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

[Strangeworld]

I STRONGLY DISAGREE. THE PERPS HAVE ALL THE POWER. PERIOD..FULL STOP. Negotiating with kidnappers is NOT how these things work. The perps have all the power whether it is a domestic kidnapping in Arizona or a taking of hostages in the Gaza strip. Here's the note and the conditions. ..comply or we kill...maim, whatever. Bitcoin wallet address was in the first note. How have the negotiations and "buying time" worked for the family thus far? They haven't. look to hostage taking in recent wars and see how that has worked. Even governments frequently cannot get their citizens back.

I get what you are saying, but by the very notion that a transaction needs to occur, and the other notion that it is not an automatic transaction, there is power on both sides. I'm not saying that there isn't a strong and often emotional motivation to appease a kidnapper's requests, but if it was complete power on their side, it would have been paid the minute the ransom note was received. Each party wants something, and negotiation is the process whereby each party tries to get their needs met. This is very obvious in the last video of the family.

The perception that they have full power is exactly what they WANT their targets to feel. But in reality, they don't have all the power.

 

[Fascinated1]

He's getting briefed by the FBI. I really do think they are making progress here. Vehicle was caught on camera somewhere and it's just a matter of piecing the footage from the cameras together. This was done early in the morning and this vehicle will stick out like a sore thumb.

I am starting to wonder if NO vehicle was caught on camera..which would also be telling. The activity at AG’s home is interesting. I am surprised that they released the presumed crime scene (NG’s house) so quickly-especially if no one is living there. Is that normal?

 

[rosesfromangels]

So firstly, imo POL has never been provided. I don't think the siblings have been made aware yet of the official direction the main investigation may be going... the appeal was to the kidnapper(s), whomever that may be.

It is possible, with all their digital forensics etc that FBI have just not been able to ascertain yet (definitively) whether ransom demands have come from actual abductor (or accomplice) in which case they have to support the family in going ahead with responses to the ransom notes. The siblings desperately want their mom returned, even if that means deceased and agreed to pay.

Return of Ms Guthrie is unlikely to happen, even if this is a genuine kidnap for ransom situation. Anyone that heartless to have undertaken such a heinous crime are unlikely to risk being captured by upholding their end of the bargain once they have the coin.

BBM. Agree. In the scenario I am speculating on, they would have to (and pardon the unpleasant thought here) unearth her. Even if they only supplied the location of her remains, that still in itself creates risk, due to any forensic evidence they may be able to obtain from the remains. Too risky. And quadruple that risk factor if they returned her alive. (Which I think is a very slim chance of happening).

Whatever maneuver this Perp was attempting failed. Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Napoli]

The Perps DO have full power. It's power over a life...it's not a mind game or what they want the family "to feel". Here we are. 1 week has passed. Absolutely no movement on the side of the perp's position and the family has wasted a week and possibly is NOW negotiating for a body. Notice that SG was wearing a black shirt in the latest instagram post. I think that was on purpose..JMO

 

[EstherElle]

Lots of families show a united front at first (even with Scott Peterson!) LE isn’t going to implicate anyone until confident they have a strong case. I don’t think it’s unusual that SG and AG are appearing together. MOO

 

[mikeshanty]

Any updates overnight?

 

[shonyakay]

If this is a homicide that occurred in the oldest daughter's home then how the whole timeline played out is probably way different then how I'd magined it from the get.

 

[maskedwoman]

As the daughter said, there is AI and many ways to create an image. The family, too, needs some solid guarantees. Right?
Maybe it is some scammer sitting far away and having no contact with their mother?

I dont think so. The Sheriff said there were things in the note that only the kidnapper would know. A scammed from far away would not know these things.

 

[zecats]

Going backwards a bit because I have just been lurking here and not posting, the weirdest thing to me from the beginning of this, as just a person with a close family and older grandparents around Nancy's age, is that she was brought back to the house, apparently, at almost 10pm (after arriving over four hours earlier at 5:30ish). I know people have different schedules, etc. but MOST people that age are in their home, if not in bed, by that time. It's just a biological thing for most older people. [Edit for details: They like to get into their Pjs, wash up, take out dentures ha, and sit in front of the Tv for a bit to wind down before going to bed].

