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

[Napoli]

She's taking her power back and not letting them have the control?

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Perhaps you have never heard of Israel Keyes:

Keyes's last confirmed victim was 18-year-old Samantha Tessla Koenig, a coffee booth employee in Anchorage, Alaska. Keyes kidnapped Koenig from her workplace on February 1, 2012, took her debit card and other property, then raped and sodomized her, before strangling her to death with a rope.

He left her body in a shed in his backyard and went to New Orleans, where he departed on a pre-booked two-week cruise with his family in the Gulf of Mexico. When he returned to Anchorage on February 18, he sexually assaulted Koenig's body. Keyes then removed Koenig's body from the shed, applied makeup to the corpse's face, and sewed her eyes open with fishing line. He took a picture of a four-day-old issue of the Anchorage Daily News alongside her body, posed to appear that she was still alive.

After demanding $30,000 in ransom, some of which was paid into Koenig's bank account, Keyes dismembered Koenig's body and disposed of it in Matanuska Lake, north of Anchorage.

Israel Keyes - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

oh god, I had actually forgotten how young this evil guy was!
Yuck.

 

[C Auguste Dupin]

I'm wondering how this squares with their last message of "we will pay" ? Like, did they ?

I'm thinking back to the kidnapping of Julio Iglesias Sr by the ETA back in the 1980's. His son, the famous singer, stayed engaged, promising to pay, willing to pay, eager to pay.

They wanted about $2million. (Ironically that would be about $6million today.) But after 20 days of talking back and forth with deadlines, extensions, "raising money," etc., the Spanish Anti-terrorist unit in a surprise pre dawn raid raided the holding area and freed him unharmed.

I think that keeping the ETA talking and hopeful was part of what made success possible.

I, of course, hope that similar mechanicians are at work here.

 

[Diddian]

Everyone is focused on the deadline tonight, and previous videos have focused on just that (ransom). This seems like a pivot, attempting to rally the public to help resolve this. I think what's done is done in that regard, and now it's time to focus on other avenues.

It'll be interesting to see if any payment is in fact made today.

I agree this is an attempt to rally the public to help resolve this.

IF ANYONE has seen anything that might lead to the discovery of NG's location, SG is asking them to report such to LE and let LE sort the tips out.

Examples:
Any oddities seen Saturday night/early Sunday morning (Jan 31/Feb 1) in the few mile vicinity of NG's or AG's home. Unusual vehicles. Erratic driving. Driving without lights on.

Vehicles pulled over or people seen unexpectedly around some place that a body could be permanently hidden/dumped.

Presence of strangers in unoccupied homes or at unoccupied properties.

Vehicles pulled over at unusual locations alongside roadways where a body might be dumped down a steep roadside, or near trailers or railway cars that have been sitting in place for long periods of time, etc.

Changes in behavior of relatives, associates, or others that might indicate they have been "off" or "stressed" or "disassociated" since February 1.

Associates or relatives or service personnel who unexpectedly changed their plans with you after Feb 1.

 

[mikeshanty]

Genuine question - how would NG be alive by now if it has been documented in a legal filing that her medication was left in her home and the sheriff was on record saying she needs vital medication or else her conditions becomes fatal within 24 hours?

 

[wibbleflea]

There's really not a lot of detail in the article. It just says that they're working with "AI experts" to determine the validity and origin of the messages.

"For decades, FBI profiles and veteran detectives parsed the grammar and syntax of ransom notes looking for clues that could reveal someone’s education level or socioeconomic background, among other details. Now, such messages can be written by AI, eliminating a writer’s signature voice. Adding to the issues in the case, the kidnappers are asking for money using cryptocurrency, which is much harder to track than the money drops of years past."

(Hopefully quoting a small snippet of a paywalled article is allowed. Please delete if not.)

I was just about to post the same thing. You'd have expected more detail following that paragraph but that and the headline are alll we got.

It repeats the ransom deadlines, and the $6m demand. It suggests that experts found the note credible because it specified the location of the what they describe as an “accessory” (Apple Watch, judging from previous reports, though that’s not specified in this one) and the damage (presumably rear floodlights).

