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

[Rush4087]

And Subaru's do very often come equipped with GPS via their Starlink System. Maybe LE can trace the specific route which the Subaru travelled (assuming it travelled) and the locations of any stops

Jmo

 

[CandyKiss]

#8258 isn’t the post with the link for Tricia’s live tonight. Someone posted the link in the thread.

I posted it 20 pages back or more ...lol... here's another

 

[snoopy100]

I'm kind of tired of the ransom/proof of life topic, so I am going to try to stop after this post. And also I don't know why I am defending the validity of the ransom note when I am not even convinced myself that it's real. But.....

I really think people are clinging too rigidly to "proof of life" as an indicator of whether the note is real or not. Kidnappers and ransomers do not have a strict standard operating procedure they adhere to. They do not have a code of conduct. They do not have a script they are following. This is not a movie, and the ransomers are not robots. They are each individuals, most of whom are probably mentally unwell, desperate, or both, and who are not necessarily easily predictable. You can not assume that they will just do the thing that seems to obvious, or that "any kidnapper would do." IMHO it's completely nonsensical to dismiss the ransom note out of hand just because they haven't provided proof of life.

I get why one would want proof of life before paying a ransom. I do. It makes complete sense.

But it makes just as much sense for the ransomer to want to divulge as little information as possible. They are clearly very aware of how things can be traced. I'm not even talking about metadata in photos or videos - that stuff is trivial to strip off. But even a single missed detail in the background of a photo can be very revealing. Ever see those people on YouTube or TikTok who find locations all over the world from a single photo or a short video? Even if the proof of life contained far less detail than one of those, it's a reminder to everyone that things you think might not give away who or where you are can inadvertently do just that.

And at the end of the day, who has what to lose here if the ransomer doesn't give proof of life? The most the ransomer will lose is the money that they may or may not get. The most the family has to lose is their beloved family member. It does not seem like much of a stretch to think that a perp with a certain mindset would decide to play hardball in this way and refuse to divulge any more info.

And now, I will go to bed. How many more posts will I have to read in the morning?

good post.

i, too, am on the fence about the legitimacy of the ransom note, and tonight, especially, i've been going back and forth.

but i've seen many comments about how rare an actual kidnapping for ransom is (which is true) and then at the same time, comments about how a kidnapper wouldn't do this or that or the third if they actually sent the ransom note. i think, ultimately, the data set is too small to draw on any conclusions about what they would/could or wouldn't/couldn't do.

i'm going to bed now too.

 

[stmichael]

I'm really splitting hairs here (sorry ) but IMO Tucson is border town the same way Montreal is (same distance, if not closer, to the border). Borders are some of the most highly policed areas in the world -- I really, really doubt cartel members would cross the border into the US and cross back into Mexico to obtain a ransom.

Well, that's not what I said. Tuscon is know for cartel activity by the FBI/DEA. There is plenty of spillover crime in Southern AZ. Now your statement about borders being the most highly policed areas, that's laughable for the Southern border as any LEO or agency working there can tell you about the influence of cartels in Southern AZ or El Paso, etc. It is well documented.

I'm not saying this was cartel directed and agreed with the prior post that it probably isn't but I did say:

True. But don't be disingenuous about border towns in the US not having plenty of cartel influence and spill-over crime (which sadly effects mainly the Latino-centric demographic that comprises many of these border towns). The FBI has a long standing dossier on Tuscon's importance in cartel operations and it is 60 minutes to the border for any criminal regardless of their background.

 

[Absoluterubbish]

I posted it 20 pages back or more ...lol... here's another

I’ve watched this. Luna20 referenced #8258 to counter something I said. That post was about something completely different to anything I have said

 

[Hanoi2009]

I’ve dropped that from the likely list since the second letter. SIL would have little reason to write a second note and it would be very risky with all eyes on him. The thinking had been he set it up to hide having killed her, not for bitcoin. So if the second letter is from same source as the first, chance it’s SIL are ZERO in my opinion.

Yes- I don’t connect SIL or a close family member with legitimate ransom. How would that even happen? Suddenly someone has multiple millions of dollars? How would they explain it? How could they enjoy it? That seems implausible to me. JMO

 

[Absoluterubbish]

 

[MassGuy]

the pacemaker synced with the watch - doesn't necessarily mean that happened at the home. only that at around 2 am NG and the watch were near each other. the watch is transportable. and was found on sunday in the home. perhaps it was later placed there. just a random thought, fwiw, and MOO.

It’s not just that. It’s all the crazy stuff that precedes it. Like that scenario makes perfect sense, and funny business with the watch doesn’t address that.

They’d gain nothing either. Law enforcement know exactly where that watch was, and the pacemaker data would be invaluable.

Just doesn’t work for me.

 

[K.jill]

I’ve watched this. Luna20 referenced #8258 to counter something I said. That post was about something completely different to anything I have said

Post numbers can change when posts are deleted.

 

[Marzipan]

Perhaps if he was acting alone. But, that would be dumb.

But nobody has ever thought the SIL wanted ransom. They thought he murdered Nancy and wanted to make it look like someone else’s Bitcoin ransom scheme. So no motivation is possible for him to write a second letter. It appears to be legitimately a scheme for Bitcoin, whether or not the abductor would really return her or not.
A terrible thing; hope the person is caught soon and Nancy recovered.

 

[Luna20]

#8258 is not Tricia’s post or relevant to what I was talking about.
You’ve also already come into the thread claiming new information when it wasn’t new and arguing with anyone who said otherwise. I would love any new verified info but at this point you aren’t giving any.
Edited for clarification.

