Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who is leading the search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old missing mother of TODAY Show anchor Savannah Guthrie, responded to efforts to recall him after critics labeled him as "an embarrassment" for his handling of the case.

“We’re aware of the recall, and it’s the right of the people,” Nanos told 13 News.

“We’ll always honor the will of the people, and that’s what makes democracy,” he added, claiming he would abide by whatever decision is made.

Republican congressional candidate Daniel Butierez told the New York Post that he launched a recall campaign over Nanos' handling of Guthrie's disappearance and alleged that the sheriff misrepresented his employment history. Butierez claimed that Nanos “has been an embarrassment to Tucson and to Pima County with this Nancy Guthrie case," and added that, "everyone’s pretty disgusted, Democrats and Republicans.”

The investigation into Nancy Guthrie's disappearance has no clear suspects nor strong leads more than a month after being launched on February 1. Savannah, her sister, Annie Guthrie, and brother-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, carried flowers while being escorted by Pima County Sheriff's Department deputies to the memorial site in front of Nancy's home in a video shared by NewsNation reporter Brian Entin earlier this month.

Savannah also shared a photo of flowers at the memorial on her Instagram account.

"We feel the love and prayers from our neighbors, from the Tucson community and from around the country 💛," Savannah wrote. "Please don’t stop praying and hoping with us. Bring her home."

Christa Cooper