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

[mikeshanty]

Savanna said, “we will pay”. I don’t think she would lie.

What if ….they have already paid the ransom and she’s not been released. Savanna is asking for help looking for her.

Moo …

Maybe she was calling their bluff and they received no further contact. And this appeal to the public is one last chance to make contact with the perp?

 

[Derdew]

Very interesting take on this

 

[Ellis' Mom]

Oh, dear me, an aside...another Vera Stanhope! I see you've had her long er than I've been here, and if you feel I should back out of the Vera Stanhope-ness, I will gladly do so. My apologies, I'd not seen yours.

I don't think you should be too concerned since it appears that your profile pic is of Hetty Wainthropp rather than Vera Stanhope. Am I right?

 

[PacoElFlaco]

Google the bold terms + "movie" - the results will shock you

Annie is the writer of the family and she and Tomasso seem to have a somewhat gothic, darkwave esthetic to their music and poetry. Annie is probably writing the family speeches and peppering them with references to relevant dark crime movies.

 

[Deleted member 117884]

It would seem that if the family felt confident about paying the ransom before today's "5pm deadline", they would lay low and hope an exchange would be made. The fact that SG is on instagram, hours before, begging the public for help, seems like it could "piss off" the supposed kidnappers and make the deal go bad. LE probably would not recommend it. Which makes me fear...they have nothing. Or they now think the ransom letters were a hoax. It just alarms me that if they really were hoping to appease a kidnapper's demand here, they wouldn't encourage the public hours before to look for something, see something, say something. (Because that's not just saying "if you see Nancy" - it's saying be on the lookout for a culprit who can be identified.)

Or it might prompt the kidnapper to communicate with them.


jmo

 

[Simply Southern]

Or...between the time she said "we will pay" and the actual payment being made, it was determined that this ransom demand was a hoax.

Another possibility.

I felt they would pay the ransom right after the last video. Why wait, time is not on the side of NG.
Moo

 

[MesquiteO21]

Didn't the Ramsay case "ransom note" also have all kinds of movie references, like to Dirty Harry and other crime films?

Yes it did.

“Don’t grow a brain” is very similar to “do not attempt to grow a brain” from Speed which was released the year prior in 1995.

There are some other lines either verbatim or extremely close to various movies

moo

 

[Bodhi]

Ugh why do they have to try and 'glamorize everything'??

"Desert Hideaway"

Presumably it's close to Nancy's and therefore very convenient but also it WAS private. What did they do, follow her back there?!

Maybe the ransom note writer works for the flippin Daily Mail!

Ugh why do they have to try and 'glamorize everything'??

"Desert Hideaway"

Presumably it's close to Nancy's and therefore very convenient but also it WAS private. What did they do, follow her back there?!

Maybe the ransom note writer works for the flippin Daily Mail!

Screw the Daily Mail and TMZ. Have they no decency?

SG and her siblings relocated for security and privacy. The culprits who kidnapped and possibly murdered their mother are still at large. By revealing their location, the Daily Mail is jeopardizing the safety and privacy of traumatized victims in their most desparate hour.

Just as with TMZ's reporting publicly in real time whether it sees ransom being paid in a restricted transaction in the hours leading up to the kidnapper's final deadline. Outrageous. Unethical.

I hope the @tricia considers banning the Daily Mail and TMZ as sources for jeopardizing the return of an 84-year-old victim to her family, endangering the security of her family, and intruding on the privacy of crime victims. It goes against the victim-friendly standards that WS holds dear.

 

[Sadi]

The only way I see that confidence is if they have a very good idea of who the perpetrator is and it’s someone in NG’s circle (in other words, it wasn’t random)

Or…maybe they aren’t confident? Idk.

Remember the chief in the Idaho 4 case didn’t think there was a threat yet we know now it was a random stranger crime. There absolutely was a threat to the community at the time he said that.

moo

Good point, Sheriff wasn’t sure how to respond when asked at the press conference if there was a threat to the public since no one has been arrested. Add to that, no more requests for tips from the public and any descriptions of anything people should be looking for etc.? It’s too quiet. Do they have a suspect in their sight?

 

[Simply Southern]

Annie is the writer of the family and she and Tomasso seem to have a somewhat gothic, darkwave esthetic to their music and poetry. Annie is probably writing the family speeches and peppering them with references to relevant dark crime movies.

Savanna has a BS in Journalism and a law degree. I feel Savanna is writing her own message. Moo

 

[Chrissymick]

Feds have the death penalty if the victim is killed as a result of the kidnapping, and the feds can charge if the crime crosses state lines.

