Nancy Guthrie Search Stalled After Sheriff Declined Huge Volunteer Group's Help; Family Awaits Answers

Nearly five months after Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Tucson home, a nationally known search-and-rescue organisation says the sheriff leading the case has repeatedly turned down its offers to help find her.

United Cajun Navy Vice President Brian Trascher told NewsNation's 'Katie Pavlich Tonight' that bids from the volunteer group have been rejected by the Pima County Sheriff's Office.

Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of 'Today' show co-host Savannah Guthrie, has not been seen since 31 January 2026. With organised ground searches largely dormant and the family pleading publicly for answers, the rejection has reignited scrutiny of how the case has been handled.

What the United Cajun Navy Offered

Trascher said the United Cajun Navy submitted a detailed plan to Sheriff Chris Nanos, with the organisation prepared to deploy K-9 and drone teams to help bring 'some closure' to the family.

The 41-page document, submitted by UCN incident commander Josh Gill in the days after Guthrie's suspected abduction, proposed that the group would operate entirely under the sheriff's command, with no independent authority, and would not handle any evidence it found, instead reporting it directly to the sheriff's department.

The plan included volunteer EMTs on standby for searchers injured by the terrain or heat. Gill told Fox News Digital: 'We want permission from the lead agency.'

Trascher recalled the office's initial response was blunt: 'Thank you, but we're not accepting outside help.' When the group followed up with the formal plan, it again received no direct reply.

A 'Blanket' Refusal Despite Mounting Frustration

Trascher told Pavlich there has been a blanket decision by the sheriff's office not to accept any outside help.

He stressed the group's credentials were not in question. 'We have a lot of good resources we could have brought to the area,' he said, adding that partner organisations were also willing to help. 'But for some reason, they just decided they were not going to take the outside help.'

'I think early on when we were closer to the abduction date, it would have been a lot more beneficial,' he said.

'I still believe it would be possible to find human remains,' Trascher added, saying that with a personal item such as a pillowcase, scent dogs could help determine which direction she may have gone.

The sheriff's office has faced criticism from other quarters. FBI Director Kash Patel told NewsNation the federal agency was kept away from the crime scene until four days after Guthrie was reported missing. Patel said in June that the sheriff's department declined the FBI's offer to test DNA evidence, opting instead for a private laboratory.

'And that's their choice,' Patel said. 'We continue to offer assistance.'

A grassroots push has also emerged to change the sheriff's stance. Independent journalist Cherise 'Pebbles' Wilson launched a Change.org petition calling on Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos to approve the United Cajun Navy's plan.

Wilson told Fox News Digital, 'I lost my vulnerable grandmother a couple of years ago, and Nancy Guthrie's disappearance pulled at my heartstrings.'

A Family 'In Agony' as the Investigation Drags On

After NBC News reported that a second note sent to media outlets indicated Guthrie had died, Savannah Guthrie addressed the matter tearfully on air.

'Somebody knows something, and this is a new story today that is on your radar, but this is the life that my sister lives, that I live, that my brother lives, that our extended families live, that our children live, every day,' she said. 'And we are in agony. We cannot be at peace.'

The family is offering a $1 million (£740,000) reward for information.

She continued: 'We're begging for your help, and I'm not going to miss that opportunity... Please do the right thing for us, for our family, for our children. We love our mom, and we'll never stop looking for her, never.'

Sheriff Nanos has focused instead on a wave of fake ransom claims. 'I think the FBI has done a number of arrests for false or fake ransom notes,' Nanos said on KVOI's Buckmaster Show. 'It's a shame that that happens, but I think we're looking at another one of those today.'