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

[raja]

Ok now my brain is stuck on could the ransom email have been sent from NG’s computer as someone mentioned up thread? Can you program an email to be sent at a later time. I’m no techie so I don’t know. If so what a clever way to get around your ransom email not being traced back to you. “You won’t get any further communication” because I won’t have access to this computer again type thing. Remember the FBI gal carrying out something large wrapped in brown paper. I have heard speculation it was a computer. Also this could explain why the house was again cordoned off after it was released back to the family. The ransom email could have triggered that if determined to have come from her computer being it was received after the house was released to family. Just another thought.

 

[Pharmasgirl]

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.

Thought TMZ caters to the entertainment industry... But yes, that's a good question!

 

[thefragile7393]

Agreed. I think they are more ballsy to get a story out there is all. IMO

oh they are. They definitely are and toe the line legally and even then they get it wrong at times.

 

[tlcya]

Early on it was reported that Nancy played mah jong and then went to dinner. If that’s true, I’d expect that there was a group of other people there. Mah jong is a four-player game. And usually, there’s more than one group playing, because it’s a social kind of thing, women getting together.

If she did, I imagine that would be the last occasion she was seen by someone other than family and the Uber driver.

Thank you, yours caused me to think perhaps the uber was to get from Mah Jong to Annie's. She could have ridden to Mah Jong with a friend or Ubered to that as well. I personally don't get the fuss and shock about her having Ubered to Annie's house.

 

[cady]

We're all going back and forth because there is so little confirmed information. I think just about anything is on the table, although some possibilities are more probable than others.

All quiet on that front today, but something could happen in an instant. I just hope this doesn't go on much longer (I was convinced it would be quick early on, until we learned the cameras weren't helpful).

Did ransomers really think that they would get money in any form without producing a live hostage? Or was this all just to savor the cruelty, knowing that reporting would be sad and rampant........and the ransom demand just an afterthought?

 

[Pharmasgirl]

January 27th was my birthday, too. I'm 76.

A belated Happy Birthday

 

[allboys]

All of what has been reported about the timeline, is easily checked. I have not seen an impounded car reported anywhere else, and if a reporter saw it happen, they would be talking.

I fully expect them to look at family, and its entirely possible this case goes in that direction. If it does its difficult to see how it can only be one and not the other, both the daughter and SIL must be involved, one is the alibi for the other.

Just a thought. AB has reported that a vehicle was impounded, but there are no images of that. A while back I linked info. that states a car can be processed at a residence. Perhaps the car was “impounded/processed” at AG’s home. (To avoid a media circus). Not sure if this has ever been done, but it would explain the fact that allegedly a car was impounded, but no reporter has images to confirm that.

 

[Aquabot13]

intersting. Love them or hate them or no opinion either way, they often have things pretty accurate.

I've gotten TMZ push notifications since 2009 - IME they are almost never, if not never, wrong about facts, especially things like arrests and deaths.

Now, how they get that information is ethically questionable at best, but they do get it. Harvey is a lawyer and it seems like part of the reason he's still at the helm is his ability to quickly assess the legal liability, if any, of reporting breaking or fast-moving news.

Their "filler" content is tabloid trash, but I've found their actual reporting to be correct and usually at least a few minutes ahead of other news outlets. My guess would be that once they pass the legal hurdle they're free to report without the additional layers of review and approval that would be required by a more "reputable" news source.

Journalistic integrity is another conversation, but I personally feel comfortable believing stories they break.

MOO

 

[LAborn]

intersting. Love them or hate them or no opinion either way, they often have things pretty accurate.

Harvey Levin also believes whoever took her is local to Tucson. I tend to agree, it's just too obscure for her to be targeted otherwise.

 

[SRWCF]

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.

I guess I meant legally. You can't just go out there and get one. The original poster made it sound like you could pick one up at your local convenience store!

