Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos isn’t ducking the heat — he’s leaning into it.
As outrage grows over the stalled search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show star Savannah Guthrie who vanished from her Tucson home on February 1, Nanos is now facing a full-blown recall campaign… and he’s officially responding.
“We’re aware of the recall, and it’s the right of the people,” Nanos told local outlet 13 News on March 17, adding that he will “honor the will of the people” if voters decide to boot him. He framed the backlash as part of democracy, even as critics accuse him of botching the most high-profile case of his career.
The recall push was launched March 12 by Republican congressional candidate Daniel Butierez — who isn’t holding back.
“He has been an embarrassment to Tucson and to Pima County with this Nancy Guthrie case,” Butierez raged, claiming the outrage has become bipartisan. In his telling, both Democrats and Republicans are fed up — and ready for a new sheriff.
Butierez has also cast himself as the one person willing to take the hit publicly, suggesting others are too nervous to speak out.
“I decided I’d do it because I’m a congressional candidate, I’m already in the spotlight, and I don’t see Nanos messing with me,” he said, claiming some rank-and-file sheriff’s department employees support the recall but fear retaliation if they step forward.
He also alleges county law enforcement took a “unanimous vote of no confidence” in Nanos on March 13.
Now the pressure is on — fast.
Butierez has 120 days to collect roughly 120,000 signatures to trigger a recall election. He says nearly 500 signature gatherers are already working and predicts they’ll clear the number with room to spare.
Nanos’ biggest problem? This isn’t the first time voters have been split on him.
He barely won re-election in 2024 — by just 481 votes after a recount — beating challenger Heather Lappin, a longtime department employee. Lappin previously accused Nanos of using his power against her during the campaign, claiming he placed her on administrative leave in a move she said damaged her reputation and hurt her chances at the ballot box.
But the recall drama is being fueled by something even bigger: the missing-person case at the center of it all.
Nanos has faced relentless criticism over early decisions in the Nancy Guthrie investigation. He’s been accused of failing to lock down the crime scene properly — with reports that the area wasn’t secured with tape and was cleared too quickly. Days later, reporters were able to walk up to the home and capture video showing what appeared to be blood spatter on the porch.
Nanos later admitted he would have handled parts of the response differently, including keeping the area more secure and bringing in the FBI sooner.
But six weeks after Nancy disappeared, authorities still have no leads and no named persons of interest — and now Nanos is fighting two battles at once: one to find a missing grandmother, and another to keep his badge.