We have my grandparents over for dinner often and it's usually a 5:30pm ish pickup, with a 7-8pm at the LATEST return home, we go in and make sure the temperature in the home is good if it's winter, that the lights are on, etc. No we don't have to do that/they would be fine on their own, but I think most people can attest to similar with older relatives, especially if they're not the best on their feet. Late at night they are usually tired.

So that stood out to me from the JUMP as a detail for a casual (four hour) family dinner down the road. The late return from dinner at the sister's... If she was dropped off at almost 10pm for most people that's not bed until 10:30. Which again is pretty late for an older person especially if she goes to church in the morning.

If you could have met my mom. 90 years old (5 months shy of 91) when she died a year and a half ago. Lived on her own (second floor) apartment, still drove, and pretty much to the end would go out to late dinners with us or even friends her age. Saturday nights were for the local pub and dinner, drinks and dancing.
NG had her Saturday night out with her family, and stayed overlong presumptively because after dinner involved game playing. And, since they lived close by, this could have been a regular thing. I see no reason for a bedtime stamp on older individuals. They all vary and manage what they’re able. Again, my mom normally stayed up later than I do most nights.

 

[Strangeworld]

The Perps DO have full power. It's power over a life...it's not a mind game or what they want the family "to feel". Here we are. 1 week has passed. Absolutely no movement on the side of the perp's position and the family has wasted a week and possibly is NOW negotiating for a body. Notice that SG was wearing a black shirt in the latest instagram post. I think that was on purpose..JMO

I think we might have to agree to disagree. But I can totally see what you are saying

She was also wearing a black shirt in the first video

 

[mikeshanty]

If this is a homicide that occurred in the oldest daughter's home then how the whole timeline played out is probably way different then how I imagined it from the get.

Is there anything you've seen that indicates that? E.g. searches at AG's house, care being towed away? The sheriff suggested those are standard steps in an investigation.

 

[mikeshanty]

If you could have met my mom. 90 years old (5 months shy of 91) when she died a year and a half ago. Lived on her own (second floor) apartment, still drove, and pretty much to the end would go out to late dinners with us or even friends her age. Saturday nights were for the local pub and dinner, drinks and dancing.
NG had her Saturday night out with her family, and stayed overlong presumptively because after dinner involved game playing. And, since they lived close by, this could have been a regular thing. I see no reason for a bedtime stamp on older individuals. They all vary and mange what they’re able. Again, my mom normally stayed up later than I do most nights.

Your mom sounds iconic, and that is exactly how life should be lived!

 

[Alxx108]

Going backwards a bit because I have just been lurking here and not posting, the weirdest thing to me from the beginning of this, as just a person with a close family and older grandparents around Nancy's age, is that she was brought back to the house, apparently, at almost 10pm (after arriving over four hours earlier at 5:30ish). I know people have different schedules, etc. but MOST people that age are in their home, if not in bed, by that time. It's just a biological thing for most older people. [Edit for details: They like to get into their Pjs, wash up, take out dentures ha, and sit in front of the Tv for a bit to wind down before going to bed].

We have my grandparents over for dinner often and it's usually a 5:30pm ish pickup, with a 7-8pm at the LATEST return home, we go in and make sure the temperature in the home is good if it's winter, that the lights are on, etc. No we don't have to do that/they would be fine on their own, but I think most people can attest to similar with older relatives, especially if they're not the best on their feet. Late at night they are usually tired.

So that stood out to me from the JUMP as a detail for a casual (four hour) family dinner down the road. The late return from dinner at the sister's... If she was dropped off at almost 10pm for most people that's not bed until 10:30. Which again is pretty late for an older person especially if she goes to church in the morning.

My grandmother is closer to 90 and getting dropped off at 10 pm is entirely normal. I have my mom’s location and she’ll be at my grandma’s until almost midnight and when I ask what they were up to my it’s almost always that my grandma wanted to watch one more episode of tv (or do more of whatever they were doing) while my mom was dozing off.

IMO 10 isn’t too strange for some people in their 80s.

 

[KellySleuth]

I think there might be some family tension/dysfunction going on.

SG is the golden girl---wildly successful, famous, talented, very wealthy, AND she does not have to do the heavy lifting with their Mom's daily life. She has huge worldly concerns and she has fame and fortune. There's nothing wrong with that.