 

[missy1974]

From the tmz link... also includes a video with Harvey. I can't believe we seem to be getting more info from TMZ then anywhere else lol

There's a demand of millions in bitcoin for Nancy's safe return ... and there's a timeframe for how long it would take Nancy to be returned to Tucson after getting the money.
.......
it seems Nancy would be driven back to Tucson -- getting on a plane would require Real ID, and the jig would be up -- and if you look at a timeframe, you can draw a radius around Tucson and get a feel for where she may be held captive. The transport wouldn't be speeding, and that helps create the search radius, too.
.....
A couple other things ... the letter, which was sent to TMZ on Tuesday, is very well written ... there's structure and detail, and it appears to be done by someone who is educated and spent time crafting it.

Nancy Guthrie Alleged Ransom Letter Makes It Seem Like She's Being Held Near Tucson

The alleged ransom letter in the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping has a few details that make it seem like she hasn't been taken too far from the Arizona home where she was abducted ... and that should narrow the search radius for law enforcement.

www.tmz.com

 

[Angelcat13]

Some of us consider those suggested actions polite!

Not age specific necessarily but we are known for our spoiling of our elders around here.

After a long night go in and help get set up for bed. Make sure her book is handy so she doesn’t have to get up again. Maybe offer a cup of herb tea to settle in.

My elderly mom although in decent health would get tired and I worried about a stumble and fall when she was. What I wouldn’t give to still have her to be able to spoil her still.

Our community is safe in general but my elderly Mom lived by herself in a big home on a wooded property and the affluent neighborhood had break ins despite paid security that drove through periodically.

So I would have definitely gone in, as she would assume I would, when dropping her off after dark especially that far after dark.

I never leave anyone I’ve dropped off after dark without a got in the door ok now I’m locked in wave from the window; at the least.

Just habit and expected behavior for a lot of us.

All imo

Agree! I was raised to always make sure that whomever I was dropping off made it safely inside - and I grew up in a safer time-period and in a very safe area. But my parents instilled this in me and I always remember that whenever they would drop off my friends they would be positioned where they could see them enter their house and then the person was supposed to either turn off the porch light or at least blink it on/off in case they left it on all night in general. I have also instilled this in my kids (now in their early 20's) and I am appalled at the number of people that drop someone off and are partway home before the person ever gets in their house.

My kids often make fun of me because I can be a "doom and gloom" person, but I had some childhood traumas, grew up to become a nurse in a Level 1 Trauma Center and have had a lot of experiences that can really shape the way you view the world. I try to walk a fine line between making my kids aware of things that can happen so that they will think and be aware of their surroundings while not being in FEAR of the world. But when my kids were teens and thought I was being ridiculous for insisting that they and others make sure people got safely into their homes before driving away I told them about the case of young woman in our area that came home from a night out and was attacked as she approached the door to her townhome while her husband and baby slept inside. She was raped and left for dead (died shortly after being found). This was not a case where someone didn't watch her (she drove herself home), but I made sure that they were aware of this so that they would understand why it can be so important to make sure others are safe.

 

[CandyKiss]

Ok now my brain is stuck on could the ransom email have been sent from NG’s computer as someone mentioned up thread? Can you program an email to be sent at a later time. I’m no techie so I don’t know. If so what a clever way to get around your ransom email not being traced back to you. “You won’t get any further communication” because I won’t have access to this computer again type thing. Remember the FBI gal carrying out something large wrapped in brown paper. I have heard speculation it was a computer. Also this could explain why the house was again cordoned off after it was released back to the family. The ransom email could have triggered that if determined to have come from her computer being it was received after the house was released to family. Just another thought.

Good observation.
Can you program an email to be sent at a later time?
Yes, you can. If the perps did that; LE can verify if sent from that computer, the time created and the time set to send to TMZ.

 

[LaLaw2000]

There have been so very many reasonable reasons for the Uber in previous threads.
It might be more helpful to not stir up this hornet nest again...
This is not really a criticism... just a suggestion to go back to see all the answers to your questions.
Like HA that's an easy thing to do on this thread!!!

But I would like to know who it was that called/suggested the Uber. Was it Nancy and was it something she normally did or just occasionally? Sincere question.

 

[wyome]

Just a thought. AB has reported that a vehicle was impounded, but there are no images of that. A while back I linked info. that states a car can be processed at a residence. Perhaps the car was “impounded/processed” at AG’s home. (To avoid a media circus). Not sure if this has ever been done, but it would explain the fact that allegedly a car was impounded, but no reporter has images to confirm that.

