Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos was suspended eight times during his early career with the El Paso Police Department, records obtained by the Arizona Republic through a public records request show, a history now drawing fresh attention as the 70-year-old lawman faces mounting criticism over his handling of the Nancy Guthrie disappearance investigation in Tucson, Arizona.
The records detail accusations of excessive force against suspects, a false statement to authorities, off-duty gambling, tardiness, profane language directed at a suspect's wife, and threats against a witness who filed a complaint. Nanos's longest suspension ran 15 days. He was reportedly forced to resign from the El Paso department in 1982 before joining the Pima County Sheriff's Department two years later.
That career trajectory matters now because the Pima County Board of Supervisors has ordered Nanos to provide sworn testimony about whether he misrepresented his work history when he joined the department in 1984. The deposition demand landed as Nanos already faced sharp questions about the investigation into the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today Show host Savannah Guthrie, who vanished from her Tucson home on February 1 and has not been found.
The documents paint a picture of repeated misconduct allegations stretching from 1979 through the early 1980s. In March 1982, Nanos received his longest suspension after a handcuffed robbery suspect described in a suspension notice as "intoxicated and uncooperative" was hospitalized with severe blood loss. The suspect later filed a police assault charge report against Nanos. A grand jury declined to indict.
His second-longest suspension came in June 1980 after an incident involving a man named Wayne Robertson. Robertson had been arrested for public intoxication and refusing to identify himself, allegedly because he did not want his wife bothered. The records attributed profane and threatening language to Nanos directed at Robertson, including a threat to take him "to the desert and beat the h*** out of him."
Another record described Nanos threatening a witness who had lodged a complaint against him. The witness reported that Nanos told him, "One of these nights I will waste you." Nanos denied stopping the witness, but dispatcher logs showed he had called in a warrant check on the man, the Arizona Republic reported.
Nanos was also suspended ten days for lying, the records showed.
Not everything in the file was damaging. A 1979 document credited Nanos with saving his partner's life by shooting a suspect from a rooftop. But the cumulative record, excessive force, false statements, witness intimidation, and a forced resignation, raises obvious questions about how thoroughly Pima County vetted the man who would eventually become its sheriff in 2020.
Spokesperson Brittany Abarr offered a carefully worded response:
"Sheriff Chris Nanos remains committed to full compliance and will continue to operate with openness and transparency moving forward. His priority remains maintaining public trust and serving the community with integrity."
The disciplinary records surfaced at the worst possible time for Nanos. More than two months after Nancy Guthrie was taken from her home, the case remains unsolved. No suspects have been arrested or publicly identified. Two individuals were briefly apprehended, one ten days in, another 13 days in, and both were released without charges after investigators determined they had no connection to the case.
Surveillance footage showed a masked suspect appearing to break into Guthrie's property in the middle of the night on February 1. National Review reported that recovered Nest doorbell footage, released by the FBI, showed a masked person with a backpack and what appeared to be a gun holster attempting to cover or disable the camera before it disconnected at 1:47 a.m. By 2:28 a.m., Guthrie's pacemaker app indicated it had disconnected from her phone.
Authorities believe the 84-year-old was kidnapped or taken against her will. Her mobility limitations made it unlikely she wandered off on her own, Just The News reported, citing Sheriff Nanos's own description of "grave concern" at the scene. Ransom communications have surfaced, the Pima County Sheriff's Office confirmed it was aware of reports about possible ransom notes and said detectives were coordinating with the FBI.
Investigators also found blood evidence at Nancy Guthrie's front door, and authorities later confirmed the blood on the front porch was hers.
The FBI increased its reward to $100,000 for information leading to Guthrie or an arrest and conviction. Savannah Guthrie and her family eventually issued a $1 million reward, but not until 24 days into the search. Sources told Fox News in February that Nanos had stopped the family from issuing a big reward sooner, fearing an influx of tips could muddy the investigation.
The decision to delay a public reward was only one flashpoint. Nanos drew criticism for attending a basketball game a week into the disappearance while others carried on the search. He was also faulted for sending evidence to a private lab instead of using the FBI.
Aaron Cross, president of the Pima County Deputies Organization, told The New York Post that frustration with the sheriff's leadership had spread through the ranks. Cross described what he called a widespread perception inside the agency:
"a common belief in this agency that this case has become an ego case for Sheriff Nanos."
When News4 Tucson asked Nanos whether the search "went the way you wanted it to go," the sheriff responded: "Yes absolutely." That answer landed poorly given the results, no arrest, no suspect identified, and an 84-year-old woman still missing.
Last month, Nanos declared he had "no regrets" over the investigation, a statement that drew additional public backlash. The sheriff has said investigators believe they know the motive in the kidnapping, but that claim has done little to quiet critics who see a case going cold under his watch.
The investigation has widened to include events that may have occurred weeks before the abduction. The New York Post reported that Nanos confirmed investigators believe something happened at Guthrie's home on January 11, about three weeks before she vanished, based on FBI analysis of digital evidence and equipment.
Savannah Guthrie and her family have issued a renewed public appeal for tips, asking Tucson-area residents to review any memories, surveillance footage, journal notes, or text messages from January 11, January 31, and the evening of February 1. "Someone knows something," the family said in a statement reported by the Washington Examiner. "It's possible a member of this community has information that they do not even realize is significant."
The family has been bracing for the possibility that Nancy may not be alive. Savannah Guthrie has described her family's "agony" publicly, telling NBC News colleague Hoda Kotb in March, "We are in agony." She has also posted images of the apparent kidnapper on Instagram, writing: "We believe she is still alive. Bring her home."
Meanwhile, the FBI has been investigating a vacant home near Nancy Guthrie's Arizona residence as part of its parallel effort.
The convergence of the El Paso records and the stalled Guthrie investigation creates a credibility problem that no spokesperson statement can paper over. The Pima County Board of Supervisors is not asking Nanos about ancient history for the sake of curiosity. They want to know whether the man running one of the most high-profile missing-persons cases in the country lied about his background to get the job in the first place.
The records show a young officer accused of beating a handcuffed suspect into the hospital, threatening witnesses, lying to superiors, and ultimately being forced out of his department. Decades later, that same officer leads an investigation where no suspect has been named, key evidence went to a private lab instead of the FBI, a family was reportedly blocked from offering a reward, and the sheriff told a local news crew the search went exactly as he wanted.
Former FBI agents have said the abductors showed no concern for whether the 84-year-old lived or died. The people of Pima County deserve to know whether their sheriff showed the same indifference, not toward a suspect, but toward accountability itself.
Transparency is not something you pledge in a press release. It is something you demonstrate under pressure. So far, the record speaks for itself.
