Why Savannah Guthrie's Mom Nancy's Case Has Been 'Prolonged': 'Nobody Wants to Arrest the Wrong Person'

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos stated that the Nancy Guthrie case has been prolonged primarily due to the heavy reliance on digital and DNA laboratory processing.

In his June 1 interview with Tucson's KOLD News 13, Sheriff Nanos provided several specific reasons for the slower pace of the four-month-long investigation into the baffling disappearance of the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie.

Nanos emphasized that the analysis of digital forensics and DNA evidence follows strict protocols. He noted that while DNA is not an exact science, it is "99 percent plus" accurate and requires tedious adherence to legal and scientific rules.

He made it clear that investigators are moving carefully so as not to implicate those who are not involved.

“If there is a positive to this, it’s that people are working and doing their best to stay within those rules," he said. “Nobody wants to arrest the wrong person.”

“These cases are difficult,” he told the local Tucson, Ariz., news station. “It’s not just this case. A number of our cases come to us where it requires a lot of work from other people. It’s not just a detective who goes out there, talks to somebody, and we can make an arrest.”

The lab results are being used not just to identify a suspect, but also to firmly eliminate innocent individuals from suspicion.

“This is a sensitive case, but what really makes it prolonged is [that] we do rely on labs,” he explained. “You don’t want to jeopardize, not just the integrity of this case, but the integrity of DNA as a supplement to law enforcement work.”

The department is handling thousands of video submissions. Nanos explained that detectives are meticulously cataloging all vehicles and details (such as a red car one day or a blue truck another). This database is being built so that once a prime suspect is identified, investigators can instantly cross-reference past video data.

The sheriff stressed that complex cases like this require extensive external groundwork. He noted that an arrest cannot be made simply by a single detective talking to someone; it relies on multi-layered evidence gathered by various personnel and technical teams.

“It moves at a snail’s pace, I guess for some, but for my investigative team, and for me, we look at this as, no, this is doing exactly what we need it to do,” he emphasized.

Over the weekend, marking exactly four months since the disappearance, Savannah shared a moving piece of religious artwork on her Instagram Stories, featuring the text, “Oh my, my soul, it cries out, soul, it cries out.”