A sheriff said a car was processed as part of standard investigative practices as officials continue to investigate Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.

“The car that was at the home, it’s just standard investigative practices. It’s part of the search warrant scene. The court orders, we pull it out of there and do our scene processing with the vehicle,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said at a press conference on Thursday.

Nanos did not state who the car belonged to.

Journalist Ashleigh Banfield said on her podcast Drop Dead Serious that officials towed and impounded the vehicle of Annie Guthrie, Nancy’s daughter, citing a law enforcement source.

Nancy Guthrie update: Sheriff responds after Annie Guthrie car sparks rumor

A sheriff said a car was processed as part of standard practices as officials continue investigating Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance

www.newsweek.com

Also, I've been looking and cannot locate the source yet, but I do remember someone posted that Annie's car (IF it was hers) is an older car (2005 or 2008?) and this person's belief is it's too old for tracking systems.

 

[Deleted member 117884]

Good observation.
Can you program an email to be sent at a later time?
Yes, you can. If the perps did that; LE can verify if sent from that computer, the time created and the time set to send to TMZ.

I don't think the ransom was programmed to be delivered at a later date simply because the situation is unpredictable - what if something happened before the letter was to be sent and the perp didn't want to send it afterall. I don't think a perp would set himself for that, imo.

jmo

 

[shonyakay]

Early on it was reported that Nancy played mah jong and then went to dinner. If that’s true, I’d expect that there was a group of other people there. Mah jong is a four-player game. And usually, there’s more than one group playing, because it’s a social kind of thing, women getting together.

If she did, I imagine that would be the last occasion she was seen by someone other than family and the Uber driver.

It was reported Nancy was playing Mahjong at Annie's house that evening. There is a picture of Nancy sitting at a table with the game right in front of her. I am unsure of the date of that picture but would be interested to know when it was actually taken. Something interesting to note is that Nancy has a big band-aid on her right forearm in that picture. Only reason to wear a band-aid is if a wound is/was bleeding.

 

[Friday Fan]

Also, I've been looking and cannot locate the source yet, but I do remember someone posted that Annie's car (IF it was hers) is an older car (2005 or 2008?) and this person's belief is it's too old for tracking systems.

OK, thanks.....

 

[Bluewing3102]

Yes, that happens frequently, imo. While the public is crying that LE isn't doing anything, LE is busy solving the case. Hope that is happening here.

jmo

Agree and disagree. Yes very common when LE don't want to spook a suspect and are building a case. However there is still a sliver of hope that Nancy is alive somewhere which means the clock is against them. It has been 6 days which is way too long for an abduction of a fragile lady with health issues and medication needs. If LE were on the right track, maybe they would have maybe told a fake story in an early press conference to throw off a perp but then within a day or two would find the location of the victim and rescue them. The fact that law enforcement is still behaving like they're grasping at straws makes me believe they really are dumbfounded or they are building up a case for a murder and have no hopes of recovering her alive.

JMO

 

[allboys]

A sheriff said a car was processed as part of standard investigative practices as officials continue to investigate Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.

“The car that was at the home, it’s just standard investigative practices. It’s part of the search warrant scene. The court orders, we pull it out of there and do our scene processing with the vehicle,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said at a press conference on Thursday.

Nanos did not state who the car belonged to.

Journalist Ashleigh Banfield said on her podcast Drop Dead Serious that officials towed and impounded the vehicle of Annie Guthrie, Nancy’s daughter, citing a law enforcement source.

Nancy Guthrie update: Sheriff responds after Annie Guthrie car sparks rumor

A sheriff said a car was processed as part of standard practices as officials continue investigating Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance

www.newsweek.com

Also, I've been looking and cannot locate the source yet, but I do remember someone posted that Annie's car (IF it was hers) is an older car (2005 or 2008?) and this person's belief is it's too old for tracking systems.

Thanks for the link. Based on the verbiage in the article, I still think it’s possible a car was processed at a home. Not that it’s even relevant where it was done. More importantly, whose car it was, and as you stated, the age of the car is very important.