Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told Fox News Digital on Friday that the task force investigating the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie is making progress, nearly 100 days after the mother of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie vanished from her Tucson, Arizona, home in the Catalina Foothills.

Asked whether investigators are closer to solving the case, Nanos offered a two-word answer: "We are."

That terse reply is the most optimistic public signal from law enforcement since Guthrie disappeared in the early-morning hours of Feb. 1, 2026, in a case that has drawn national attention, a reward exceeding $1.2 million, and mounting questions about whether the Pima County Sheriff's Department has been up to the job.

What investigators say happened

Nanos has said previously that investigators believe Guthrie was taken from her home around 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 1. Her daughter and son-in-law called 911 around noon that day to report her missing. Deputies arrived shortly after.

The FBI, working with Google, obtained Nest doorbell camera imagery showing a masked man carrying a holstered pistol on Guthrie's front steps on the morning of her disappearance. A man in similar clothing was spotted approaching her door roughly three weeks earlier, raising the possibility that the abduction was planned and surveilled in advance.

Just The News reported that the suspected abductor was described as roughly 5-foot-9 to 5-foot-10 with an average build, wearing a black 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack. Authorities released surveillance video showing the figure in a ski mask and gun holster, the first significant public break in the case.

No arrest has been announced. The man in the footage has not been publicly identified.

Forensic evidence: a hair sample and a dead-end glove

Late last month, a private forensic lab in Florida sent a hair sample to the FBI for more advanced analysis. Dr. David Mittelman, co-founder of the private forensics firm Othram, offered context on the science involved, though he was not identified as working directly on the Guthrie case.

"Building DNA profiles from hair or other forensic evidence does not necessarily take long. In the 'Idaho Four' murders, for example, the DNA profile was developed within days. The challenge in forensic genetic genealogy is not simply generating a DNA profile, but generating a high-quality profile. Poor-quality or incomplete DNA profiles can make genetic genealogy difficult, ambiguous, or even impossible."

Mittelman added that without a strong profile, investigators "may not see all the genetic relatives," making it harder to determine how individuals are connected.

Meanwhile, one potentially promising lead has already been ruled out. Nanos told reporters that DNA found on a glove near Guthrie's home belonged to a restaurant worker across the street and had nothing to do with the case. As he put it: "We believed wholeheartedly that those gloves belonged to a restaurant and guess what? The owner of the glove, we found working at a restaurant across the street. It has nothing to do with the case."

That kind of dead end is routine in complex investigations. But in a case this high-profile, every discarded lead adds to public frustration, especially when the sheriff's department has already acknowledged missteps.

A sheriff under a microscope

Nanos has faced sharp scrutiny since the investigation began. AP News reported that the sheriff acknowledged possible mistakes in handling the crime scene, including returning Guthrie's home to the family too soon before it was properly resecured. He also conceded that the level of public attention caught him off guard.

"I'm not used to everyone hanging onto my every word and then holding me accountable for what I say," Nanos told reporters.

That candor may be refreshing in some settings. In a case involving a missing 84-year-old woman, it landed differently. Retired chief U.S. marshal Tom Morrissey warned that the suspect is watching: "The perpetrator or perpetrators are watching what law enforcement is doing up close and personal, and it does impact their ability to avoid being discovered or arrested."

Earlier reporting raised concerns that the sheriff's department initially blocked FBI access to key evidence in the case, a conflict that only deepened public unease about how the investigation was being managed.

Retired FBI profiler Jim Clemente told Fox News Digital this week that he believes the suspect made a number of mistakes that could help investigators identify him, if someone in his inner circle doesn't come forward first. Clemente did not elaborate publicly on which mistakes he had in mind.

The Guthrie case has also intensified broader dissatisfaction with Nanos's leadership. The Washington Examiner reported that a bipartisan recall effort is now underway, led by congressional candidate Daniel Butierez, who must gather approximately 120,000 signatures within roughly 120 days. Butierez said the case was "the straw that broke the camel's back" amid concerns about crime, homelessness, and border security across Pima County.

Deputies had previously given Nanos a nearly unanimous no-confidence vote, a fact that predated the Guthrie case but now carries new weight. Butierez said Nanos had proved "an embarrassment to Tucson and to Pima County with this Nancy Guthrie case."

That political pressure has only grown as scrutiny over Nanos's disciplinary record and department management continued to mount alongside the stalled investigation.

Theories and unanswered questions

Nearly 100 days in, the public knows remarkably little about what happened to Nancy Guthrie. The doorbell footage shows a masked, armed figure. A hair sample is in FBI hands. The glove lead went nowhere. And the sheriff says investigators are closer, without saying to what.

Outside the official investigation, private investigators and retired law enforcement figures have floated theories ranging from possible cartel involvement to questions about whether the proximity of Tucson to the southern border played a role in the crime or the suspect's escape.

Nanos described the task force's work as "really great" but declined to answer a question about the approaching Mother's Day holiday, a reminder that for the Guthrie family, each passing milestone without answers carries its own weight.

The family continues to urge anyone with information to call 1-800-CALL-FBI. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through Tucson's 88-Crime tip line at 520-882-7463.

A retired Arizona lawman has publicly raised questions about whether local officials initially worked to limit federal involvement, a claim that, if substantiated, would cast the sheriff's upbeat Friday update in a very different light.

What 'closer' needs to mean

Sheriff Nanos says the investigation is moving forward. The public has no way to verify that claim independently. What the public can verify is this: an 84-year-old woman was taken from her home in the middle of the night, the crime scene was mishandled by the sheriff's own admission, a major DNA lead turned out to belong to a restaurant worker, and nearly 100 days later, no suspect has been named.

"We are" is not an answer. It is a promissory note. And the people of Pima County, along with a family still waiting for their mother to come home, have every right to demand that it be honored with results, not just reassurance.

Accountability doesn't start when the case closes. It starts the moment you ask the public to trust you with it.