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

[GMG1999]

I could see both results from this video. Maybe they are willing to pay now that they indeed have "Proof of Life?"

 

[SaraSmile]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2020280366595281225

Someone could have paid it and not releasing that information to the public.

Great idea!

 

[outback]

Has it been mentioned about the Silence of the Lambs quotes in the family’s videos and if so, what does everyone think ?

Yes, there have been several comments about it.

I DON'T know what to think about it though. It's just too weird.

Jmo

 

[Arkay]

I agree it appears she’s no longer with us but what gets me is why do they say “celebrate WITH her” to me that indicates someone who is still alive. Again, I think they’re responding in some way to something the captor wrote in a message. But the word ‘with’ to me is really not indicating she’s deceased as of this moment. We can try and spin it in any way, but usually you’re not celebrating WITH a dead person, you’re celebrating the dead person.

This was the stumbling block for me, as well.

Celebrate WITH her implied Nancy would be together, alive, WITH her family to celebrate her safe release.

Minus the WITH, it would be to celebrate HER, as in to celebrate a life well-lived by a much-loved mother.

Yet—-the tone of the family strikes me as defeatist. I feel there is no hope left in their eyes.
If she is deceased, they would pay, it appears, to have her body released to them. A proper burial and knowing where their mother’s remains will be laid to rest.

I’m completely confounded as to what in fact is happening behind the scenes.

I hope, no matter how this ordeal ends, the family will eventually be able to move forward. I would like to see Savannah come back to work, but perhaps she’ll feel like she doesn’t want to be a public face anymore.

There is just nothing good here.

IMO

 

[samaor]

Sorry for misinterpreting.....I hope you are right and I'm wrong.

No problem at all, I really wasn't very clear in that.

 

[ldlager]

He doesn't have confidence in this, which is why he cut the cable that supplies internet to the house (that's what I took it to mean by "disconnected," plus on the CourtTV livestream last night the reporter mentioned that an adjacent neighbor also had her cameras "disconnect" that night).

The kidnapper is a relative and knows the house

 

[outloudthink]

NG has a trust. Perhaps the second deadline was to allow time for it to be amended. Bizarre, I know, but anything is possible.

And isn’t it completely possible that the perp entered through the garage and met NG at the front door from the inside? Two minutes to open the door, meet NG at the front door and go back out? And perhaps the car was taken in for evidence in the instance that it was somehow touched by the perp?

 

[Bodhi]

The words, "this is the only way we'll have peace" say it all at least to me.
She's gone and they want to give her a proper burial.

Yes! That told it all. The other sentences leave a teeny bit of room for interpretation.

The peace statement came straight from the heart too. I hope if someone has their mother's body, the appeal will be effective. But does someone who'd kidnap an 84-year-old woman have the empathy? A body tells a story. The more investigators know, the worse for the murderer.

 

[mzjaak49]

Nancy could've been a victim of a romance/sweetheart scam.

Think about it. She's an elderly, single woman who may want some romantic companionship. From what I've heard, she recently lost her dog so she's probably extra lonely all alone in that big house. Sure, she has a church community but she's been attending virtually for awhile and could be spending more time online. Her Facebook account looks like the typical random mishmash of stuff and doesn't necessarily scream tech-savvy. She also appears to have lost some weight and she may have been feeling a bit more confident.

Social media is full of scammers. I could easily see a bad actor luring into their web of lies while gassing her up. They're messaging back-and-forth all day, every day. She tells him about how her life story, her hopes and dreams, her values, and how her days are going. He's a successful silver fox who actually isn't because they're all stolen photos. Maybe he isn't really just one bad actor, but a group of them who have figured out who she's related to and that she has money.

Anyway, she's telling him about her children and how Annie is a jeweler. Perhaps Nancy has told the scammer man about the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show, which if I'm not mistaken, is the largest show in the world for rockhounds. People travel from all over for this event. Scammer man/men are interested and tell Nancy that this would be a great time to meet. What they're really thinking is, "Jackpot! Now's a great time to travel to Tucson, blend in with the crowd, and rob Nancy."

What makes me pause with my theory is that these scammers usually don't ever want to actually meet. Maybe they wanted to just be in the area and wait until she's out to rob her house. Who knows, maybe they're extra bold in this instance. Let's go back to their messaging back-and-forth. On fateful January 31st, Nancy says something like "Ok, I'm going to my daughter and son-in-law's house for dinner tonight and tell them about our relationship. I'm so excited for you to meet them!!!" I've heard that a lot of seniors (not all) are embarrassed to tell their kids that they're dating again, so this could very well be a big deal for her.

Annie and Tommaso have been drinking while cooking, and don't want to pick up mom under the influence, so they request an Uber ride for her instead. Nothing weird about that. Nancy arrives and tells them her amazing news once they've all sat down for dinner. Annie and Tommaso are all "WTF!? You're talking to a scammer! Cease all communication IMMEDIATELY." Nancy is upset and has been so brainwashed that she messages scammer man when she comes home saying, "I'm home now. My family doesn't believe in our love and I'm so upset. They want us to break up now." He replies with, "Nothing can come between us, my love. They'll come around. Don't give up!"

At this point, the scammer/scammers are beyond PO'd at Annie and Tommaso. They've already bought tickets, flown into Tucson, and now their plans are this close to being thwarted. They decide to take out the ultimate revenge by kidnapping Nancy in the middle of the night and sending ominous ransom notes.

