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

[Diddian]

Savannah was remarkably composed there, and still optimistic that her mom is alive.

Given that she is reportedly quite religious, it is hard to discern sometimes whether she is speaking of her mother in a spiritual sense.

Regardless, she certainly wants her mother returned in whatever condition she is in.

I hope that happens but I fear that it will first require a voluntary admission/confession and/or involuntary capture/arrest and might even then be denied because NG's body is evidence of exactly what she suffered and right now the perpetrator has the advantage of denying LE that evidence.

 

[Walela]

What would be the reason for the FBI/LE to be at AG”s home two to three times removing items and taking pictures inside the house if they’re not involved?

Maybe some of the items taken were business related. We don't know how much and in what way AG helped her mom. For all we know she could have kept the records of who was hired to do maintenance, cleaning, etc. or haircut appointments, Mani/Pedi appointments, Dr appointments, or maybe even NG's address book. Stuff like that could help LE figure out just who was in the innermost outer circle. Which ones were current and which ones were in the recent past. She may have had bank records or tax records. She may have paid the bills for her. I realize that it's been noted that NG is sharp as a tack but that doesn't necessarily mean she enjoyed taking care of the business end of keeping a large home clean and in good working order or haggling with roofing contractors or electricians. If it were me and I had a child doing those things for me, I'd be thrilled to just enjoy myself.

 

[abanddb123]

I have a question—why would the people wanting the ransom tell the Sibs that NG was no longer alive? And still demand the ransom. I’d think by admitting that she’s deceased that the ransomer just slammed shut any hope of getting a ransom. Now I heard SGs reply that they will pay for a body - is essentially what she said. I just think admitting she’s no longer alive would decrease your chance of getting any money. That’s just my thought anyway

She never said she would pay for the body. It's how some interpret

 

[Chrissymick]

or do more of whatever they were doing) while my mom was dozing

It hasn’t been paid yet, as far as we know.

TMZ knows the account number, and they will almost certainly report if money enters that account.

Or doesn’t by the deadline…

One t

Transcript:

"Hi there everybody. Um, I wanted to come on and just share a few thoughts as we enter into another week of this nightmare. Um, I just want to say first of all thank you so much for all of the prayers and the love that we have felt, my sister and brother and I. And that our mom has felt. Because we believe that somehow, some way she is feeling these prayers and that God is lifting her even in this moment and in this darkest place.

We believe our mom is still out there. We need your help. Law enforcement is working tirelessly, around the clock, trying to bring her home, trying to find her. She was taken and we don't know where. And we need your help. So I'm coming on just to ask you not just for your prayers but no matter where you are, even if you're far from Tucson, if you see anything, if you hear anything, if there's anything at all that seems strange to you, that you report to law enforcement. We are at an hour of desperation. And we need your help."

One thing that seems very clear from this video: it would be pointless to post something like this - even as a diversion - if police were closing in on your family members as murder suspects.

 

[moonglow123]

It could be a bait and switch. These videos are all quite strange.

Very true. I really don't know what to think anymore. Echoing that this is one of the strangest and most baffling cases in recent memory.

I do think 5pm is a breaking point. If it's not paid, we'll know LE and the family are leaning towards it being a hoax or coverup or something else going on. All so bizarre. Heartbreaking for the family to be toyed with like this.

 

[ab01]

This was a public plea for information.

Totally different from the previous videos

 

[stmichael]

and Now I am circling back to my initial thinking. repairmen, someone delivering or installing something. Who gathered just enough intel on their visit(s) to the property to case the home.

Yes, this theory was always out there. As a homeowner I see a lot of upkeep with NG house (the pool, etc.) I suppose her nearby family could help but we know she did have some help. Her clean roofs seen in the drone footage were recently res-surfaced as explained by one interviewed neighbor, and surely she had more people coming and going.

On the security side, it was very vulnerable with DIY/residential aspect and the cameras IIRC were more for "wildlife" watching rather than security. A few Nest cams and a single Ring doorbell cam and a home depot metal security door ain't it. Couple that with Tuscon's low light ordinance (a favorable component to predators--I have flood lights on my property, skells like the shadow of the night), and the houses being nestled back with no major sights of line to neighbors, etc. Any worker spending an hour on the property would figure all this out and see the vulnerability of a medically compromise elderly lady living there alone.

Now AG and the SIL surely come and go and are also very familiar w/ the property and probably which cams are charged, which work, the lapsed sub service etc. The fact that they were the last ones to spend time w/ her alone still leaves them on my big board.

 

[Czechgirl]

and Now I am circling back to my initial thinking. repairmen, someone delivering or installing something. Who gathered just enough intel on their visit(s) to the property to case the home.

I can't help but think if someone were in her home(repairman)she'd have photos of her and Savannah. Or all a staff person would need to do is share that info with the wrong person. I know we look at the person who last saw her or discovered her missing and I understand that. But there were places for an unknown someone to hide and wait...
I don't want it to be family.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

SG sounds utterly desperate in her post Not her tone of voice, just what she's asking for.

