An 84-year-old woman was dragged from her home in the middle of the night and her kidnapper is still walking free six months later.
Now the sheriff running that investigation is being exposed by his own deputies.
The union president representing Pima County's sheriff's deputies just went on the record with details that explain how Sheriff Chris Nanos botched this case before it ever had a chance.
Pima County Sheriff Nanos Handed the Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping Case to a Detective With Zero Homicide Experience
Sgt. Aaron Cross, president of the Pima County Deputies Organization, told TMZ that Democrat Sheriff Chris Nanos placed a detective with zero homicide experience at the center of the Nancy Guthrie investigation.
The lead detective had been promoted to sergeant in 2023 – Cross's approximation – after coming up through patrol.
And Nanos put him in charge of one of the highest-profile kidnapping cases in modern American history.
"Command, for whatever reason, decided that despite the fact that he hadn't been in homicide before, he was the right person for that unit," Cross said.
Cross called it "almost unheard of" before Nanos took office.
Nancy Guthrie Crime Scene Released to Family Within 24 Hours as Nanos Kept FBI at Arm's Length
"The issue was that there was a lot of duplication of work because we weren't accurately tracking who had been spoken to," Cross said of the investigation's opening days.
Then the crime scene itself was handed back to the Guthrie family – reportedly the very next day.
"In my opinion, and the opinions of other detectives and many people in the community, the scene was just given up so quickly," Cross said.
That was the same crime scene where investigators later found drops of Nancy Guthrie's blood on the front stoop.
"It's well-known the sheriff's animosity toward the FBI," Cross said. "That animosity carries on to this day."
Kash Patel had already called it out publicly – accusing Nanos of sidelining FBI agents early in the investigation during a May appearance on Sean Hannity's podcast.
The FBI, Cross said, ultimately found the best evidence in the case: door camera footage capturing an image of the masked kidnapper.
"I'm not sure where we'd be in this investigation without it, frankly," Cross told TMZ.
Nanos Faces a $176 Million Lawsuit for Leaving a Man Paralyzed and a Separate Suit Over the Guthrie Investigation
Nanos is currently facing a $176 million lawsuit from 24-year-old Axeel Melendez, a Tucson man who says sheriff's deputies shot him and left him paralyzed from the chest down after responding to a phony swatting call at his home.
Melendez had warned the department ahead of time that online hackers had been threatening to send law enforcement to his address.
A dispatcher told him not to be concerned.
Less than 48 hours later, deputies forced entry through a window, moved through his home with guns drawn, and fired multiple shots.
A separate $3.25 million claim has also been filed on behalf of Carlos Palazuelos – a man deputies arrested at gunpoint during the Guthrie investigation, held for seven to eight hours, and released without charges.
Nanos then went on X to announce that deputies had detained a "person of interest" in the case.
He has refused to publicly clear Palazuelos's name.
Former Pima County Sheriff's Lt. Bob Krygier, a 25-year SWAT veteran, said: "The most veteran investigator in homicide right now has three years' experience in that department because he keeps bullying people out."
Nanos won his 2024 re-election by 481 votes out of nearly half a million ballots cast.
Before that election, off-duty deputies took to street corners holding signs that read "Deputies Don't Want Nanos."
One of those deputies was Sgt. Aaron Cross.
Nancy Guthrie is 84 years old and has been missing since February 1.
Her daughter has been on national television begging for someone to come forward.
Six months in, nobody has been charged and no one has been found.
Sources:
- Daniel Cody, "Insider reveals how Nancy Guthrie probe was compromised from beginning," New York Post, August 15, 2026.
- "Man detained in Guthrie case files notice of claim against Pima County Sheriff's Department," ABC15, August 2026.
- "Pima County sheriff no stranger to controversy as criticism in Nancy Guthrie case ramps up," Fox News, 2026.
- "Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos says he's still positive the Nancy Guthrie case will be resolved," Fox News, July 2026.