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

[tbgo]

Why a person would remove a body: I guess someone could think that it would be more difficult to convict them for murder without a body. This could be a crime of passion or something that wasn’t fully thought out. Maybe they planned it and then freaked out after the deed was done. Second thoughts. They panic and decide to get rid of the evidence. People do incredibly stupid things all the time thinking they’re covering their tracks. The fact that they didn’t stage the scene and then a ransom note goes out 72 hours later, which may or may not be real, along with the message that they won’t be hearing from them, the perpetrator, again = amateur.

 

[Cassie P]

I don't know...my mom is 77 and liked to have cash on hand at all times. She did not use Venmo or ApplePay. She recently sold a home, so she had a bunch of liquidity in the bank. I saw she withdrew $5k shortly after the sale and I still don't know where the money went. $5k is A LOT of money to a desperate person. It could be NG went to pay a contractor with cash, and he eyed a wad of it in her wallet and saw an easy target...This is just a scenario that I could see happening with my mom. The difference is my mom has Dementia (now in memory care) and NG is "sharp as a tack" according to LO. Being sharp does not preclude someone from being too trusting, though.

Yes good point, someone elderly might keep a larger amount of cash than most people.

And yes, even if you are still cognitively intact, you can be too trusting. But most of us don't think an electrician or plumber is going to rob us.

A licensed repair person is going to make a lot more money from his job than anything
he could get in a home robbery of an elderly person? Is it worth going to prison to get a bit of cash?

Though perhaps some service people in the home notice an elderly person with dementia and take advantage of them. The elderly person won't remember what happened to her cash?
Still risky.

Though it appears that NG did not have dementia, but she could still have some cognitive slippage.

 

[whitelilac]

Another theory-

FBI is obviously taking over case as evidenced by Sheriff having to be told by his wife that the family plea video was on insta.

Let’s say AB source is FBI related. Why would they want it leaked? My thoughts-

•Watch POI and see response
•Prompt conversations with family or spouse. -wiretaps
•Force or pressure to provide evidence not able to get without a warrant- think cellebrite going into AG and TC’s home the other day.
•prompt others to report other “bad behavior”
•stave off other bad tips, ransoms, etc.

We have to remember the car was taken for evidence BEFORE this leak. (I get the necessity of that as well, just for prosecution and to be able to say you looked at all angles to defense).
—— How long would it take to process that car? DNA, Berla, all the things?
——In what scenario could this guy be responsible and the car not hold evidence —other than a hired hit?

and releasing the crime scene house prematurely back to the family, with listening devices inside

 

[CandyKiss]

those clippings by the door have been bothering me this week as well.

me too, and I posted a pic of it the other day ~ the clippings look fresh, two have tiny flowers on them. I was wondering if there are identical plants on her property that she may have picked walking up to her home; maybe some inside her home or her last known location and she brought them home.

 

[diggndeeperstill]

For what it’s worth I don’t believe the ransom is connected to the crime.

I am thinking about the cleverness of the ransomers and wondering about hacking of a smart tv. I haven’t really followed that topic much, but what kind of likelihood is there that the ransomer is a smart hacker type who also might be able to have a look at the house via hacking a smart tv camera? That could provide the location of items.

The FBI Warns That Smart TVs Can Be a Gateway for Hackers to Enter Victims’ Homes

If you’re the proud owner of a new smart TV—or already have one—the FBI says be aware of privacy implications and risk of cyberattacks.

www.idwatchdog.com

Sorry I’m piggy backing-

If Nancy did attend church via zoom… what was typical for her background? Full view of room, fake background? Are these services recorded and shared?

EDIT: somebody should watch Sunday and see if you can see the zoom attendees.

 

[mrsmmm]

Maybe it was a protectiveness thing - maybe he didn't want wife driving after dark. I don't want to stereotype people, but I do think that there's a general understanding that Italian people are very family-oriented and the men are particularly protective of their families. So it could just be how he was raised, that he felt like it was appropriate for him to take her home.

I don't really understand why anyone thinks it's "weird" or "suspicious" that the SIL drove NG home. Growing up, my dad was always the one to drive my grandma (mom's mom) home. I've driven both my MIL and FIL home without my husband. I wouldn't ever think it was strange for my husband or my BIL to drive my parents home and my family is not Italian (tho my in-laws are).

 

[SlimPickens]

How about Nancy's kids pushing for the sale of her home several months down the road?

It'd still be NG's income and they wouldn't benefit without a death certificate and being in the will.

JMO.

 

[Tealgrove]

Well said! I have been wondering about the Uber - which would not be a normal thing in my family. But reading this post made me rethink this ... it is entirely possible that this is a normal thing in the Guthrie family.

How about, SIL was out and had one car. Maybe one of the kids had another car.

Instead of Nancy waiting at home, AG called an Uber to go pick her her up and bring her over.

I’ve done that multiple times for a senior relative.

I’m not sure why so many are hung up on Nancy taking an Uber.

 

[Inthedetails]

Why a person would remove a body: I guess someone could think that it would be more difficult to convict them for murder without a body. This could be a crime of passion or something that wasn’t fully thought out. Maybe they planned it and then freaked out after the deed was done. Second thoughts. They panic and decide to get rid of the evidence. People do incredibly stupid things all the time thinking they’re covering their tracks. The fact that they didn’t stage the scene and then a random note goes out 72 hours later, which may or may not be real, along with the message that they won’t be hearing from them, the perpetrator, again = amateur.

Removing a body, imo, would be because of shame, panic, or ransom.

