Emails reveal TV crew’s behind-the-scenes access to sheriff’s office probing Guthrie case
TUCSON, ARIZONA: Newly obtained internal emails reveal that the Pima County Sheriff’s Department worked closely with a reality television production team, granting broad behind-the-scenes access to deputies, patrol operations and police footage.
The records, spanning more than 220 pages, detail coordination between department officials and producers of the A&E series Desert Law.
The disclosures have drawn renewed attention because the same sheriff’s office is now leading the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Savannah Guthrie.
Guthrie vanished from her home in Arizona’s Catalina Foothills on February 1 and remains missing.
Reality TV crew given broad sheriff access
The emails show extensive cooperation between the Pima County Sheriff's Department and producers from Twenty Twenty Productions, the team behind the A&E series Desert Law.
Producers requested direct access to patrol units, body camera footage and law enforcement personnel as part of the production process.
In one June 2025 email, producer Amanda Riley requested updated contacts for sergeants leading various units.
Two days later, Capt Robert Koumal replied that “the department has experienced some rotational re-assignments since last year,” confirming leadership changes across multiple divisions.
The correspondence shows the production crew participated in ride-alongs and sought additional material, including marked patrol vehicles for background footage.
In one exchange, Koumal approved the use of a department SUV, suggesting a deputy “take our new Tahoe” for filming purposes.
The records also show producers seeking footage of arrests and police encounters, including incidents involving the use of force.
Some exchanges raised concerns over deputy conduct, including whether bodycam footage containing profanity should be shared and whether footage from an altercation was incomplete because the recording began only after physical contact had ended.
Producer Tom Olney praised the department’s cooperation, writing, “thank you as ever for all your continued support, it's amazing and absolutely the best I’ve ever received from any law enforcement department!”
Leadership changes ahead of Guthrie case
The emails also shed light on internal staffing changes before Guthrie’s disappearance.
According to the correspondence, leadership in both homicide and cold case divisions had been rotated out in the year before her case emerged, a shift that has drawn attention, given the department’s current role as lead investigator.
Producers also requested archival materials tied to major local cases, including the 1996 killing of Gary Triano, a high-profile car bombing case that resulted in convictions years later.
Additional emails show producers repeatedly pressing for faster access to bodycam footage, at times asking for newer requests to be moved ahead of older ones.
At least one such request appears to have been granted. It remains unclear whether production-related requests were prioritized over public records requests, though such a practice would be uncommon under standard public records procedures.
The email exchanges took place between July and December 2025, months before Guthrie’s disappearance.
Investigators have not publicly linked the reality show production to the ongoing missing-person investigation, but the release of the records has renewed scrutiny of the department’s internal operations as the search for answers continues.
