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The kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie from her upscale Catalina Foothills home north of Tucson, Arizona, shocked the nation.
She is the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie. He has lived in the neighborhood for decades. And it is not known for crime.
Tucson, however, as Pima County crime is on the decline.
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Violence is rampant in the city as there are large camps where meth and other drugs are readily available and criminals are reported to be exploiting the city’s free buses to commit crimes. The revelations are being scrutinized as the manhunt for Guthrie nears its second week, and after surveillance video of the masked suspect in his stairwell has led to thousands of tips but no arrests.
Fox News Digital spoke with local business owner Josh Jacobson, who works with the nonprofit Tucson Crime Free Coalitionwhich promotes the maintenance of labor and the observance of adequate laws, the treatment of the needy and the prosecution of criminals. Tucson is located in Pima County, and while he describes the county as a “low crime area,” he points to Tucson as a problem.
A general view of a trailer park in Tucson, Arizona, Sunday, February 8, 2026. (Fox News Digital’s Kat Ramirez)
“The city of Tucson is really where crime starts to get out of control, and our deputies are involved in bringing crime back,” he said.
The drug and crime shantytown, according to Jacobson, is three miles from Guthrie’s home in the Catalina Foothills.
Fox News Digital took pictures of the nearby camps – which contained a lot of debris, such as clothes, open containers, boxes, bags and trash.
At the dump Thursday, about two miles from Guthrie’s home, Pima County deputies told Fox News Digital they were investigating a theft at the property. They said their work had nothing to do with his disappearance.
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And with large government sites outside the city, there is plenty of room to set up tents.
As a measure to help with COVID-2020, the city of Tucson implemented free transportation, as reported Arizona Daily Star. While it sounds like a good idea to its supporters, according to Jacobson, it has contributed to the spread of crime throughout Tucson and the region.
“It’s not just drugs, but there’s also organized shoplifting, burglary, theft. “There’s been a lot of problems that have arisen because there’s no accountability in our bus system.” Criminals use free buses for their own gain, using them as getaway vehicles after robbing a store among people who have no staff and no law enforcement resources, he told Fox News Digital.
A culvert near Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Arizona, is full of what authorities describe as “stolen items” on Thursday, February 12, 2026. (Derek Shook of Fox News Digital)
“Actually, people will delay the bus to enter the supermarket, steal a lot of items for sale, run away and jump on the bus as it leaves,” he said.
The nearest stop to Guthrie’s home is 2.4 miles away, however, and there is expert speculation that she was forced into the car against her will, making bus routes impossible in her condition.
However, for many residents, calling 911 can mean not seeing an officer for hours, Jacobson said. Criminal cases may not be reported.
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Some bus stops are also used as hubs for drug distribution, with people buying and selling openly, in addition to smoking fentanyl or methamphetamines while riding the bus, according to Jacobson.
Tucson is located about 60 miles north of the Mexico-US border. When the drugs come in, they first go through Pima County, before they go to other parts of the United States, according to Jacobson.
A map detailing the various locations in Tucson, Arizona, in the search for Nancy Guthrie. (Fox Stories)
“Pima County is one of the most drug-trafficking areas in the state,” he said.
Despite the proliferation of drug crimes, Jacobson says Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos doesn’t want to cooperate with other agencies, including the Border Patrol and ICE.
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In Guthrie’s case, federal law enforcement sources expressed frustration at the alleged lack of cooperation — telling Fox News Digital that he waited two days to bring the FBI into the investigation and later sent key evidence to be tested at a private lab in Florida instead of the FBI’s state-of-the-art facility in Virginia.
Meanwhile, as the FBI special agent in charge of the Phoenix office had the Guthrie family videotaping their response to the alleged ransom demand last week, Nanos attended an NCAA basketball game.