I don't know that she was or was not alive, though, when she was taken.

jmo

 

[korncrasy]

My husband was Italian as well.... Being a social butterfly he always had a smile and twinkling eyes, and played a wiked blues piano. Eveyone fell in love with him. BUT he is exactly the same as yours when it comes to sappy movies, songs, gifts, feeding the birds, rabbits..whatever. Oh, and that great Italian wine could enhance some of all this as well.....

Can you tell I miss him.
ohhhh we are so off topic.... but its pleasant thoughts in the midst of.....

Our husbands would have made fast friends, my husband was a blues singer.His rock n rolling days are long over.But he’s blaring his “ Texas blues playlist” music as he currently does the laundry.And the birds! Gods creatures he calls them.

 

[MesquiteO21]

If this truly is a kidnaping and the FBI is in charge, would they allow the Sheriff to be interviewed on talk shows? Is he out of the loop and doing his own thing?

his wording in the presser yesterday was interesting. he said "as far as the ransom letter(s), the FBI is handling that" the implication being, from my interpretation, that the ransom letters and Nancy's disappearance are two separate things...

moo

 

[Starkville]

Question for Sleuthers: why do you think there are pieces of boxwood or other shrubbery by the front door? Near the doormat and drops of blood?

Good question! In the photo that is uncropped, we can see a similar-looking plant on the border of the path leading to the door. NG’s yard/grounds appears meticulously landscaped. So why is there a bit of (IMO) uprooted plantings right in front of the door? Was there a scuffle?

 

[LaLaw2000]

I had written earlier in the thread before it was determined that the blood by the front door was Nancy's that my mother had the same type of bruising on her arms as Nancy. The elderly has thinner skin due to age. My mother would bump her arm or the top of her hand(s) and get those bruises, then would bleed almost profusely at times. Sometimes it would be a lot, other times it would be just a little. It happens even without her knowing it until she sees the bruising or blood. That's what I thought it was at the Nancy's front door or maybe even in her bed too.
I have to say that I think family is involved as another poster has stated. I actually think there are 4 people involved and I do not mean Savannah or her brother, Cameron, because they were out of state. Did the uber driver go back to Nancy's after he stopped driving for the night? He could have. Does the uber driver know Nancy's family that do live in town? He could. That is 3 people. The other person would be either a friend or life partner of the driver. That's 4 people and is someone Nancy would not recognize for her to be kept by.
Maybe Nancy's prescription bottles were left at her home, but maybe she has one of those plastic cases for her medications and that was taken with her. Maybe there is only enough medication left until Monday. If they are prescription medications how would the kidnappers get more?
No one has said so, but does Nancy have to have dialysis and would perish without it? I don't know anything about dialysis.
This is all a confused mess and nothing actually goes together. Who in the world would really expect to receive millions via bitcoin or crypto - whatever it is called. I think the ransom note was a decoy and the real motive was to get rid of her once and for all then her body to be found later, but not too much later - just enough time that the COD could not be determined.
Again, sorry for the long post like the other one was. (I'm done)

 

[SRWCF]

Sorry I’m piggy backing-

If Nancy did attend church via zoom… what was typical for her background? Full view of room, fake background? Are these services recorded and shared?

Churches typically don't use Zoom as you are describing. It's live streaming instead. It costs money to have a Zoom account and is only used for interective meeting purposes, whether that be live chat for questions or actually showing faces and interacting that way.

 

[tbgo]

I have wondered if she hit her head, bled, and then wandered out dazed and confused. I know that they say she couldn’t walk very far, but who knows? Her body would probably be found not too far away from the house though. What a twist that would be, if this wasn’t a crime at all.

Didn’t they walk back that the doorbells were smashed?

 

[minazoe]

How about, SIL was out and had one car. Maybe one of the kids had another car.

Instead of Nancy waiting at home, AG called an Uber to go pick her her up and bring her over.

I’ve done that multiple times for a senior relative.

I’m not sure why so many are hung up on Nancy taking an Uber.

my vibe is like...BIL drove her home as he says, he used this time to hit her up for money and something got out of control.
his wife came to the rescue and they are pulling a JBR. mOO.

 

[MassGuy]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2019816520499740690

 

[DizzyB]

Brian doesn’t appear to be the sharpest tool in the shed. The amount of times he says “like” drives me crazy. I have to hand it to him for getting to the area and being the one to spot the dried blood on the ground though. He also got locals to speak to him on camera.

I love Brian. He has been boots on the ground for so many cases, speaking extemporaneously for long stretches. Froze his butt off in Moscow. Stood outside in Florida for how many days. He does his job and has to fill up a lot of air time. He may have added a few words, but I will give him grace because he is unscripted. Most of the time he will say what he doesn’t know, and not fill in the blanks with suppositions. He gets tapped to do the crime stories as they happen and hops on a plane. And he is a reporter-if he worked for 60 Minutes, he would be expected to walk right up on that porch once the crime scene tape came down.

 

[SRWCF]

I need to chime in on this.My husband is Italian.He looks scary, very.He looks brooding because he is socially awkward.But he’s the first to cry when watching a sappy movie or presented with a gift.You really can’t judge a book by its cover.

No, you cannot, but a lot of people are.

 

[korncrasy]

I'm not sure I agree about the blood being old but it does make sense that the porch wasn't swept in a while. She apparently used the garage for coming and going and may not have noticed the porch was dirty. We also don't use our front door and I have gone out there at times and been appalled at how dirty the porch had gotten!

It appears her deliveries were left there by drivers as the package in photographs looks clean and current.
I’ve considered if it was the contents of a vase that was just inside the door.