Five weeks after 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Tucson, Arizona home, investigators have offered a clearer picture of where the case stands — and where it doesn't. On Monday, March 9, a cluster of significant updates reshaped the public understanding of the investigation: cadaver dogs are no longer deployed, a briefly floated utility box lead has been walked back, a Phoenix canal victim has been formally ruled out, and a retired SWAT commander has weighed in publicly on what is most likely to crack the case open.
Cadaver Dogs Stood Down — But Not Ruled Out
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos confirmed to Fox News Digital on Monday that cadaver dogs, which had been deployed earlier in the investigation, are not currently being used. "They are available if needed in the future," Nanos said. The K-9 units had previously been borrowed from the local Border Patrol office, as the Pima County Sheriff's Department does not maintain its own cadaver dog teams.
Betsy Brantner Smith, a retired police sergeant and spokeswoman for the National Police Association, told Fox News Digital that there are several reasons a department might hold back K-9 resources at this stage. Those include a lack of a defined search area, a belief that the victim may be concealed somewhere dogs cannot easily detect, or a belief that she was taken across the border into Mexico. Brantner Smith was careful to note she is not involved in the investigation.
Brantner Smith also raised a pointed observation: "I do believe that the sheriff's department has much more information that they are not releasing to the public — and I'm not sure at this point why that would be, unless they have a solid suspect and don't want to tip them off."
Utility Box Lead Quietly Dropped
In a notable reversal, the Pima County Sheriff's Department walked back a lead that had drawn attention just 24 hours earlier. On March 8, PCSD had confirmed to Tucson NBC affiliate KVOA that a damaged utility box located around the corner from Guthrie's home was "being reviewed as part of the ongoing investigation." By the following day, a PCSD spokesperson told USA TODAY that "investigators have told us there is nothing to indicate that the utility box would be related to the case."
Despite the sheriff's office reversal, TODAY co-anchor Craig Melvin referenced both the utility box and the neighboring internet-outage angle during the March 9 broadcast, citing prior NBC News reporting. NBC News had previously reported that investigators went door-to-door in Guthrie's Catalina Foothills neighborhood asking residents whether they had noticed internet disruptions the night she disappeared — and that a couple living adjacent to the Guthrie home found a Ring camera nearest to the property had returned a "not available" error message when they searched for footage from the night of January 31 into February 1.
Phoenix Canal Victim Identified, Connection Ruled Out
The body of a woman found near the Grand Canal in Phoenix on March 7 — more than 100 miles from Tucson — had briefly prompted speculation about a possible connection to the Guthrie case. On Monday, Phoenix police identified the victim as Alex Fleming, 42, according to the New York Post and local station KTAR. Fleming's body showed signs of trauma and her death is being investigated by Phoenix homicide detectives. The Pima County Sheriff's Department confirmed it had not been alerted to any connection to the Guthrie investigation, formally closing that line of inquiry.
300 to 400 Personnel Remain on the Case
In the first specific on-record personnel count at the five-week mark, the Pima County Sheriff's Office told the New York Post that the investigation remains fully active, with "some 300 to 400 personnel still assigned to the case, the same as when it was first opened." That figure underscores the continued scale of the investigation despite the absence of a publicly named suspect or an arrest.
Authorities have repeatedly stated the case will not be considered cold until all viable leads are exhausted. Tens of thousands of tips have come in so far, according to Fox News Digital.
Retired SWAT Commander: 'Good Old-Fashioned Police Work' Will Break It
Bob Krygier, a retired SWAT commander, gave new on-record comments to inkl.com on Monday, outlining what he believes is most likely to produce a breakthrough. "It will honestly probably come down to some electronic evidence such as cell phones, cameras or GPS, or scientific evidence like DNA, fingerprints and lab results," Krygier said.
Krygier has consistently maintained that someone in the public recognizes the masked individual captured on Guthrie's doorbell camera in the early hours of February 1. "I've said for weeks that someone knows who that person is," he said, adding that "bad guys like to talk amongst themselves" — suggesting that a careless remark to an associate could ultimately expose the suspect.
Krygier also pointed to the substantial financial incentives in play. "At some point hopefully the suspect slips up and makes a comment to someone who has a heart, or at least wants some money for their bank account," he said. Retired FBI agent Greg Rogers has echoed that view, previously stating he had "worked a number of cases where rewards made all the difference."
The reward pool now stands at more than $1.2 million in total: $1 million offered by the Guthrie family, $100,000 from the FBI, and $102,500 from the Pima County Attorney's Office's anonymous tip line 88-CRIME.
Where the Evidence Stands
The investigation's remaining biological evidence centers on DNA collected from inside Guthrie's home that does not belong to her or her inner circle — analysis that authorities say remains underway, according to USA TODAY. The black gloves found approximately two miles from the home, once considered a promising lead, were definitively linked on March 4 to a local restaurant employee with no connection to the case.
The primary suspect description remains unchanged: a male, approximately 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, with an average build, seen on Nest camera footage wearing a black 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack — a backpack sold exclusively at Walmart, though investigators have noted that does not preclude a secondhand purchase.
What to Watch For Next
With the utility box angle now closed and the Phoenix canal lead formally ruled out, attention returns to the DNA evidence still being processed from inside Guthrie's home and to the unidentified suspect in the doorbell footage. Any update from the FBI's lab analysis — or a tip prompted by the $1.2 million reward — remains the most likely source of the next significant development. Investigators and outside experts alike continue to urge the public to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit tips at tips.fbi.gov with any information that could identify the masked figure seen at Guthrie's door on the night she disappeared.