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

[Absoluterubbish]

When TMZ first reported the ransom letter and the one reporter was holding it, the other one flipped up the paper, like to prevent something from being seen. Then another person is seen putting a piece of paper in front of the letter. Was there a photo of N on the letter? Or what was it ?

Given SG mentioned AI pictures I think it is likely there was a picture included in the first note

 

[Cassie P]

RE: the man who reported the trespasser on his property:

And he is not the only one to report suspicious activity in the weeks and months leading up to Nancy Guthrie going missing.

Brett McInti has lived in the neighborhood for five years and says it is a quiet area which does not often see trouble.

” I just tend to think it’s a pretty quiet, safe neighborhood,” he said.

He said he reported a similar incident to police because it was out of the norm for how quiet the area normally is.

“I’ve been here five years and we’ve had no actual big problems here,” he added.

“I did report one time to the police a few months ago, I noticed a car creeping down my driveway when I was coming to park.
“They backed out slowly. I looked at them. You couldn’t see the licenceplate because they were backing out.

“But that’s the only time in five years, someone’s been on my property where it’s like they seem like they’re up to no good.

“They were a young couple in their 20s, in my opinion. I just remember it was a sedan, a little two or four door sedan, not real big, not an expensive car, not an SUV, just kind of a sedan, and again, they looked rather on the younger side, like in their 20s.

Verifying Device

Probably nothing, maybe tourists who just wanted to look at the house.....or not.

It would take two people to carry NG to the car.

If the couple drove up to the house, a female ringing the doorbell would cause less suspicion?

Then when NG opens the door, the man punches NG in the face which causes the blood splatter on the porch. It renders her unconscious. Then they carry her to the sedan and drive off.

They don't even have to go into the house.

 

[MizStery]

In the first presser done by the Sheriff, he said that the family got a call from the church saying, “hey your Mom’s not here.” Then the family went to the house, and he (the Sheriff) said “they (the family) spent some time looking for her themselves” before deciding they needed help and called 911. He then speculated that they got there “around 11”. He also gave interviews, saying there was an hour-long delay before they called 911.

It also could be investigators have attempted to verify ‘what time and exactly who’ made that ‘initial call’ to the family. Maybe LE have lingering questions about details or discrepancies surrounding the reported notification the family received that NG was not in the congregation that morning? Investigators just following the facts/data. Just thinking out loud.

 

[unresolvedmystery]

"A couple other things ... the letter, which was sent to TMZ on Tuesday, is very well written ... there's structure and detail, and it appears to be done by someone who is educated and spent time crafting it."

Interesting comment I hadn't seen posted here yet.

Nancy Guthrie Alleged Ransom Letter Offers Clues to Geographic Area of Search

The alleged ransom letter in the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping has a few details offering possible clues about how far away she may have been taken from the Arizona home where she was abducted ... which could indicate the search radius law enforcement is focusing on.

www.tmz.com

Find myself wondering could all communications have been drafted in advance which is why these long gaps between and then set to send at certain points so as to avoid being traced or noticed.

Am considering if someone within family was involved they could have set these to send before they were under LE scrutiny?

 

[ttjo]

BRIAN ENTIN is reporting that a second note has arrived regarding the ransom, but does not say what it says, It went to a local TV station In Tucson. No info about it has been released .

 

[missy1974]

IF this is real... the wording that SO and FBI is accessing the 'authenticity' of it, is interesting to me.

I hope it does have some sort of video/audio and they are trying to determine if it's AI or authentic.

 

[MommaV]

??

It was time stamped later than when I originally sent it. Sorry

 

[SaraSmile]

New note info will be provided on CNN shortly

Great, can’t wait to see the new info.

 

[Aquabot13]

This is really messy and it gets messier at every turn. I feel SO bad for the family and NG.

I have my own suspicions about who's involved (and I do believe multiple people are involved), but the longer this goes on the less sense any theory makes.

SIL - How and where would he be able to hold NG for this long, while also avoiding the suspicions of a swarm of family, media, and law enforcement? Even if he's involved in some way, he'd have to have gotten in with the wrongest of wrong crowds to know people who could pull this off. Maybe if NG isn't alive anymore some of these questions go away, but then where is the body?

Workers/Acquaintances/Fans - The further this gets from being a robbery gone wrong, the less likely this angle seems. Whoever did this seems to have detailed knowledge of the house, NG's routine, and cybersecurity. They're seemingly evading even the FBI with no end in sight.

Foreign Government - I thought this theory was kind of crazy, but it would explain why the kidnapper is so adept at high-level almost militaristic operations. What's the motive, though? I just don't see one.

Crime of Opportunity - This is seeming more likely to me as the week drags on. Someone like BK in the Idaho murders who wants the opportunity to prove that they're smarter than police and they can get away with things. Almost like a test of their skills. If this is the case, I'd think they lived close by and probably became aware of NG and her relation to SG incidentally. Maybe they figured that they'd be able to do the kidnapping and, as a bonus, maybe extort some crypto and attract national attention through the SG connection.