Also, a US state would extradite a defendant to another state to face state charges even if the death penalty was on the table. The person would have to flee to a country that would refuse to extradite unless the death penalty was taken off the table. Fleeing the jurisdiction to escape the death penalty is not easy or certain work.

 

[Cipher Vale]

Just Googled as I'm Canadian... AZ has the death penalty and possibly for kidnapping resulting in death sounds like.

Do they think the perp skipped state to avoid that if getting caught? I guess they could still get brought back to AZ for trial?

Crime happened in AZ. They will be tried, convicted, and punished in AZ according to AZ law.

 

[Simply Southern]

If they've paid to the Bitcoin wallet address given in the ransom note, we'd know all about it. TMZ and at least two other stations have the wallet address. Bitcoin transactions are public.

I believe they would use a new account number since the media has so openly discussed the letter.

The last contact was to only ONE station and they have remained quite. Moo

 

[abanddb123]

If someone's post is too long for your preference, just skip it. Simple solution.

Really, what if it's important. I don't want to be one of those that don't read

 

[ArabianLover]

I fear this case has been botched from the get go.

The State Police should have been brought in IMMEDIATELY to help with this case. This tiny agency is not equipped.

Both Nancy’s AND Annie’s properties should have been sealed off as crime scenes. NO MATTER WHAT. Those were the last supposed places Nancy was seen alive. All vehicles should have been seized.

Then ALL the family members should have been dragged down to the police station and DRILLED. Questioned. Proved their timeline by providing corroborating evidence. Taken polygraphs, etc.

All electronic devices should have been seized.

All vehicles should have been seized.

And should have been done for purposes of elimination. Eliminate the family first. Then work out.

This is LE 101

These “statements” about driving Nancy home, at what time, by whom, and what exactly happened at the drop off don’t make any sense. Was it just the SIL? Was it Annie & the SIL? How does an 85yo woman with SERIOUS physical limitations get into her garage in 2 minutes? There should be history on that remote opener to show the average time it takes her. 2 minutes just seems way too short.

Crime scene experts should have gone over BOTH properties with a fine toothed comb. As well as all vehicles. These were places that Nancy was confirmed to be.

That first critical 48hr window has been lost here because of sloppy police work. And the delay of reporting Nancy’s disappearance.

We are now into the 2nd week and they are just now checking Annie’s house with Luminol. After the family has continued living there? And possibly doing a clean up??

They just discovered there was a camera on the roof of Nancy’s house. What else did they miss?

We have a supposed ransom demand that has not been confirmed legitimate.

My questions are these:

1. Why haven’t the family members been eliminated as suspects?

2. Why can’t they confirm the legitimacy of this ransom demand?

3. Why do they keep going back and doing basic things that should have been done on day 1 or day 2?

4. And WHY would the Sheriff go to a basketball game with a case like this going on so early in an investigation? Normally a case is worked by all involved without sleep for days. They’re not going to events. This is a very bad look.

This is heading for a catastrophic conclusion. In more ways than one.

 

[KellySleuth]

Another possibility.

I felt they would pay the ransom right after the last video. Why wait, time is not on the side of NG.
Moo

Good point. I hadn't considered that they may have paid right away.

 

[stmichael]

If Nancy didn't have her medication for 9 days would she even still be alive now?

We're not sure what the meds were for but it's not a good prognosis. I believe she had high blood pressure along with her cardiac issues, so that may be what the meds were for. Now that setting in, along with the extreme stress of the situation, and any damage (blood spatter found) is a horrible situation for someone cardio-compromised, especially at that age.

If the ransom angle is real, we also don't know the care she's been getting. As one expert LE analyst pointed out, she's a horrible target for a ransom (fragile goods, if you excuse the phrasing) given these things, and with such media attention/heat you'd want to move this as quickly as possible. IF this is a ransom this isn't some smooth efficient operation, but many are dubious if that's whats going on here.

 

[shonyakay]

Who here thinks Savannah did this latest Instagram message on her own - without LE's input?

 

[Walela]

This makes sense.

She could be dropped off at a rest area, a gas station, a hospital - any number of places. I suppose anywhere they've determined isn't monitored by a camera. Even by the side of the road.

Why drop her off anywhere? Why not leave her where she is and then use the email tip line to give the location coordinates. Some seem to think this person is a local and is in the Tucson area and if so, no one has located them yet so just drive away while everyone else waits the mythical 10 hours for them to "return" to Tuscon.
moo

 

[HoveringWombats]

I believe they would use a new account number since the media has so openly discussed the letter.

If they intentionally sent the letter to TMZ, surely they would not be surprised (and, in fact, are probably pleased) that it was openly discussed. I doubt this would cause them to change tactics. MOO