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

[Auntie Cipation]

I also think it could be a belief that she lived in a safe area where a serious crime was believed to be low risk. Therefore there may have been the belief that there was no need to pay for a subscription that would likely only record mundane daily things.

I pay for a Ring camera subscription for my mom’s house but I didn’t do it in the beginning for the same reason I stated above. I originally thought just having the alerts sent to my phone would be good enough but I changed my mind after I woke up one morning and saw that I had missed an alert for activity at her door during the night. It is likely that it was an animal on her front porch, but I’ll never know and that’s why I decided it was worth paying for the subscription just in case I missed an alert or in case something happened and I would need to go back and review the video.

I was just joking the other day with my daughter that when my mom eventually dies and we have her funeral I am going to include multiple short clips of her arm/hand reaching out the door into the mailbox. She does it every day like clock-work and it makes me think of “The Thing” from the Adams’ Family. Some people do lovely poster boards and photo/video displays of loved ones but I guess we’re just a little bit twisted and would laugh at this.

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Blink cameras can store video clips for 60 days even without a subscription -- you just need a thumb drive for "local storage". I can explain more off-thread for anyone interested.

 

[muddlehead]

I wonder who was responsible for making sure the Nest Camera Subscription was paid. Not likely Nancy. Probably just an oversight. Maybe not.

Agree
Do we know how long the sub was delinquent?

 

[Cassie P]

Why wasn’t the son-in-law part of the family’s video message? That, to me, looks really strange. It sticks out. It would have helped in making him look less guilty.

I assume the FBI helped set up the video and may have suggested who should be in the video. I think it would be better just to have the bio children present. And the video was aimed at the kidnapper, not making possible suspects look less guilty?

 

[Kapua]

There has to be a reason she was abducted. If it was not ransom, what do you think it was?

Who benefits if she is deceased?

The thing I can't stop thinking about is that the house was apparently not burglarized. Imagine... A nefarious person enters the house of a sleeping older woman who has limited mobility. She's in her bedroom. Where's her purse? Where's her jewelry? She certainly must have some nice jewelry. They take the older woman out of the home, leaving the purse and jewelry behind. This is a very odd case.

 

[aafromaa]

Thanks for sharing this. So maybe she wasn't at an in-person church service after all. And we've been told that her regular church, which I'm pretty sure is St. Andrew's Presbyterian, does a livestream in which parishioners can't see who else is on (and maybe the church can't either).

So this definitely raises the question of who or what triggered the initial search. I do wonder -- could the church also have had some sort of online Zoom meeting after the livestream where her absence might've been noted? Something like a Bible study group? But that's just speculation on my part.

JMO

Guess I’ll throw in some speculation too What if NG had attended in person at St Andrew’s prior to COVID and switched to remote during COVID but then resumed going weekly at a different Church after COVID? Perhaps those at St Andrew’s thought she was still watching remotely but someone at a new church knew she’s been attending regularly and called AG when she wasn’t there Sun to let her know they were concerned.

I am not saying that is what happened - I have no knowledge of her changing churches since COVID. But some people did and how do we know she didn’t? SG said she grew up Baptist so it isn’t like NG had a lifelong commitment to a Presbyterian church. So I’m just saying that it might be possible that she really was personally attending again but elsewhere and that some thought she was still watching remotely.

 

[Jovi Girl]

I’m not sure if this has been mentioned, but why send a ransom demand through TMZ ? Why not NBC, for instance, or FOX, CNN, Etc ? Isn’t TMZ more of a sensationalist news program ? Idk, I remember it being like that a while ago.

 

[Deleted member 117884]

I don't know how that's possible, as SG is a celebrity. what else would be expected?

If the perp didn't know NG was the mother of a famous and wealthy person, I don't think it was a kidnapping for ransom.

If the perp did know, then I do think it was for ransom.

Stating the obvious, I suppose.

jmo

 

[Cassie P]

You can't just go out and get POA on someone. It's not like taking out a life insurance policy and faking a signature. NG would need to have requested the POA and consulted a lawyer, then sign the document in front of the drafting attorney and a notary (sometimes the same person). I have guardianship, conservatorship, and durable POA over my mom who is now in memory care. Believe me when I say that there is a lot that goes into having a POA drafted for oneself, and also being assigned POA.

I have seen a number of cases where someone disreputable obtained a POA for an elderly person. ETA and it was not that difficult to do.

 

[Friday Fan]

Has this been mentioned regarding the impounded vehicles of AG and SIL (Nancy's daughter and son in law)?

Newer vehicles contain a wealth of onboard data regarding location etc.

