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Nancy Guthrie’s Her abduction from her home in the upscale Catalina Foothills north of Tucson, Arizona, shocked the nation.
She is the 84-year-old mother of the “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie. She has lived nearby for decades. And it’s not known for crime.
However, crime is declining in Tucson and crime is declining in Pima County.
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Violence is widespread in the city, where methamphetamine and other drugs are easily available in large encampments and criminals reportedly take advantage of the city’s free bus system to commit crimes. The revelations are being closely watched as the search for Guthrie nears the end of its second week, with police receiving thousands of tips but no arrests made after surveillance footage showed a masked suspect standing on her front steps.
Fox News Digital spoke with local business owner Josh Jacobson, who works with the nonprofit Tucson Crime Free CoalitionThe group advocates for adequate law enforcement personnel and resources to provide treatment to those in need and to prosecute criminals. Tucson is located in pima countyWhile he described the county as a “relatively low-crime area,” he pointed to Tucson as the problem.
A panoramic view of a trailer park in Tucson, Arizona on Sunday, February 8, 2026. (Kate Ramirez, Fox News Digital)
“Tucson is truly a place where crime is out of control and our deputies are truly committed to curbing it,” he said.
The encampment containing drugs and criminal activity was about three miles from Guthrie’s home in Catalina Foothills, according to Jacobson.
Fox News Digital captured photos of a nearby encampment containing piles of trash such as clothing, open containers, boxes, bags and trash.
At the dump about three miles from Guthrie’s home, Pima County deputies told Fox News Digital on Thursday that they were investigating property thefts in the area. They say their work has nothing to do with her disappearance.
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and owns a large government land Outside the city, there is plenty of room for more camps.
Tucson reportedly implements free transit as 2020 COVID-19 relief measure arizona daily star. Jacobson said while it sounded like a good idea to its supporters, it contributed to the spread of crime in Tucson and the county.
“It’s not just drugs; Organized retail theft. This is a burglary. This is theft. “This is an attack,” he said. “Because there is no accountability in our bus system, there are a lot of problems.” He told Fox News Digital that criminals cash in on the free buses, using them as getaway vehicles after robbing a store by understaffed and under-resourced law enforcement.
On Thursday, February 12, 2026, a culvert near Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Arizona was filled with what authorities described as “stolen items.” (Derek Shook, Fox News Digital)
“People would actually time the bus so they could go into a big box store, steal a bunch of merchandise and then run out and jump on the bus when it stopped,” he said.
However, the closest stop to Guthrie’s home is about 2.4 miles away, and experts speculate she was forced onto the bus against her will, making a bus route unlikely in her case.
However, for many residents, calling 911 can mean not seeing police for hours, Jacobson said. Nuisance crimes may not even be reported.
Some bus stops are also used as hubs for drug distribution, with people buy and sell In addition to using fentanyl or methamphetamine on bus rides, Jacobson said they also spend time outdoors.
Tucson is located approximately 60 miles north of the Mexico-U.S. border. When drugs are encountered, they first pass through Pima County before traveling to other parts of the country, Jacobson said.
A map outlining various locations in the search for Nancy Guthrie in Tucson, Arizona. (Fox News)
“Pima County is one of the largest drug trafficking corridors in the state,” he said.
Despite the prevalence of drug crimes, Jacobson claimed that Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos did not want to cooperate with other agencies, including Border Patrol and ICE.
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In Guthrie’s case, federal law enforcement Sources expressed frustration with what he called a lack of cooperation – he told Fox News Digital that he waited two days to get the FBI involved in the investigation and later sent key evidence to a private lab in Florida for testing instead of the FBI’s state-of-the-art facility in Virginia.
Meanwhile, last week, FBI agents manning the Phoenix office recorded a video with the Guthrie family of Nanos attending an NCAA basketball game in response to an alleged ransom demand.