Asking anyone, anywhere for any scrap of info they might have to help in this. But is she really just asking just anyone? Or someone in particular.

Anyone else feel this sounds a bit personal like she's addressing someone? Using the word 'you' a lot. Maybe FBI think there's an accomplice or more than one person involved? Is SG trying to get through to someone involved?

 

[No_Stone_Unturned]

SG on TMZ;

Savannah Guthrie Believes Mother Nancy Is Still Alive, 'We Need Your Help'

Savannah Guthrie and her family are not giving up hope Nancy Guthrie is alive ... but she's desperately asking for the public's help in locating their mother.

www.tmz.com

 

[Cardgame]

BBM

It was not days, was it? It was the next day (reported missing Sunday, ransom note sent to TV station Monday). At the latest, because we have no way of knowing if it was sent some other way before they sent it to media. It was two days before it went to TMZ, which is when we heard about it, but that was not the initial time it was sent.

Sources:

Overall timeline - A timeline of the disappearance of and search for Nancy Guthrie
Additional detail on ransom letter timing - What we know about the ransom notes in the Nancy Guthrie case

If this was my email, and this isn't a joke although it's sounds like one, I would never joke about this, but if this happened to me the email would have a high chance of going into my spam folder.

Especially if it came from a weird encrypted email address with numbers and letters etc.

And since no one would be expecting a ransom note via email, the family may not have seen it until the media became aware of it.

 

[dogmom805]

One t

One thing that seems very clear from this video: it would be pointless to post something like this - even as a diversion - if police were closing in on your family members as murder suspects.

If the latter statement you mentioned was true, though, I doubt the other family members are in the know and even if they were, I would expect denial.

 

[HoveringWombats]

It is what Sheriff Nanos stated at last Thursday's press conference.

Exact wording from last Thursday's press conference:

"Right now, I have no plans to schedule any further press conferences unless we have some real evidence or something to bring up to you. It's pretty pointless to just keep hounding the same things over and over..." No mention of next Thursday at all. Unless it was earlier and I missed/forgot (I did watch the whole thing live, but obviously a lot has happened since then).

Sorry, I am not at all trying to pick on you!!! Just want to make sure we're not perpetuating misinformation accidentally, so I've been trying to be better about continuing to refer back to the actual sources whenever possible. There's so much info flying around, it's very hard to keep track.

Link to the exact part of the press conference:

 

[Strangeworld]

While its a little quiet in here, for those who are adamant the one/s who wrote the ransom notes are the same one/s who kidnapped Nancy, what is your reasoning?

And for those who believe the ransom note writer/s are not the same as those responsible for what happened to Nancy, what are your reasons for thinking this?

And for those who are on the fence, what are your reasons, what is it that is making it difficult to lean one way or the other?

(we don't have all the evidence and information from the investigation, so noone can really know right now what LE know, but just thought it would be interesting to review where we are all at and why)

Did have a summary but feedback from posters was it was too long so have deleted. Won't do a summary or poll anymore but thanks for those who responded!

 

[shadowsc]

Interesting words in SG's post. No capitals used (too aggressive?) and the 'she needs you'? I'm trying to make sense of it:

please. bring her home. we need you. she needs you. all of you.

*ETA: is the ransom/communicator threatening their own life so SG's is saying she needs you (to stay alive to keep NG alive) and 'all of you' (meaning mentally or physically?) or is SG referring to the public there?

All of SG's social media posts on this have been essentially lowercase no capitalization, which is not her usual style at all. She typically posts like a journalist, not a 20 year old girl being poetic. Probably means nothing, but some covering the case have pointed it out and wondered if it was code, or if we're just looking for stuff now.

 

[snoopy100]

the new video makes me think they got proof of life TBH. appealing to the public because they believe someone could see her out there.

 

[nightowl2728]

Not sure if this has been addressed before, it may have been, but using the age old "follow the money" advice - who's to benefit from all this, financially? I don't mean necessarily from a ransom, but from all of the media coverage of this? SG possibly not returning as an anchor (and missing the Olympics)? I'm not sure I understand the full implications of all that, but something to consider

 

[smileyface516]

This video felt a lot less scripted. No lines that felt "coded". I doubt her words were coached by the FBI like the previous two; in fact, I wonder if LE even endorsed the idea of this video? She may have just done this on her own accord.

 

[Cardgame]

I feel this is a genuine appeal to be honest. I am not sure law enforcement would allow SG to go on her Instagram and make a fake national appeal for people to report to law enforcement as a means to "throw off" the perp. It would potentially clog up resources and lead to false reports. I just don't know.

IMO they have repeatedly stated the family are free to make their own decisions about responding to the note and paying the ransom.

Will hunt for link and edit it in if I find a concise one.

 

[nightowl2728]

the new video makes me think they got proof of life TBH. appealing to the public because they believe someone could see her out there.

It also wasn't as "cryptic" as the last video posted of the three siblings, which had odd phrasing that sounded like code, and possible movie references