Backlash grows against police in Nancy Guthrie case after suspension revelation
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has headed the investigation into Nancy Guthrie's disappearance from her Arizona home since day one
Backlash has been steadily building against the lead investigator in the case of Nancy Guthrie's disappearance on February 1, with Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos coming under fire for past disciplinary issues as the investigation approaches its 12th week.
The sheriff's history at the El Paso Police Department in Texas has drawn criticism as he resigned from his position in 1982 in order to avoid disciplinary action. He addressed the allegations that he misrepresented himself when applying for a job at the Pima County Police Department in the '80s, after leaving his job in Texas.
Chris' lawyer responded to the probe into his past with a 22-page document that explained his conduct. "Sheriff Nanos resigned from the El Paso Police Department in 1982. At the time of his resignation, he held the rank of corporal," the document read.
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Sheriff Chris Nanos has come under fire in recent weeks
"His resignation came in the wake of a dispute with a supervisor over the towing of vehicles. The supervisor wanted to impose a three-day suspension for insubordination. Sheriff Nanos appealed that recommended discipline to the Chief, who found in favor of the supervisor."
"Rather than accept a three-day suspension, Sheriff Nanos offered to resign in lieu of discipline. The Chief accepted his offer, and Sheriff Nanos resigned," he continued. The document added that he had not lied about his employment history, and wrote on his resume that he left the job in 1982, despite the Pima County Sheriff's Department website stating that he left in 1984.
Chris' lawyer also acknowledged the disciplinary actions he was subject to at El Paso, including "counselling, reprimands and suspensions". The letter then spoke on the sheriff's previous statement under oath that he had never been suspended as a result of disciplinary action.
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The sheriff has lead the Nancy Guthrie investigation since day one
"It is 100% correct that Sheriff Nanos was never suspended during his four decades of decorated and faithful service with the Pima County Sheriff's Department," his lawyer wrote to the Pima County Board of Supervisors.
"However, Sheriff Nanos was suspended more than forty years ago while employed by [the] El Paso Police Department. In the context of his live deposition, Sheriff Nanos did not understand the question related to discipline with a different agency not governed by the Arizona Peace Officers' Bill of Rights."
Social media users quickly shared their distaste for the sheriff after his past in El Paso came to light. "Everyone wants him gone," wrote one X user, while another added that "people are angry". A third chimed in that Chris had "botched this [case] from the start," while a fourth added: "My gut is telling me it was totally mishandled."
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Chris faced backlash from social media users
Chris did garner support from some social media users, with one writing: "Wasn't this decades ago? [In my opinion] he is working hard to find Nancy Guthrie," while another added that the focus on his past was "fueling a dishonest narrative" about Chris' competency.
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Nancy went missing from her Arizona home in February
The Pima County Sheriff's Department has worked closely with the FBI since Nancy went missing in February. While several suspects have been questioned regarding her disappearance, no arrests have been made, and DNA evidence is still being examined by the authorities.
Nancy, the 84-year-old mother of Today show star Savannah Guthrie, was believed to have been taken by force from her home in Tucson, Arizona, after blood was found on the doorstep, and her personal effects were found inside the house.
My Husband Chose His Mistress and a Luxury Yacht Over My Desperate Calls—Fourteen Days Later, Federal Agents Were Waiting at Our Front Door
My Husband Chose His Mistress and a Luxury Yacht Over My Desperate Calls—Fourteen Days Later, Federal Agents Were Waiting at Our Front Door
CHAPTER 1
My husband ignored fifty emergency calls from the ICU because he was too busy drinking champagne on a luxury yacht with his mistress.
Two weeks later, he came home expecting an angry wife.
Instead, he found an empty mansion, armed officers, and one document that destroyed the life he thought he still owned.
“His phone is switched off, Maya. You need to stop calling him,” the funeral director whispered gently.
But his words barely registered.
I stood beneath a black umbrella in the freezing rain at a small cemetery outside Chicago, my hands wrapped around the edge of a tiny white casket.
Inside was my seven-year-old daughter.
Lily.
My beautiful little girl.
And I was burying her alone.
No relatives stood beside me.
No friends held my hand.
And the one person who should have been there most wasn’t delayed by a flight.
He wasn’t trapped in some emergency business meeting.
He wasn’t sick.
My husband, David, was in the Bahamas.
On a luxury yacht.
With his twenty-five-year-old fitness instructor, Julianne.
While our daughter was fighting for her life in the ICU, David was drinking champagne beneath the Caribbean sun with another woman.
Lily had developed a sudden, aggressive case of meningitis.
Everything happened terrifyingly fast.
One moment, she was sick.
The next, doctors were rushing around her hospital bed while machines screamed beside me.
I called David once.
Then again.
Then again.
By the time Lily took her final breath, I had called him fifty times.
Fifty.
Every single call was rejected.
Then, finally, a message appeared on my screen.
Stop suffocating me with your anxiety, Maya. I’m on a digital detox trip for my mental health. Do not contact me for the next two weeks.
I stared at those words while my daughter’s body was still warm beneath my hand.
David thought I was being dramatic.
He thought I was nagging him.
He thought whatever I wanted could wait until his vacation was over.
He had no idea his only child had just died.
And standing there at Lily’s grave, watching wet dirt stain the toes of my black shoes, I made a decision.
I would not tell him.
Not by text.
Not by voicemail.
Not through anyone else.
David had demanded fourteen days of silence.
So I gave him exactly what he wanted.
Fourteen days later, the front door of our four-million-dollar estate swung open.
David walked inside looking like a man returning from paradise.
His skin was deeply tanned.
Expensive sunglasses rested on top of his head.
A bright linen shirt hung loosely over his shoulders.
And he was laughing.
Actually laughing.
Julianne walked in behind him carrying a designer shopping bag that David had almost certainly paid for.
“Maya, we’re back!” he shouted into the house.
His voice echoed strangely.
He didn’t notice.
Not yet.
“Look, I know you’re probably furious, but honestly, the detox was exactly what our marriage needed.”
He glanced back at Julianne and smiled.
“Julianne came along to help me work through our emotional distance, and we’ve decided—”
He stopped.
The smile vanished.
The house was empty.
Completely empty.
No sofas.
No dining table.
No artwork.
No rugs.
No family photographs.
Nothing.
Every room had been stripped bare.
His luggage slipped from his hand and hit the hardwood floor with a heavy thud.
But the empty mansion wasn’t what truly terrified him.
Three people were waiting in the middle of the living room.
Two armed state troopers stood near the windows.
Between them was a grim-faced man in a dark tailored suit holding a thick leather folder against his chest.
David’s golden tan seemed to disappear in seconds.
“Maya?”
His voice cracked.
“What the hell is going on?”
He looked around wildly.
“Who are these people?”
The man in the suit stepped forward.
His expression never changed.
“David Vance?”
David swallowed.
“Yes.”
The man opened the leather folder.
“Mr. Vance, you are hereby placed under emergency executive arrest.”
Julianne immediately pulled her hand away from David’s.
“What?” David whispered.
His eyes darted from the officers to the empty rooms.
Then back toward me.
“Maya, what did you do?”
I said nothing.
Not yet.
Because he still didn’t know why Lily’s bedroom had been emptied.
He still didn’t know what had happened while he was drinking champagne in the Bahamas.
And he had absolutely no idea what was inside the document the man in the suit was about to hand him.
David had spent fourteen days believing he had escaped his family.
Now he was standing inside the ruins of it.
And the luxury vacation was officially over.
CHAPTER 2 in here 👇👇👇
