Pima County deputies are catching heat online after the sheriff’s office appeared to pat itself on the back for locating a missing “vulnerable adult” — while Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, is still nowhere to be found more than a month after her reported abduction.
The blowback erupted after the Pima County Sheriff’s Department posted a missing-person alert on X for 75-year-old Michael Lowther, described as a vulnerable adult last seen riding an electric scooter.
The department urged the public to call 9-1-1 with any information.
Then came the update — almost immediately.
“UPDATE: Mr. Lowther has been located,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
And just like that, the comments section turned into a referendum on the Nancy Guthrie investigation.
“So you can find him quick but not Nancy?” one user snapped.
Another added, “Taking the dubs when you can, I guess.”
A third went straight for the jugular: “Seems like a lot of older people go missing in Pima County. Maybe you need a new sheriff.”
But the angriest reactions were focused on one person: Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos.
“Where is Nancy? What the h— are you guys doing?” one commenter wrote. “I cannot believe you have not found her yet or recovered her yet. It’s a joke. Your sheriff is a joke. Get your s— together.”
Nancy Guthrie has been missing for more than a month, and critics say the investigation has felt messy and confusing from the start.
Nanos has been accused by detractors of mishandling key early steps, including criticism that the crime scene was processed and released too quickly — a decision that sparked outrage after media footage showed disturbing details outside the home, undercutting the department’s earlier messaging about what happened.
Meanwhile, investigators have circulated images and video from a home security camera that allegedly captured a masked man wearing black gloves at Nancy’s door. The suspect’s face is largely concealed, but his eyes, brows, general build, and gear were visible — including a backpack and what appeared to be a holster.
Authorities have said they’ve received thousands of tips. So far, no arrest. No named suspect. No major public breakthrough.
And for many locals watching the sheriff’s office celebrate a quick “located” post for a different missing person, it wasn’t reassurance — it was gasoline on the fire.
Because their question hasn’t changed:
Where is Nancy?
Don’t re elect him!