sheriff's Department, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, continues under the working assumption that Nancy Guthrie is alive.
