Nancy Guthrie, 84, (mother of TODAY Show host Savannah Guthrie) missing - last seen in the Catalina foothills area on Jan 31, 2026

[txsleuth70]

What if he is mentally challenged? What if there's some young computer geeks that set him up. They could've planned out the whole thing, ransom and kidnapping. Starting out as a joke but later becoming a challenge to see if they can pull it off. Only they didn't plan for NG to pass from the trauma. So they had to improvise the ransom. I know it sounds farfetched but it would potentially cover all the bases IMO.

He's not mentally challenged, he's just not a mastermind IMO.

 

[Der Detektiv]

How did Nancy get her meds? Were they delivered by Amazon?

 

[tkcrockett]

I’m not American so I don’t know much about Walmart. How does wearing that brand correlate to someone young and inexperienced?

I believe it’s more about finances. Walmart is generally not expensive. Someone may come along and correct me though

 

[NervousNellie]

I’m so confused. Did I use that word somewhere in a post?

You did not. The op somehow got your handle in their reply to another member. Strange.

 

[planet]

MOO
Speculation and theory:
After researching and reading a few theories and watching this most recent video, I do not think this was an intentional kidnapping or murder. I think the person was sent/hired to scare her. Then things went terribly wrong and then staging of the scene happened after the fact in the 40 minutes or before the pace maker disconnected. Now we are left to put the pieces together which is why none of what we see makes sense. Ransom notes are just opportunists trying to cash in and not related at all. I thought this from the beginning but after watching the video, I feel more strongly about this. I don’t think camera was removed right after this video of the perp but possibly after the situation went very wrong but not totally sure on that one.

My reasoning for this:
1. He’s way too nonchalant on camera for a kidnapping and really appears to inexperienced (weapon placement, foliage to cover the camera, body language)
2. He seems to want to be seen on the camera. Maybe not for police and the public but for Nancy to see him given that he does not know how this “scare” ends up.
3. He’s in the house for a long time based on the timeline given by police.
4. Blood on porch appears as if it was dripped (staged)
5. All of his “get up” appears to be newly purchased with the intention of looking scary. Weapon was placed where it was awkwardly so it was clearly visible. Not holstered on the hip which is more common.

Again, just my thoughts and MOO but things just do not add up at all.

I agree with some of this. Think about the calculus of risk and complexity vs. payout. Kidnapping seems like a high-risk, complicated, messy affair with a low liklihood of success (whatever the goal) and a high liklihood of things going sideways quickly. It seems mad, frankly. Why risk it?

Defrauding seniors of their retirement over the phone seems like a less risky and "more likely to succeed" approach to extortion. (I'm not endorsing this.) That's me assuming that the goal of a kidnapping is extortion.

I think this was something else, went sideways, and became an unplanned kidnapping.

However @ssarahbg : What goal do you think was driving a strategy of scaring her? To what end?

 

[Der Detektiv]

I believe it’s more about finances. Walmart is generally not expensive. Someone may come along and correct me though

I understand that, but surely you’d want to buy cheap as you’re going to be getting rid of the clothes afterwards. Start wearing them about town and it rings alarm bells. Going the cheap route makes sense.

 

[GussiedCanoodler]

I believe it’s more about finances. Walmart is generally not expensive. Someone may come along and correct me though

Walmart is cheap and easily accessible. Not sure how that would necessarily point to someone young or inexperienced though (is there a go-to store preferred by high status criminals? Idk)

 

[Mayor Perk]

5) decides to use flowers so that if someone looks, it looks natural

I think this is a good theory and the only one that makes much sense to me for why the perp bothered to pick the flowers out of the ground and hold them up against the camera. It's a poor strategy for obstructing the camera view and I don't think would really fool anyone. It's interesting the perp did not have a better strategy for dealing with the Nest camera from the get-go. Like shaving cream for instance.

 

[gitana1]

Is it just me or did masked guy at the door walk and move so calmly almost reluctantly. Or so calmly, more indifferent like a hit man. Like im clocking in, dont really feel like doing this vs today. Almost like a sort of non character lazy-ish hit man.

Sort of. He seemed entitled, to me. Like he felt entitled to be there and felt no remorse or even much concern that he would be caught. Psychopathic.

 

[Onlyguessing23]

If that could happen, would it still record once removed if it was a wired door bell vs a battery operated one? Our doorbell is wired & if power is out I don't believe it records, however our garage camera is battery & records when the power is out even though we can't view it until our Wi-Fi comes back up.