But AG is living a very different life from SG's.

AG and TC were reportedly the caregivers for Nancy. It is a lot of work. I know everyone is saying NG is as sharp as a tack and very independent, etc. But there are still a lot of things that she would need help with in many ways. It is kind of a thankless job.

I've seen this kind of family dynamic before---the Golden Child is celebrated and put on a pedestal in Mama's eyes, and when they return to the hometown, there is great fanfare and excitement etc.

The child that stays home to do the boring caregiver type things gets very little attention or reward. In fact they get some negative attention because they need to remind elderly parents to take their meds, go to the doctor appts, and convince them they are getting too old to drive safely or to take care of their own finances etc.

It can become tense and divisive. I've seen how it works sometimes.

It would not surprise me if there were some rifts in the family and perhaps involving finances.

I agree with this 100%. Add to this that the brother is a retired F16 pilot who also lives on the east coast. The resentment might be compounded.

 

[Hollypine]

According to Sheriff Nanos, Nancy was taken in an Uber to AG's home for food and games close to 6:00 p.m. and then TC took her back home just before 10:00 p.m.

I don't know if Nancy drives regularly but another poster mentioned that Nancy just might not like to drive at night.

It’s always the ‘games’

 

[zecats]

Is there anything you've seen that indicates that? E.g. searches at AG's house, care being towed away? The sheriff suggested those are standard steps in an investigation.

There were more searches in AG’s home last night. Seemed almost like searching for crime scene evidence…photos going off in the dark. Much discussed here about it earlier. I am just waking up and trying to determine if anything has come from all that…yet. JMO.

 

[shonyakay]

Is there anything you've seen that indicates that? E.g. searches at AG's house, care being towed away? The sheriff suggested those are standard steps in an investigation.

I am not cemented to one theory I am just following along as the news comes out. LE was taking pictures inside AG's home. The media outside could see the flashes. LE was also taking pictures inside their garage. One investigator was seen wearing gloves.

 

[osu]

I am so hopelessly behind. That word really bothers me too. It's almost as if there might have been another communication we do not know about.

This next part is not directed at you personally.
I'm sorry to bring this up, but if Nancy is deceased, the body is going to deteriorate fairly quickly. The kidnappers are not going to bring Nancy back to Tucson and risk getting caught with a deceased body on the way back. They would have to dump her or place her somewhere and let it be known where. Not realistic.
The word 'understand' jumped out at me. what does that mean? I don't accept what the 'experts' are saying it means.
It almost sounds to me as if there was another communication or at least something more in the message they received.
It almost sounds as if the kidnapper is naive if he/she/they really believe several million dollars could be gotten together that quickly. This is no movie. I'll go with it being a young person (people) with no real world experience. No criminal background prior to this. They do not have Nancy. The ransom demand is a diversion in my opinion.
I'll go with the older man with a white beard that was interviewed by a random media person. He was too happy to help. Too excited. It wouldn't be the first time the perpetrator offered to help. He was asked if he lived in the neighborhood and he said no, but not too far. He could have been fixated on Nancy and she rebuffed him. He could be holding her in his house right now. One ex FBI person stated that she could still be in the area being held.
I'm way behind with no hope of catching up, so if this scenario (right word?) has been mentioned, I'm sorry.

Here’s a little longer interview with him. His name is Tom Pew, he says he’s a neighbor there and his kids went to the same school with the Guthrie kids.

ETA: Ugh, Elizabeth Vargas is so interruptive during this interview. JMO

 

[mikeshanty]

If this is a genuine kidnapping and ransom, might it suggest NG was being monitored for some time before the incident. I also read SG was due to fly to Italy on the Monday in advance of the broadcasting for the Winter Olympics. I'm not sure SG's travel schedule would have been known to the public. If they chose to strike when they knew SG would be preparing to leave the country, might that also suggest SG was under surveillance - or simply that the perpetrator was also known to SG?

 

[Curiousraccoon]

Is there anything you've seen that indicates that? E.g. searches at AG's house, care being towed away? The sheriff suggested those are standard steps in an investigation.

You are a little bit behind on the news Major searches in their house last night