Republican congressional candidate Daniel Butierez said he has launched an effort to recall Chris Nanos, citing frustration from deputies and residents over the unresolved case of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie.

Butierez, who is running for Congress in Arizona’s 7th District, told the New York Post he began organizing the recall after hearing concerns about the sheriff’s leadership. He described the effort as bipartisan and said roughly 500 volunteers and several notaries are already involved in gathering signatures.

He tied the push directly to the ongoing investigation into Guthrie’s disappearance, as well as broader concerns about Nanos’ performance in office. Butierez called the sheriff “an embarrassment” to Tucson and Pima County and pointed to recent scrutiny of Nanos’ employment history as a turning point.

According to Arizona Public Media, Nanos amended his resume after it showed he had resigned from the El Paso Police Department in 1982 in lieu of termination, rather than in 1984 as previously stated. The sheriff’s office said the discrepancy was due to clerical errors and not an attempt to mislead.

Butierez also said deputies had expressed a lack of confidence in Nanos’ leadership. A reported no-confidence vote among deputies further underscored internal dissatisfaction, following a similar vote in 2024 in which an overwhelming majority of respondents backed the measure.

Under Arizona law, a recall effort requires signatures equal to 25% of the votes cast in the last election for that office. With 488,919 votes recorded in the 2024 sheriff’s race, organizers would need roughly 122,000 valid signatures within 120 days to qualify for the ballot.

The pressure campaign comes as the search for Guthrie continues. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said she was last seen Jan. 31 at her Tucson home and described her as a vulnerable adult with significant medical needs, including a heart condition requiring daily medication.

The FBI has offered a reward for information leading to her whereabouts, with notices listing amounts ranging from up to $50,000 to as much as $100,000.

The outcome of the recall effort will depend on whether organizers can meet the state’s signature requirements, potentially setting up a high-profile local political battle tied to an ongoing missing persons case.