So, according to Google Nest Support page, a battery powered (newer) doorbell model can continue to record when removed fromWiFi range until the battery runs down. The recorded information will upload to the system once the unit is back in WiFi range. So, if found, it could hold some helpful information.

 

[HerNameWasBuffy]

Good point. If she was abducted 11 days ago, and most Amazon deliveries come within a couple of days, then confirming when and by whom that order was placed seems pretty significant.

It well could be significant, but fwiw back when I used Amazon I had my facial cleanser, supplements, and dog treats on a subscription and the deliveries recur until you cancel the subscription.

 

[txsleuth70]

Good point. If she was abducted 11 days ago, and most Amazon deliveries come within a couple of days, then confirming when and by whom that order was placed seems pretty significant.

It's not still sitting there. Delivered on Day 2, gone by Day 3-4 at the latest IIRC

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

Family history question: I found a marriage license (ML20061578) in Pima County for AG and TC, married 4/7/2006. Pima County Superior Court - Agave Online (Public Record Search) At that time AG would have been 36 (DOB 1/1970) and TC 30 (DOB 6/1975). Were either of them married before or does either of them have now adult children from a previous marriage/relationship?

I wondered about this, too, after someone left a related comment in the WS YouTube chat a couple of nights ago (I am certain that is not an allowable source lol). I didn’t get very far in my research with my meager genealogy skills but it’s an interesting question!

 

[Bluewing3102]

It’s an interesting theory. I feel though if the kidnapper was mentally challenged he would have said something to someone by now, unless he’s being held hostage himself.

Maybe not mentally challenged but probably not the smartest. You don't need to be the smartest to pull off a crime- just have to be committed. IMO

 

[BrittMontero]

Honestly, I cant recall a bigger street-circus shitshow of a case and I honestly hate it for this seemingly sweet, dear lady.

Totally agree. This is an F-up of epic proportions on the part of basically everyone involved. It’s nearly incomprehensible.

NG should be living her life. From the lack of readily available, inexpensive proactive domestic security measures to bumpkin police who didn’t conduct timely, basic due diligence to a chaotic and grandstanding FBI, everyone involved in this case has abjectly failed this gentle lady.

 

[gitana1]

Im surprised how many people are speculating it is SIL in these images. It’s safe to say that his own family would recognize him if that were the case.

If they did, I doubt that would be stated.

 

[GailAnne]

Fair point. I’m trying to follow the money, but this is a head-scratcher. Maybe it could be years before there is a financial benefit, or maybe not long if some assets can be liquidated earlier. Maybe, big picture, the plan went terribly off the rails, or maybe this has nothing at all to do with money. All MOO.

When my parents hit their mid 80's I acquired Power of Attorney which allowed me to take over their finances, sell their cars and house and make medical decisions on their behalf.

 

[DJD]

Perp may also have been on drugs.

And the plan may have been just to steal NG's pain meds, but went sideways.

 

[GussiedCanoodler]

I think this is a good theory and the only one that makes much sense to me for why the perp bothered to pick the flowers out of the ground and hold them up against the camera. It's a poor strategy for obstructing the camera view and I don't think would really fool anyone. It's interesting the perp did not have a better strategy for dealing with the Nest camera from the get-go. Like shaving cream for instance.

From watching the video, it looked like he was looking around for anything he could grab to cover the camera. He looks at the gravel first then sees the flowers. It’s literally the first thing he sees that could be used. Don’t think there was much thought behind it except “”

 

[lincolnlogs415]

The Guthries' ransom demand is in Bitcoins for a reason

Ransom notes for Savannah Guthrie's mom demanded millions in Bitcoin. Here's why criminals like it.

www.usatoday.com

Says you can’t trace it to an individual. Only to an account.

Bitcoin wallets are pseudonymous, not anonymous. Every transaction is recorded on the blockchain. A sophisticated actor might swap the “dirty” bitcoin for monero, which, if used correctly, is essentially anonymous because its blockchain record hides key details like sender, receiver, and amount. Monero makes it much harder to attribute a dirty past to specific coins.

Most criminals want to turn crypto into dollars they can use in the real world. The easiest way of doing that is through a regulated exchange connected to a bank account. Many get caught because they attempt to obfuscate the flow of funds, eventually depositing the coins to their crypto exchange, but a blockchain analytic firm is still able to track the funds to the exchange which often has the customer's personal info.

There are ways of cashing out crypto without going through a regulated exchange, but these are higher friction and slower.