Sheriff Under Scrutiny in Savannah Guthrie's Mom Disappearance Says He Was Hit by Personal Tragedy 1 Day After Nancy's Abduction

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who has faced criticism over his collaboration with federal agencies, revealed he suffered a personal tragedy just one day into the investigation into Savannah Guthrie's mom, Nancy Guthrie.

The sheriff revealed that his brother, who was in hospice, died on February 2, just one day after Nancy was reported missing, a news outlet reported on Sunday, February 15.

The local authority made the revelation while firing back at "haters" who questioned how his department had handled the investigation, pushing back on claims that the crime scene was cleared too early.

"My officers were there for almost 20 hours, and they processed their scene, got it done, and brought in all the evidence," he said. "Then the FBI came and did their thing."

Nancy was last seen on January 31 after being dropped off at her home around 9:45 p.m., following dinner with her daughter Annie Guthrie and her husband, Tommaso Cioni.

The sheriff maintained that "nobody" had been cleared as a suspect in the case, including workers in Nancy's home, who were reportedly the subject of two separate SWAT investigations, and didn't rule out possible family members.

"I stay in touch with them, mostly Savannah. I've not been in touch with Tommaso or Annie too much," he told the outlet. "I have talked to them a little bit, but I know the investigators are in touch with them. 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."

TMZ has received four alleged ransom demands in the two weeks since Nancy's disappearance, demanding Bitcoins in exchange for information.

“I know what I saw 5 days ago south of the border and I was told to shut up so I know who he is and that was definitely Nancy with them," the latest note read on February 16, according to the outlet.

The NBC anchor has reached out to her mother's alleged kidnappers in several emotional pleas on social media.

“I wanted to come on. It’s been two weeks since our mom was taken, and I just wanted to come on and say that we still have hope. We still believe, and I wanted to say to whoever has her, or knows where she is, that it’s never too late and you’re not lost or alone,” the Today show host said in a video posted via Instagram on February 15. “It is never too late to do the right thing and we are here. We believe. We believe in the essential goodness [of] every human being, and it’s never too late.”