I'll be the first to admit that I have an active imagination, but you can't tell me these scams aren't common. Check out this video, this article, and this article. My mom also used to be a flight attendant and told me about a passenger she had once on a trip coming back from London. The passenger was an elegant-looking, elderly woman who was visibly upset. When the crew members asked what was going on, she said that she was totally stood up at the airport the other day by a man she was supposed to meet and had sent a lot of money to. She really thought they were in love, and was so ashamed and embarrassed to tell her kids. At least she made it home alive.

I have thought about this too. I have a dear friend whos father (a bit younger than NG) is regularly getting scammed into sending bitcoin to random people. At one point he was convinced he was communicating to/sending bitcoin to Shania Twain. I’m not saying that’s what I really think happened here, but I have thought about it because it does happen and it’s horrible!

 

[Sundog]

dbm

 

[TheDinks]

Or the perpetrator is using the kidnap as a ruse to deflect from being identified?

So that is one of the theories out there...

 

[Baba O'Riley]

Mary Coleman (local TV reporter) saw the second note and said that it did not contain anything to do with a ransom - which may mean that the communication was to tell the family that NG is no longer alive.

This is how I interpreted the family video. I think the supposed abductor is telling the family that Nancy has died. He/they might not want to return the body because it could contain clues or DNA. The family is offering to pay. I immediately thought "celebrate" meant a "celebration of life", as funerals are referred to in some Christian denominations, such as my own, the Catholic church.

 

[aafromaa]

What a heartbreaking video from SG & her siblings. I don’t think there’s any way not to take that message as they have been told their mother has died and that they believe the sender was the person who took her.

Mary Coleman from KOLD TV didn’t give much info about the 2nd message they received other than to say it appeared to be from the same sender the first one came from and that it contained sensitive information but no deadline and would not be characterized as a ransom note but a message and seemed to be a response to the family’s videos. She also said in her mind a ransom note was looking for something in return for something else and this one was not necessarily that.

Was the sensitive information that NG had died? If so but it wasn’t a ransom note - apparently didn’t say send us this amount and we’ll return the body - was there another message today making that offer? Or was the family’s video today making that offer to the one who sent the messages?

I keep asking myself if I would pay if I knew my mother had already died. And I might for 2 reasons. 1) To know for sure that this was not a scam and wonder for years if someone else had been responsible and that maybe she wasn’t dead and I accepted the word of a scammer and gave up searching too soon. 2) If doing so meant it gave the FBI a better shot at catching whoever had done this.

I also keep wondering if the kidnappers would return her body if SG actually pays. I’m not sure I think they would. If she pays they would have their money so why would they risk getting caught by evidence that might be found if they give the location of the body.

I hope that the FBI can solve this and bring her remains home for he family and put these despicable people away for murder.

 

[EightiesBoo]

That new IG post is so interesting— are they being asked to post on IG? That is so odd! The way she is talking is not normal.

 

[Bison]

Excellent question.

The perpetrators have reportedly given no way to contact them directly, so publicly is the only way to go.

 

[waldojabba]

He doesn't have confidence in this, which is why he cut the cable that supplies internet to the house (that's what I took it to mean by "disconnected," plus on the CourtTV livestream last night the reporter mentioned that an adjacent neighbor also had her cameras "disconnect" that night).

Maybe just a wifi jammer was used - you don’t have to cut the cable.
JMO

 

[vlbay]

Bad Bunny will not care, I assure you IMO

What is there for Bad Bunny to care or not care about? The Super Bowl is being held in California and has nothing to do with a kidnapping in Arizona. very strange comment.

 

[Moonchime]

For those of us WS members outside of the USA, how common are abductions and ransoms in the USA? Appreciate the circumstances in this case are very unusual, but does this happen often? In my country, this does not happen, although there are sometimes cases of people being abducted and killed but it is exceptionally rare and people are brought to justice very quickly.

It's extremely rare. Yet, after this, it may become more prevalent.

 

[birdbox]

He doesn't have confidence in this, which is why he cut the cable that supplies internet to the house (that's what I took it to mean by "disconnected," plus on the CourtTV livestream last night the reporter mentioned that an adjacent neighbor also had her cameras "disconnect" that night).

Oh I get it. I read stuff was disconnected and ripped out. But its still bold and a lot of baked in assumptions that you aren't already on camera somewhere while disconnecting cameras. You would have zero clue as to what someone had in their home as far as monitoring. Its super risky. You would have zero clue unless you are familiar. I read a study a while back that said break ins have decline SIGNIFICANTLY in the US for this reason. Even 20 years ago my dad had motion sensors in his home on a different system than his main alarm system. You would have to cut power to have that security and even then you couldn't be sure she doesnt video call your face on her phone the second you break in. Its pretty bold!! Thats all!!

 

[ldlager]

I suspect the military planes have been over the desert the past week, and likely mostly over public lands or reservations, with ground penetrating radar and electronic signal sweepers that could determine whether she was being held underground somewhere. If this perp is as sophisticated as he evidently is, I imagine he already planned where to put her and how to give her back without getting caught. Coordinates to an HVAC'd bunker on public land, while movie-plot like, would be a decent escape plan. Dropping her off at a random place would be too risky at this point.

JMO.

Nah. It took them 8 years to find Bin Laden despite claiming to have all their so called technology. The supposed capabilities are bogus.