#7980
Tagline “We have NEW info in the NG case”

@CandyKiss also brought it forward #8347

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

 

[Vegasgrl]

I'm thinking about motive. What motivates someone to kill someone they know. What would drive someone who doesn't have a violent past (that we know of) to kill a vulnerable person they know very well? Greed? For the money? Revenge? They screwed you over in a big way? Or, do you want to shut them up forever, because they found out your secret? A secret that you believe will destroy your whole life. What if this person gave you an ultimatum - you tell her, or I will. I hope NG is returned to the people who love her. I really hate to think she was harmed by someone close. Very sad to think about.

 

[ab01]

Agree, but the second letter is the nail in the coffin for the idea this was a close family member. There’s just no way they are living through this while secretly writing the second ransom letter on the side. And they’d have no motivation to write a second letter. It wasn’t close family. It wasn’t SIL.

There are a few possibilities

The ransom letters were from some creep that's close enough to the situation that they knew some details that wern't necessarily msm but were leaked locally.

The ransom letters were from someone on Investigators radar but they were sent time delayed thru a vpn application and were timed to be delivered at a specific date and time.

But I do agree that someone that was responsible for NG disappearance likely are not sending any letters in real time.

 

[citizen_sleuth]

But nobody has ever thought the SIL wanted ransom. They thought he murdered Nancy and wanted to make it look like someone else’s Bitcoin ransom scheme. So no motivation is possible for him to write a second letter. It appears to be legitimately a scheme for Bitcoin, whether or not the abductor would really return her or not.
A terrible thing; hope the person is caught soon and Nancy recovered.

It’s also possible the sender of the random demands and the person responsible for NG’s disappearance are two separate people.

 

[Luna20]

I posted it 20 pages back or more ...lol... here's another

Thank you for your help!

 

[BigCityAccountant]

There are often many fake ransom notes in a high profile national kidnapping case (the famous Lindbergh baby case had 5 fake ransom notes) and we've already had an arrest for one in this case.

The kidnapping procedure here is highly atypical. The initial email to TMZ uses two crime scene facts as "proof" the broken flood light and "location" of the apple watch. These are strange and not that conclusive, and "after the fact" observations rather than a unique initiated indicator. Any person that had access or leaks to the crime scene could obtain this info (leaked, hacked, observed on scene).

Proof of Life for a medically compromised elderly woman would seem obvious to any professional kidnapper whose goal was to actually get a swift ransom, if that's the goal here.

So at the very least--and yes there are no clean cut rules among criminals--this seems amateurish (along with the awkward lines of indirect contact). Gives me vibes of the blundering Daniel Lugo 90s Miami extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong.

More definitive proof of life is even more important in an age with AI where POL scams are an actual thing with an FBI PSA warning for missing persons, and SG actually alluded to this in her video where she implores the kidnappers for contact and proof that her mother is alive.

I think an important detail is being overlooked. How many people sleep with their watch on? How did THIS PERSON know the watch existed in the middle of the NIGHT with all the lights off? HOW did this person know she even owned an apple watch? WHY didn't Nancy use the watch to call 911?
So either one of two things.
1. The perp knows Nancy well enough to know she has an apple watch.
2. This was a home invasion gone wrong--the perp was looking for valuables and stumbled across it.

But seems to me there thoughtfulness involved here. Enough sense to know she could be tracked with that watch on. So, not taking a chance made sure to leave the watch behind. Adreneline going, etc etc---I don't see a home invasion perp thinking that clearly.

To me---this is someone who knows Nancy somehow, someway.

The first Apple watch was released in 2015, IIRC. I'd be looking at any photos of Nancy after 2015 to see who is around her. They are somehow, someway lurking in the background.

Of course, all just my opinion.

 

[Kemug]

Interesting that they missed them - I'd hope that LE would know exactly where everyone is......

Probably all down in the basement!

 

[TheDinks]

lots of folks, for example, involved in affairs, have a burner phone that others don't know about. easy enough to send a message to a media contact line from a burner. just my opinion, fwiw. but you'd be surprised how many folks are leading secret lives, affairs, etc. Much more common than Folks are willing to admit, in MOO.

Just because it's technically a burner phone, it can still be traced to the location... no electronic devices, registered or not, will be able to be used by any POI without FBI knowing exactly where it's coming from.

 

[NervousNellie]

So we are all clear. This was the post Luna20 was referring too. Nothing about Tricia. She was referring me back to an article that had already been posted multiple times yesterday.

Please for the love of dogs, stop.

 

[TheDinks]

I think an important detail is being overlooked. How many people sleep with their watch on? How did THIS PERSON know the watch existed in the middle of the NIGHT with all the lights off? HOW did this person know she even owned an apple watch? WHY didn't Nancy use the watch to call 911?
So either one of two things.
1. The perp knows Nancy well enough to know she has an apple watch.
2. This was a home invasion gone wrong--the perp was looking for valuables and stumbled across it.

But seems to me there thoughtfulness involved here. Enough sense to know she could be tracked with that watch on. So, not taking a chance made sure to leave the watch behind. Adreneline going, etc etc---I don't see a home invasion perp thinking that clearly.

To me---this is someone who knows Nancy somehow, someway.

The first Apple watch was released in 2015, IIRC. I'd be looking at any photos of Nancy after 2015 to see who is around her. They are somehow, someway lurking in the background.

Of course, all just my opinion.

They turned on the light and saw the watch. on the charger, on the bedside table a little after 2am