Sheriff Says He Texted Savannah Guthrie amid Her Mom's Disappearance, Has Over 100 People on the Case (Exclusive)

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos tells PEOPLE that Savannah and her siblings are holding up "as best as one would expect" amid the investigation

NEED TO KNOW

• Savannah Guthrie’s mom, Nancy Guthrie, has been missing since Sunday, Feb. 1
• Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos tells PEOPLE that he has texted Savannah, 54, but the two have not met in person
• Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900

Savannah Guthrie has been in contact with Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos as the investigation continues into her mother's disappearance.

Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her home in Tucson on Saturday, Jan. 31. An urgent search began for her whereabouts on Sunday, Feb. 1 and remains ongoing.

On Friday, Feb. 6, Nanos tells PEOPLE that Savannah, 54, and her family are holding up "as best as one would expect" amid the investigation. "It's just difficult."

Nanos says he has been in touch with the Today show co-anchor, who has been in Arizona with her siblings and has not been on Today this week.

"We text or, every now and then a phone call," Nanos says of his communication with the news anchor. "But no, I've not even sat down with her face-to-face. She's got a lot on her plate."

"The FBI and my detectives and those, they've been talking with her face-to-face. She doesn't need to talk to me," Nanos says.

The sheriff says that there are "over 100" people working on the case to locate Nancy.

"It's not just my department, and my department probably has 100 in themselves. You do have at least, probably five to 10 agencies within this jurisdictional area of Pima County, as well as the FBI and others, that are assigned and helping," Nanos says. "I don't have an [exact] number, but I know it's over 100."

Nanos says that have people been calling local authorities and "we're getting leads, and every one of those leads will be investigated."

He reaffirms what was said at the Feb. 5 press conference, too, that they "have not identified anyone as a prime suspect in this case."

During the press conference, FBI Agent Heith Janke, who is involved in the investigation, announced that a $50,000 reward is being offered for anyone who comes forward with information leading to the recovery of Nancy or the arrest of anyone involved in her disappearance.

On Feb. 4, Savannah and her siblings, Camron and Annie, shared an emotional video as they pleaded for their mom's safe return.

"We, too, have heard the reports about a ransom letter in the media," Savannah said in the Instagram video. "As a family, we are doing everything that we can. We are ready to talk."

"However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated. We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please, reach out to us."

Savannah went on to share that Nancy is "our heart and our home," before expressing concern about her mother's medical well-being. "She is 84 years old," Savannah said. "Her health, her heart is fragile. She lives in constant pain. She is without any medicine. She needs it to survive. She needs it not to suffer."

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In a video shared to Savannah's Instagram account on Thursday, Feb. 5, her brother Camron pleaded directly with those who may have taken Nancy, asking for them to "reach out" to the family and let them know that Nancy is alive so that they can "move forward."

"This is Camron Guthrie. I'm speaking for the Guthrie family. Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you," Camron said. "We haven't heard anything directly. We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward."

He continued, "But first we have to know that you have our mom. We want to talk to you, and we are waiting for contact."

Several news outlets have received alleged ransom notes related to Nancy's disappearance, including local station KOLD.

KOLD anchor Mary Coleman appeared on CNN's Erin Burnett Outfront on Feb. 4 and shared information about the alleged ransom note that was sent to the news station via email, which she said included "specifics that only Guthrie's abductor might know, so that definitely raised some red flags," as well as a "dollar amount" and a "deadline."

"There are a few things that we can share as far as what the contents were. A lot of it is information that only someone who is holding her for ransom would know — some very sensitive information and things that people who were there when she was taken captive would know," Coleman said.

"So those are things that are concerning. We immediately sent that information over to the sheriff's department," Coleman added. She said a detective got back to them and asked for more information to search for an IP address for the email.

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Coleman said it regarded Nancy's disappearance and said that authorities are "still looking into the legitimacy" of the ransom note.

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