Sheriff Chris Nanos steps back in Nancy Guthrie case, pleads with kidnapper to ‘let her go’ as family pleads for help.

As the manhunt for Nancy Guthrie nears its two-month mark, the officer leading the investigation is sending a stern message to anyone who may be responsible as her family appeals for the case to be reopened.

In a new interview with News 4 Tucson, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos defended his department’s handling of the investigation and insisted he has no regrets about the decisions made early on, even though the case remains unsolved.

“Look, I don’t regret my team and its efforts,” said Nanos. “I don’t regret letting go of the crime scene so quickly or anything like that.”

Guthrie, 84, who is the mother of Savannah Guthrie, one of the co-hosts of “Today”, disappeared on the night of Jan. 31 after returning home from dinner with her family and was reported missing on February 1 after failing to attend church.

Authorities have released body camera footage showing a masked suspect outside his home in the Catalina Foothills the night he disappeared. Investigators say they continue to rely heavily on digital evidence, including cell phone data, surveillance video and other analysis, but have not announced any arrests.

When asked what he would say to the person or people responsible for Guthrie’s disappearance, Nanos issued a direct complaint.

“Just let him go, let him go,” he said. “Take him to the clinic, the hospital.

As investigators continue their work, Guthrie’s family is asking the public to come forward with anything that can help solve this case.

“We are asking this community to pay attention to our mother’s case again,” the family wrote in an Instagram post over the weekend. “Please look for camera footage, journal notes, text messages, comments, or conversations that may be relevant in retrospect.”

“No detail is too small. It could be the key.”

The family pointed to several critical moments, including the evening of Jan. 31, the early hours of Feb. 1 and the evening of Jan. 11, suggesting that the previously released video of a masked man at Guthrie’s door weeks before her disappearance was significant.

“We continue to believe that Tucsonans, and the greater community of Southern Arizona, hold the key to finding a solution to this case,” the statement said. “You know something. It’s possible that a member of this community has information that they don’t even know is important.”

“You know something,” the family wrote. “It is possible that a member of this community has information that he does not even know is important.”

News 4 Tucson’s special also highlighted the heartache of Guthrie’s disappearance in Tucson, where co-workers, neighbors and strangers alike rallied around his family with vigils, tips, flowers and handwritten messages of hope.

Former colleagues described Guthrie as a quiet but powerful force in southern Arizona, someone whose work left a lasting mark on public health, education and journalism. Jacqueline Sharkey, a former University of Arizona professor who worked with Guthrie for decades, remembered him as a “quiet leader who was efficient and never worked,” according to the source.

Others recalled Guthrie’s role in helping to save a toxic information center at the University of Arizona, gathering more than 20,000 pre-Internet signatures to keep the program alive — work one colleague said went on to benefit thousands of Arizonans.

Dave Cuillier, who served with Guthrie on the journalism school’s advisory council, called him “a great champion of journalism and the University of Arizona” and said he had a “quiet strength,” according to News 4 Tucson.

The special also showed how far Guthrie’s support has spread beyond his hometown.

One moment highlighted Melanie, who began making yellow ribbons of hope to bring attention to the case – something she and a friend had done for other missing women, including Laci Peterson and Natalee Holloway. At this time, compelled by Guthrie’s story, he began making them again and sent them to Tucson.

The ribbons are now worn by employees of El Charro, the Tucson restaurant where Guthrie had lunch with her daughters a few months before her disappearance.

Ray Flores, president of Flores Concepts, said the case hit hard after employees realized it was “not just a missing person’s problem.” Although he said he did not know Nancy, he recalled seeing the closeness between Guthrie and his daughters during the visit and said the pain was felt throughout the city.

“You can tell they are a very loving family,” Flores said, according to News 4 Tucson. “Whenever you experience that kind of pain, it affects you because you can feel it in your community and in your heart.”

El Charro staff welcomed the ribbon campaign as a way to keep raising awareness as the weeks progressed.

“We still support them, and we still think about them every day,” said another employee.

Beyond the ribbons and tributes, the special showed how Guthrie’s disappearance left an indelible mark on his community.

At the same time, neighbors in the Catalina Foothills quietly organized their own efforts — gathering surveillance footage, video showing clues from nearby homes and passing on items that could be useful to law enforcement.

One neighbor told the station that the group’s goal is simple: to help investigators “with guidance and helpfulness.”

Residents say they’re checking more often, taking extra precautions and considering updating neighborhood watches.

The special described the case as “community united by one request” – bring him home.

That support has deepened as the investigation continues. Outside Guthrie’s home, a growing shrine of flowers, candles and handwritten notes has become a symbol of heartbreak and community determination. Savannah Guthrie and family members returned to the area earlier this month, visibly saddened as they accepted the donations left behind.

In their latest message, the family made it clear that their focus is on one.

They wrote: “We miss our mother with everything we can, and we will not be at peace until she is home. “We will not be sad. We can be sad and wonder.”

A reward of more than $1 million is being offered for information leading to Guthrie’s recovery.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip through law enforcement.