 

[abanddb123]

Ay yi yi. I have like 30 pages I missed in just a couple hours and this has turned to chaos that's VERY hard to navigate through. I am a new poster but "long time lurker", but I'm getting burnt out on things like ChatGPT telling us it's theories on what happened.

I said very, very early on I believed it was potentially a home invasion gone wrong but was sort of dismissed because the focus was all on SIL. The more the police sorta botched things, the more attention and suspicion landed on SIL.

Police arrived to a scene that apparently quickly indicated foul play, as they began with searches and the homicide team was called in which is NOT the norm when someone is reported missing. Something about that scene indicated there was a serious problem. BBC - Timeline of events EARLY in investigation

As with child abductions (& other disappearances), time is extremely important with senior citizens disappearances. I don't know how the sheriffs department will ultimately really answer for their repeated dropped balls, but this is a level of dropping the ball I don't remember seeing since the JonBenet screw ups.

I don't know what to make of the newest video. This is just an absolute cluster muck of a case at this point.

I sooooooo agree!!!!!!!! How can we discuss and communicate when it's hard to navigate.

 

[Lovecats]

Fair enough. If she thinks SIL could be involved, maybe appealing to a possible accomplice then? Idk what to think.

Never thought of that. In one of the videos the family made SG said “ we understand” maybe meaning we know what happened (SIL involvement) and “we will pay” meaning giving up the info will get the accomplice some money. Seems farfetched but just thinking out loud

 

[Diddian]

someone ease guide me on how to speak to a mod, thanks

Hit the report button and when the text box comes up, type your message to them. They will see it.

 

[Melisende10]

Sorry if this has already been asked. Can someone with Bitcoin knowledge confirm that Bitcoin accounts / wallets are publicly accessible to view? It is being reported that the Bitcoin account still has a $0 balance but i'm not understanding how anyone even if they have the account / wallet number could see the balance. I know absolutely nothing about Bitcoin

Yes. You can just google bitcoin address lookup. Anyone can look up a bitcoin address balance if they have the address. It is not like a bank account where only the account holder can see. Anyone can see your balance but again you have to actually have the full bitcoin address. You can also see all transactions of money in and out.

 

[tbgo]

I could still see it being someone who is obsessed with/wants attention from/wants to hurt or inflict pain on SG. They are local to Tucson and can't reach SG in New York, so they decide to target her family. Maybe they've been stalking both her sister and her mother for a while now. They pick last weekend ahead of SG leaving for Italy and abduct NG.

Sending ransom notes to TMZ ensures maximum publicity of SG's pain. If they really wanted money, they would've contacted her privately and told her not to involve LE. But the way they went about it (TMZ and two local stations) feels like the person wants attention that they can watch on TV and they also want SG to make videos pleading for them to let NG go. It's not really about money--its about spectacle and control and inflicting pain on a person they've become fixated on (the reason could be quasi-political, romantic, or some kind of delusion we couldn't guess).

Interesting theory. The person would have to be a loner though. I mean, if they had people in their life I think those people would have picked up on something. Transporting a dead body or holding it is not something most people can do without someone noticing. The more people involved the more likely it is for someone to crack or start running their mouth.

 

[mikeshanty]

Did anyone else clock the "hour of desperation" remark in the video? Could be read literally given the timing?

 

[K.jill]

Maybe Savannah is thinking abductor will drop off her mom in another state and wants people in all of the states to be on the lookout for her mom.

 

[maskedwoman]

Sorry if this has already been asked. Can someone with Bitcoin knowledge confirm that Bitcoin accounts / wallets are publicly accessible to view? It is being reported that the Bitcoin account still has a $0 balance but i'm not understanding how anyone even if they have the account / wallet number could see the balance. I know absolutely nothing about Bitcoin

If you know how, yes. Apparently any address created remains valid. Since TMZ had one, they can still look at the wallet, even if another address is used to make a deposit. I feel so hip now!

 

[BigCityAccountant]

Fair enough. If she thinks SIL could be involved, maybe appealing to a possible accomplice then? Idk what to think.

