THE sheriff’s office leading the Nancy Guthrie case sparked confusion and outrage by sharing a missing person found poster for another Nancy.

Social media users quickly picked up on the post, initially believing the missing 84-year-old mom of Today host Savannah Guthrie had finally been located after a desperate 75-day search.

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Savannah Guthrie ‘s mom Nancy, has been missing for over 75 days after it is believed she was abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona on February 1Credit: Courtesy NBC Universal
 

Nancy Guthrie
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department’s located poster for Nancy Radakovich sparked confusion and outrage onlineCredit: Pima County Sheriff’s Department
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department shared a missing persons poster for Nancy Radakovich, 82, who was last seen on April 16.

Then, just 40 minutes later, a second post read: “Update: Nancy has been located.”

An attached picture showed the missing persons poster for Radakovich with the word “Located” printed boldly across it, blocking much of the picture.

Immediately, comments flooded in as people assumed it was Guthrie who had been found and not Radakovich, due to the caption only using a first-name and the scope of the Guthrie investigation.

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“I literally thought this was Nancy Guthrie. The way my heart just dropped,” one wrote.

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The sheriff’s department simply wrote ‘Nancy has been located’ in a post on social media with the located poster featuring her full name attachedCredit: Instagram/savannahguthrie
But as hopes were raised and then quickly dashed, people blasted the hapless sheriff’s office for the move.

While happy for Radakovich’s family, many are appalled by the lack of care by the department and some have even accused it of pulling an intentional stunt.

“This is sick…There were 100 different ways this could have been posted but your intentionally vague ‘Nancy has been found’ caption is shameless,” one commented.

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“I’m embarrassed for my town. How disgusting! Making post as click bait?!” another said.

“Please don’t say that was not the intent. If you go back and look at all the other missing persons poses, they have the first and last name.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos speaks during an interview with Reuters
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has already faced much backlash for his handling of the Guthrie caseCredit: Reuters
“PCSD, you should be ashamed,” a third added.

“Shame on you. Seriously appalling you didn’t include her last name,” said another.

Despite the backlash, the Sheriff’s Department has not altered it’s caption to the Nancy located poster which does feature her full name in the image.

A look back through previous missing person posts by the department, and those of them being found again, all feature the surnames of the located person in both the poster and the caption.

What we know about Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance

Today host Savannah Guthrie’s mom is missing after she was abducted from her home Tucson, Arizona on February 1
Eerie new footage was released showing a masked intruder outside Nancy’s home the night she vanished, and he’s been deemed a suspect
Cops have uncovered a glove with a DNA profile at the scene, and they are analyzing it at a lab
Nancy’s son-in-law was the last person to see her, but he and the rest of the family have been ruled out as suspects
Multiple news outlets have been sent ransom letters that contain specific details about Nancy’s home and clothing
However, at least two deadlines reportedly passed with no movement, and it’s unclear whether the authors were the kidnappers
A delivery driver and at least one other person has been detained in connection to Nancy’s disappearance, but they’ve all been released and no arrests have been made

Guthrie’s family has not publicly commented on the bungled social media posts.

The U.S. Sun has reached out to the sheriff’s department for comment.

The lastest blunder comes after Sheriff Nanos has already come under fire for “bungling” the search and lying on his resume.

It has also been revealed that Nanos, who was seen going to a basketball game in the early stages of Nancy’s disappearence, is facing a $1million ‘deadly’ negligence lawsuit in an unrelated case.

The beloved mother and grandmother has been missing since February 1, when it is believed she was taken from her bed in Tuscon, Arizona.

Savannah and her family, who have been ruled out as suspects, are holding out for a miracle as the identity of the masked suspect seen outside Nancy’s home the night of her disappearance still remains a mystery.

But in one heartbreaking update, the broadcaster admitted that her mom may already be gone and “dancing in heaven.”

U.S. journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie speaks in a video message, addressing that they are willing to pay for the release of their elderly mother Nancy Guthrie
Savannah and her siblings are holding out for a miracle but have admitted that their mom may be ‘dancing in heaven’Credit: Reuters
 

Savannah Guthrie Mom Missing
The search for Guthrie appears to have hit a dead end with investigators having no publicly named suspects or leadsCredit: AP