Nancy Guthrie
Nancy Guthrie is still missing after her family reported her disappearance on 1 February. Authorities believe she was taken from her home in the Catalina Foothills, near Tucson, Arizona, the previous night. Facebook/Parade

Police investigating Nancy Guthrie's disappearance in the Catalina Foothills near Tucson, Arizona, say they are moving closer to answers as the case approaches 100 days since the 84-year-old mother of broadcaster Savannah Guthrie was last seen at her home on 1 February, according to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos.

The latest update follows months of public scrutiny, grief and frustration after authorities said Guthrie vanished from her home and the case quickly hardened into what investigators have treated as a suspected abduction. Early in the inquiry, officers said they found blood and signs of forced entry at the property, while security footage captured an armed, masked person tampering with her doorbell camera on the morning she went missing.

Nancy Guthrie Investigation Edges Forward

Asked by Fox News on 8 May whether investigators were nearing a resolution, Nanos replied, 'We are,' and described the latest developments as 'really great.' He did not spell out what had changed, which leaves the public with an update that sounds encouraging but is still frustratingly thin on detail.

That caution matters because no suspect has been publicly identified. Earlier updates from the sheriff's office said investigators were working through DNA collected from the property and analysing other evidence, including gloves found during the inquiry, but Nanos also acknowledged in February that testing had not yet led to a suspect.

The sheriff's department has insisted the case remains active and that the work has not slowed. In a statement carried by Hello!, the department said it was still working closely with the FBI, that DNA and video analysis were under way with support from laboratories across the country, and that tips were continuing to come in for review. The same statement urged anyone with 'credible, actionable information' to contact investigators, adding that even small details may prove significant.

Guthrie Case Fuels Political Backlash

The investigation is now unfolding alongside a very public row over Nanos himself. Two Pima County supervisors are preparing to file a motion declaring the sheriff's office vacant if he does not resign by 12 May, the day marking 100 days since Guthrie disappeared from her Tucson-area home. That is an extraordinary backdrop for an already raw case, and it risks further muddying confidence in an inquiry that has yet to produce an arrest.

Dr. Matt Heinz, a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, was blunt in remarks to CBS News, saying Nanos had 'definitely lost the confidence of the community' and adding, 'He's embarrassed himself, and it's time for him to go.' Whatever one makes of that political campaign, it has become impossible to separate the search for Nancy Guthrie from the questions now hanging over the sheriff leading it.

Guthrie Family Lives With the Unknown

The human cost, meanwhile, has never really left the frame. Savannah Guthrie, 54, stepped away from hosting Today after her mother's disappearance and returned to the NBC programme on 6 April after the Easter holiday. In a March interview with Hoda Kotb, she described the private torment in words that were hard to forget and impossible to dress up.

'I wake up every night in the middle of the night, and in the darkness, I imagine her terror,' Savannah said. 'And it is unthinkable, but those thoughts demand to be thought.' She added, 'Someone needs to do the right thing. We are in agony. We are in agony. It is unbearable.'

That is where the case stands nearly 100 days on. Police say they are closer, the evidence is still being processed, and the family is still waiting. Nothing is confirmed yet beyond the fact that Nancy Guthrie remains missing.