I don't know if anyone mentioned it (since the thread is so long), so I'm just putting this out there.

 

[Zeta74]

There has to be a reason she was abducted. If it was not ransom, what do you think it was?

Not OP but I don’t believe it’s a kidnapping either. I believe it’s a murder and hidden body. That happens much more often than kidnapping an aduly and holding them for ransom.

I’m basing this on odds and the victim’s profile. I’m surprised talking heads are even discussing the ransom notes. I’m sure they strongly suspect they are BS but it gets clicks and the case is moving slowly.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

I’m not sure if this has been mentioned, but why send a ransom demand through TMZ ? Why not NBC, for instance, or FOX, CNN, Etc ? Isn’t TMZ more of a sensationalist news program ? Idk, I remember it being like that a while ago.

The big guys would hold onto it longer, making sure to interact with LE.
TMZ doesn't have as much to lose.

 

[Trino]

So Monday comes with no ransom. Assuming the abductors are not family, they are painting themselves into a corner. Guesses are they are concerned with NG's health but more concerned with themselves. Assuming she is alive, with no ransom, would they just leave her off somewhere to be easily found and attempt to exit the situation?

 

[vereb]

If you believe the second ransom is a hoax, what was the motive for removing NG from her home?

I don't really know what to believe, I go back and forth between different ideas of which option seems most likely, given the circumstances. Could be a family member (acting emotionally, out of anger, rather than because of potential financial gain) or a botched home invasion/robbery by half-strangers (someone who had been at the house for a job, or a person connected to them), removing the body to hide DNA evidence. Or something akin to Roberta Martin's case.

 

[desert-blue]

Do we really know that the Saturday evening dinner was planned and/or was there any purpose other than just eating? Maybe there was something else going on and that is why NG took the Uber over there? Perhaps they didn't exactly know she was going to show up. Just food for thought (no pun intended).

 

[MassGuy]

Has this been mentioned regarding the impounded vehicles of AG and SIL (Nancy's daughter and son in law)?

Newer vehicles contain a wealth of onboard data regarding location etc.

I don't know if anyone mentioned it (since the thread is so long), so I'm just putting this out there.

That data has been huge in some other cases I've followed. I'm not sure we know the model car (s), but that would be helpful in determining if they had that technology.

 

[K9Enzo]

I’m not sure if this has been mentioned, but why send a ransom demand through TMZ ? Why not NBC, for instance, or FOX, CNN, Etc ? Isn’t TMZ more of a sensationalist news program ? Idk, I remember it being like that a while ago.

I thought it was clever. TMZ is known for fast, wide exposure, more sensational reporting, which pretty much guarantees attention almost immediately. IMO

 

[Van Helsing]

No, listen again at 2:00 min mark. Host was specifically asking about the doorbell cam and Sheriff Nanos talks about how they "sent in that device to do analysis" of it to the company.

That's an example of how the sheriff's choice of words have caused a lot of confusion. Another example was the 'I go with family' about who took NG home Saturday night.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Has this been mentioned regarding the impounded vehicles of AG and SIL (Nancy's daughter and son in law)?

Newer vehicles contain a wealth of onboard data regarding location etc.

I don't know if anyone mentioned it (since the thread is so long), so I'm just putting this out there.

This discussion has drifted into the ethersphere...
I don't think we even got clear evidence that this act was done.

Hopefully someone will clarify if otherwise...

 

[Sessiebo]

right!? like thinking she needed to be taken in to the house and settled or tucked in to bed.

I don't see it as tucking her into bed but more of a courtesy like walking with her giving her an arm to hold, hold her purse so she doesn't have to.
It's something both my husband and i do for my mom because she has some mobility issues too.
It's not belittling but just out of respect or as a courtesy.
I want to add that i am not that old and also very able but even for me my husband insists to carry grocery bags or other loads from the car into the house.

 

[Starkville]

How so?

It sort of looks like my Mom would do “working around the yard” doing what she can reach and since she uses a cane she can’t really use broom and dust pan too well, drops some if she collected it at all but doesn’t worry about it the lawn guys will blow anyway. Maybe NG’s housekeeper sweeps the porch and walk so leave it for her it’s just a bit.

As a WSer I suppose I should be examining the front landscape for that greenery it should stand out in the landscape...

Maybe its from a seasonal decoration from a nursery or florist in that pot that NG tidied up and some dropped.

all imo

I’ve attached a photo of NG’s front door, which shows the flowers bordering the walkway. To my eye, JMO, they look like the same plant that’s lying close to the door. It’s a silly detail, but I don’t think it’s insignificant.

Photo from MSN, cropped by me.