I really don't know what to think anymore. I hope the FBI knows WAY more than they're letting on, because none of this really makes sense if they don't.

MOO

 

[moonglow123]

That’s the thing, law enforcement would’ve known pretty quickly if the first ransom note was a scam. The writer/potential kidnapper mentioned something Nancy *wasn’t* wearing in their note.

Law enforcement hasn't explicitly said that the first note has been dismissed or thought to be a hoax. Which leads me to believe the writer/potential kidnapper might've been correct when they said Nancy wasn't wearing something, whatever it was.

It’s possible it's a scammer and they took a lucky guess, but it's hard to say until we know what was said or how specific they were in their detailing.

I wonder if this second ransom note also contains anything specific only the kidnapper would know.

 

[Cassie P]

I'm really shocked whether or not this is the same author of the first letter that they're sticking with email as mode of delivery. This criminal (related to the abduction or not) definitely has high confidence in their technical abilities to not instantly be identified by LE. Especially after FBI made an example of the guy who was harassing AG via text.

What age and type person would overestimated their abilities and think they can outwit the FBI on a technical level?

 

[osu]

"A couple other things ... the letter, which was sent to TMZ on Tuesday, is very well written ... there's structure and detail, and it appears to be done by someone who is educated and spent time crafting it."

Interesting comment I hadn't seen posted here yet.

Nancy Guthrie Alleged Ransom Letter Offers Clues to Geographic Area of Search

The alleged ransom letter in the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping has a few details offering possible clues about how far away she may have been taken from the Arizona home where she was abducted ... which could indicate the search radius law enforcement is focusing on.

www.tmz.com

Here’s a video with Harvey Levin describing the letters structure, grammar, etc.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2019898935574425961

 

[Gemmie]

"A couple other things ... the letter, which was sent to TMZ on Tuesday, is very well written ... there's structure and detail, and it appears to be done by someone who is educated and spent time crafting it."

Interesting comment I hadn't seen posted here yet.

Nancy Guthrie Alleged Ransom Letter Offers Clues to Geographic Area of Search

The alleged ransom letter in the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping has a few details offering possible clues about how far away she may have been taken from the Arizona home where she was abducted ... which could indicate the search radius law enforcement is focusing on.

www.tmz.com

I'm sorry but this is just CRAZY and I don't like it one bit. I fear other bad guys are watching and taking notes. I also fear copycat abductions.

 

[Sadi]

What would be the reason to share this with the general public and not LE only??

Just as I was saying that something big could happen at any moment…

This was not on my list though.

 

[Greenestdays]

It would take two people to carry NG to the car.

If the couple drove up to the house, a female ringing the doorbell would cause less suspicion?

Then when NG opens the door, the man punches NG in the face which causes the blood splatter on the porch. It renders her unconscious. Then they carry her to the sedan and drive off.

They don't even have to go into the house.

Why would anyone, let alone an elderly lady, open their door at that time of night though? It makes no sense.

 

[thefragile7393]

I'm sorry but this is just CRAZY and I don't like it one bit. I fear other bad guys are watching and taking notes. I also fear copycat adductions.

I fear more copycat ransom notices

 

[branmuffin]

Did the mother have anyone coming in to help her with day to day things, like housework, meals, personal care, health care, exterior upkeep, etc. If she did how many of them are long term helpers or are relatively new people? How often did the family see her and how far did they live from her? She had a vehicle but had limited mobility. Did she still use her own vehicle or did a caretaker or family member take her out for drives so she could get out of the house? If it was a family member I presume they'd just use their own vehicle. How did she get to church?

I think there is a connection to her disappearance to people who are in her orbit or at least have some connection to people in her orbit. Whether that's familial or people who interact with her like those listed above or are associated with people who interact with her. SG's net worth is around 40 million so she's the one who they are expecting to pony up the cash. If there's any young adult males in that mix in the Gen Z category they'd be the one's I'd be interested in first since they are one of the largest groups who are interested or engage in crypto currency trading.

I'm not zeroing in on any specific person or persons but I don't think this kidnapping is by a total stranger. Maybe they are strangers to the victim but they have been aware of who she is and her daily routine. And she is the weakest link to SG's money if abduction was always the plan.

 

[Wsimm]

I’ve got to think that whoever abducted NG knew that Savannah worked for NBC. Wouldn’t the easiest route to send a ransom note be to NBC? If this was really about wanting to receive a ransom and not something entirely different, isn't the easiest and straightest line directly to the family? A WhitePages subscription easily reveals emails, cell phones, etc. I imagine I could find Savannah‘s email at NBC in a matter of a couple minutes through a Google search? IMO whoever did this was also very interested in the attention this would garner.

 

[MissPie]

Here’s a video with Harvey Levin describing the letters structure, grammar, etc.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2019898935574425961

ChatGBT could also help create a letter like this, these days.

 

[gammagirl]

Am becoming more and more convinced this is a scam like the first guy that was caught but possibly something from outside the country where its harder to trace?

Still feel confident this remains a local crime.

i think it could be both local and a real held for ransom kidnapping....