A retired SWAT commander with nearly three decades inside the Pima County Sheriff's Department has gone public with a damning indictment ofSheriff Chris Nanos, alleging deep internal dysfunction at the very agency tasked with finding an 84-year-old woman believed to have been abducted from her Tucson home on 1 February 2026.

The case, now in its fifth week, concernsNancy Guthrie, mother of NBC Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. She was last seen at her Catalina Foothills residence after being dropped off by her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, at approximately 9:50 p.m. on 31 January.

The most pointed criticism has come from inside Nanos' own ranks. Bob Krygier, a retired Pima County Sheriff's lieutenant who spent 25 years on SWAT operations and served one and a half years as the department's full-time SWAT commander, appeared on the Surviving the Survivor podcast and delivered a sweeping condemnation of his former employer's leadership.

'I'm pissed off and sad,'Krygier told Radar Online separately. 'This is an organisation in which I take pride. I care about its reputation. And I truly hate what it has become.' He targeted Nanos' conduct at press briefings specifically, arguing the sheriff's erratic and emotional delivery has complicated rather than aided the investigation.

Krygier went further, revealing the results of an internal morale survey that he alleged took place a couple of years ago. 'Ninety-eight per cent of the department gave a vote of no confidence to the sheriff for various reasons,' he said. 'Think about that number. This isn't Mayberry. We need to do better.' He alleged that Nanos dismissed those findings without seeking to address the concerns behind them.

Also speaking out wasformer Pima County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Richard Carmona, who drew a clear line between the department's working deputies and its senior leadership. 'All those detectives that are working tirelessly, the deputies that are out there, traffic control — everyone is focused on this mission,' Carmona said.

On a separate occasion,Krygier wrote an opinion column published in the Arizona Daily Stararguing that 'when investigations falter publicly, it is rarely because of a lack of dedication or competence among the deputies doing the work. More often, it reflects failures in leadership, decision-making, and communication at the top.'

The criticism of Nanos did not emerge with the Guthrie case. His2024 re-election campaignwas so divisive that deputies staged public protests, with Sgt Aaron Cross, then president of the Pima County Deputies Organisation, photographed on a street corner carrying a sign reading 'Deputies Don't Want Nanos.'

Nanos placed both Cross and his Republican challenger, Lieutenant Heather Lappin, on administrative leave in the final weeks before the vote. The move prompted the Pima County Board of Supervisors to unanimously vote for an independent investigation into potential criminal wrongdoing by the sheriff during the election; that matter was referred to the Arizona Attorney General's office, which ultimately brought no charges.

Nanos won that election by just481 votes, out of nearly half a million ballots cast, in a result so narrow it required a full recount. Lappin subsequently filed anotice of claim seeking £1.57 million ($2 million), alleging she was subjected to five retaliatory investigations after she declared her candidacy for his office. That claim names Nanos, Corrections Bureau Chief Scott Lowing, and two other senior department figures. Nanos and the department declined to comment on the pending litigation.

Source: International Business Times UK