# 'We're Not Giving Up': Sheriff Nanos Says Nancy Guthrie Task Force Is Meeting With FBI Every Single Day > Source: > Published: 2026-07-08 10:10:56+00:00 # 'We're Not Giving Up': Sheriff Nanos Says Nancy Guthrie Task Force Is Meeting With FBI Every Single Day ## Sheriff Nanos urged the public to keep submitting tips and warned that fraudulent ransom demands will be prosecuted. Five months after Nancy Guthrie vanished from her home near Tucson in Arizona, Sheriff Chris Nanos insists the investigation is anything but dormant, saying his task force is still meeting with the FBI every single day to try to find her. The Pima County sheriff said on camera that there is still 'a lot going on with this case', even as [public speculation about the fate of the 84‑year‑old mother of broadcaster Savannah Guthrie](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/former-fbi-agent-criticises-savannah-guthrie-missing-mother-investigation-1803969) grows louder. Nanos described a sprawling, multi‑agency effort that stretches from DNA laboratories across the United States to tech firms reviewing video footage. He also addressed growing confusion over ransom notes linked to the case, stressing that none of them is being casually dismissed. ## Nancy Guthrie Task Force Meets FBI 'Every Day' In his latest public comments on the Nancy Guthrie case on 1 July, Nanos tried to pull back the curtain on what his team is actually doing. 'There's always a lot going on with this case. Every day, our team meets with the FBI,' he said, explaining that between 10 and 15 people from his office sit on a dedicated task force, alongside federal agents assigned specifically to Guthrie's disappearance. According to Nanos, those daily meetings revolve around a simple question, repeated over and over: what can be worked on today? Some days that means liaising with DNA labs across the country. On others, he said, it is 'maybe [working with maybe Google or somebody on our videos and what we can do with that](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/nancy-guthrie-case-digital-forensics-1803501).' Nanos stressed that this is 'every single day', pushing back on any notion that detectives are sitting on their hands. 'This isn't, "Well, we don't have anything to do." No,' he said. ## DNA, Genetic Genealogy And A 'Long' Scientific Hunt Over the past months, officials have disclosed that [DNA found in Guthrie's home does not match her or any of her known close contacts](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/dna-delays-hinder-search-missing-nancy-guthrie-tucson-1800292). The sheriff's office has since been blunt: this material could be crucial if forensic scientists can extract enough information to make it 'workable.' Nanos said investigators are still working through 'a lot of DNA', and that the Pima County lab is only one piece of a much wider network. He name‑checked multiple laboratories and acknowledged that specialist scientists 'understand way better than the sheriff, DNA and concepts and new technology that's coming, or that exists.' In this latest interview, he also leaned more heavily than before on genetic genealogy, a technique that has quietly reshaped cold‑case policing. He described it in layman's terms as a process in which DNA might not point directly to a suspect, but instead indicates 'the bad guy's relative three times over', such as a cousin or nephew. 'It's not unusual that this would go on month after month. It takes that long, especially when you throw in genealogy,' Nanos said. ## Tips Dwindle, But Sheriff Says 'Nothing Is Dismissed' The human side of a case like this shows up not only in the family's grief but also in the public's fading attention. Asked about new information coming in, Nanos admitted that tips have 'drastically gone down' compared with the early days. In the first few days after Guthrie disappeared, the sheriff said his office was 'just inundated' with calls and leads, to the point where they had to catalogue, prioritise and sort through the mass of information. That surge has now subsided, leaving a steadier trickle of day‑to‑day contacts instead of a flood. Even so, he is clearly wary of people deciding that whatever they know is too small or too old to matter. In a separate set of remarks, Nanos urged anyone with even a fragment of information to contact investigators, arguing that 'every piece of evidence, every single tip we have, they are worked, they are looked at very seriously, and nothing is dismissed.' ## Nancy Guthrie Ransom Notes Under 'Extreme' Scrutiny Alongside the hunt for physical evidence, investigators have had to wade through ransom notes, some of which have already been exposed as cruel hoaxes. In his interview, Nanos confirmed that several messages demanding money in exchange for Guthrie's safe return have been examined and made clear that federal agents are leading the inquiry into those communications. 'The FBI takes these notes extremely seriously. They track them down, and if they find it to be fraudulent, they don't just put it aside. They will arrest you,' he said. Nanos added that he believed there had already been '2 or 3 arrests' linked to fraudulent notes from individuals 'exploiting Nancy Guthrie and the family.' He appeared particularly keen to correct the narrative that law enforcement had written off the entire batch. He said suggestions that 'the FBI or the sheriff have dismissed notes' were 'not the truth', insisting that his task force still has 'a number of notes that we are actively looking at, and will continue to actively investigate.' At the same time, he was clear that not every message is treated equally. One note cited in outside reporting, in which someone claimed to know the identities of Guthrie's kidnappers and sent that claim to a celebrity‑focused outlet, has been dismissed by the sheriff. *IBTimes UK* cannot independently verify all the claims made regarding these ransom demands. ## Sheriff Nanos Balances Scrutiny And A Promise To The Guthrie Family All of this is unfolding while Nanos himself faces political and personal scrutiny over his leadership, including questions about his past employment record and the early handling of the case. Those disputes have been aired in public meetings and formal documents, and the sheriff has already fought off one push to remove him from office. Against that backdrop, his closing comments in the interview were directed not at critics but at the people who have been living with the uncertainty for five months. Nanos said his 'thoughts are still, have been, and will always be with the whole Guthrie family', adding that he cannot imagine being in their position, still without answers after so long. 'The best I could tell the family is that we continue to work this case. We're not giving up,' he said. Nancy Guthrie was reported missing on 1 February after she failed to respond to family and friends, and blood was found on the front porch of her home near Tucson. Detectives quickly concluded she had been taken against her will and opened a criminal kidnapping investigation. Later that month, federal agents released [surveillance footage they said was captured outside her house on the night she disappeared](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/new-forensic-technology-arizona-kidnap-mystery-1800441), showing a masked person tampering with a security camera. Investigators described the suspect as a man of average build, around 5ft 9in to 5ft 10in tall, carrying a 25‑litre Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack. Nanos said the task force will continue daily coordination with the FBI and pursue laboratory and genealogy leads until a working suspect or other breakthrough emerges. For now, investigators are cataloguing tips, prioritising forensic results and examining communications for authenticity, and warning that anyone who exploits the case with false notes risks criminal charges. © Copyright IBTimes 2025. All rights reserved.