I don't think accomplice.....I think she's saying---we don't know where her body is and we need her body to prosecute otherwise case is circumstantial. We know--but it won't hold up in court without mom's body. She's more composed, she's more determined than ever, she's more resolved now. Her energy was diverted---she's more focused now. She's more angry and it's a focused anger. IMHO, something changed and she knows something significant now that she's been kept out of the loop from this past week.

 

[Chimera]

Cartel angle. Something I am starting to consider.

With the recent pressure and crackdowns on cartel activity, it is not unreasonable to at least consider whether some groups may be shifting tactics to generate revenue in different ways. Kidnapping and ransom have historically been part of cartel operations, especially in environments where journalists and public figures have been targeted.

Looking at the last five years alone, the pattern is not insignificant. According to press freedom and watchdog reporting, Mexico continues to rank among the most dangerous places in the world for journalists. Over roughly the past five years, multiple journalists have been abducted, disappeared, or kidnapped in cartel-influenced regions. ARTICLE 19’s tracking shows dozens of journalists disappeared historically, with additional disappearances continuing into the most recent decade. The Committee to Protect Journalists has also repeatedly reported Mexico as having one of the highest numbers of missing or disappeared journalists globally, and individual cases of journalists being kidnapped and later released have continued to surface in cartel dominated areas.

That does not automatically mean cartel involvement in this case, but it shows that the tactic exists and has been used repeatedly in recent years.

Another important piece is the Bitcoin misconception. Many people assume cryptocurrency makes ransom untraceable. It does not. Bitcoin is pseudonymous, not anonymous, and every transaction is permanently recorded. In past cases, funds believed to be hidden were eventually traced once they touched real-world systems such as exchanges, services, or identifiable behavior. Most identifications do not happen because technology fails. They happen because one small real-world connection exposes the chain.

So while there is still no confirmed public evidence tying this specific case directly to cartel involvement, the method of kidnapping combined with ransom and crypto does fit patterns seen in organized crime environments. The real turning point will be whether investigators uncover any concrete link to organized networks, cross border activity, or traceable financial movement.

Interesting comment, thanks.
Might be relevant.
This case is crazy back and forth in the possibilities of the perps.

Might be family.

Might be staff of Nancy's who were in charge of yardwork, kitchen/cooking, cleaning, etc.

One possibility I'm not convinced of yet, is a random passerby who knew somehow that Nancy lived alone and took advantage of an elderly woman -- because--what would they gain by taking her with them, as opposed to a smash & grab ?

That bit (pun intended) about the bitcoin/cryptocurrency able to be tracked was new to me !
Now am back to considering the employees who may have been casing Nancy's house.
Omo.

 

[tricia]

Hey everyone,

We’ve got a great show tonight at 10:30 PM Eastern. Aphrodite Jones will be joining us. She’s friends with Savannah and brings unique insight into the case, so this is one you won’t want to miss.

And in fantastic news, Mike King’s new podcast, Gardens of Evil, just reached the #1 spot on Apple today. That is huge. ( I will ban myself for going off topic but we love Mike King so I'll take the hit. ha)
https://go.gamutpodcasts.com/americannightmareseries

 

[MCB1151]

Genuine question - how would NG be alive by now if it has been documented in a legal filing that her medication was left in her home and the sheriff was on record saying she needs vital medication or else her conditions becomes fatal within 24 hours?

Was that actually confirmed about the meds? I was not under the impression that death would be imminent that fast. I don't think she's alive but I don't remember seeing confirmation that basically she would have very possibly been deceased prior to the first ransom demand.

 

[pirateboy]

Really dumb question here: is the alleged 2nd deadline at 5pm eastern or 5pm local? If 5pm local, that would 7 eastern

 

[Sundog]

Do you think SG started to make preparations for a ransom situation maybe many months ago? We don't know if she was facing prior threats.

I was thinking that she would have started the process of getting the ransom money ready as soon as she got the first ransom note. Being prepared if she needed to hit the send button, not planning to necessarily, but being ready to do so.