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

[Cassie P]

Ah, but what if the ransom note instructed SG to read that line live on TV?

Yes that is what we are discussing. It was a coded message as instructed by the kidnapper.

 

[MAHBOOBOO]

Based on what I've read here, and the sheer oddity of why someone would kidnap an 84 year old woman. My current theory is...

Somebody on the roofing crew is affiliated with a cartel and when they realized that Nancy had money/a famous rich daughter they kidnapped her to hold her for ransom. After all, if Nancy did have the roof recoated recently, she probably asked the roofing company to install the camera for her up there after they coated it... therefore they would know it didn't have a memory card. They may have even showed her how to use the camera app and that's how they could have known she did not intend to record footage to the cloud. Besides they (a roofer and a couple other cartel members) were gonna go in masked anyway, so no need to worry about that one particular camera too much.

Maybe Nancy kept her walker in her car like my mom did with her walker, so the kidnappers had to get the walker out of her car before leaving because they knew she'd need it while they held her hostage. Or maybe some of her meds were in the car. If they knew she would need those (which is likely just given her age) they may have asked her where all her meds are so they could take them with them. Maybe she'd just gotten one Rx refilled and it was still in the car.

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2020121560179167728

 

[judithannegg]

Morning WSers! I haven't been this vested in a case since the Suzanne Morphew case. Yesterday we had a flurry of activity: another "message", investigators going back AGAIN to Nancy's house, investigators on her roof finding ANOTHER camera that they missed, towing her car, HOA sent out message to everyone that FBI would be coming door to door. I wonder if all this is because the FBI told the sheriff when they heard he missed the camera in his search, was like "WTF? How did you miss that camera? SIX DAYS LATER? You mean you did NOT go door to door asking neighbors for info? You were relying on them coming to you instead of you going to them immediately? You didn't search her car? WHY are you doing interviews and telling bits of pieces of evidence instead of actually doing your job and on focusing on FINDING Nancy? Why didn't you tell the local tv station to hold off doing any interviews themselves in releasing ANYTHING about the messages?" Then maybe the FBI said "WE are going to take over now." I believe the protocol is usually local police lead investigation and when FBI comes in, local may still want to "lead" the investigation, but usually, usually local will end up letting FBI take over as they realize they have much better resources. I watched news yesterday and someone who used to work for the FBI was flabbergasted that some of these procedures were not done until six days after her disappearance.

 

[Lamima]

It IS odd since the search of the house would likely uncover the clothes she wore to dinner, provided she went to bed before being taken. Many people only have a few different night clothes they wear each night. With the help of family they could look for the absence of those items. Nothing about this case fits.

I wonder if the clothes she wore to dinner are there, in a hamper or folded sitting somewhere? Hope they looked for those.

As far as PJs...my mom is 78 and probably has 30+ years of clothes crammed in her closet and dressers. She must have 25+ sets of PJs. No way would I know which are missing.

 

[missy1974]

Right. Unless it was placed by LE? But I doubt that because I assume anything they had a surveillance warrant for would be viewed/listened to remotely. This video looked like discovery to me.

I’m then settled on how did the family not point out the rooftop device? This house has been in the family for years. IMO

Or if the roof was recently redone, didn't the family know and tell LE before the neighbor???

IF it's a camera, is it possible the security team put it there? the house had security after the first search and release and media was walking up to the front door.

I'm still unsure if it was actually a camera or if it was another broken flood light. It seems to be an area where media had already noticed a broken light. And I don't see that light in the drone video when LE was searching the backyard again.

 

[Cassie P]

Actually she has the word MAY in front, MAY be considered the prime suspect.

Isn't it common for the last person to see a victim alive to be a prime suspect until they are cleared? So it may just be standard procedure at work.
Edit: grammar

 

[khaki]

Question about the pacemaker losing connection with her phone and watch at approx 2am. Has it been confirmed that she was connected to both for the duration of time that evening prior to th 2am lost connection?

 

[mikeshanty]

So perhaps referencing Silence of the Lambs when talking to kidnappers is part of an old FBI protocol which at one time was effective based on data? Even though on the surface it is counterintuitive?

I would think the FBI would periodically update their protocols. Something effective in 1991 may not be effective in 2026.

Also this one size fits all and outdated strategy goes agains the entire notion of psych profiling which is to understand the unique personality of the perpetrator and develop a specific response strategy based on that personality. If the strategy is old and generic, then there is no need for profilers.

I agree with you - and understand the "heterogeneity" problem; that one intervention applied to a population generally may not be effective for specific individuals or parts of a population. But we also know ransom situations are not common at all. So perhaps the "playbook" is based on a very limited data, testing and research. It is just a theory.

 

[khaki]

Sheriff Nanos stated this at the presser where they revealed the timeline and he states that the garage opening at 9:48 p.m. and closing at 9:50 p.m. was consistent with someone dropping her off and her going in to her home.

So I am assuming that this is information that they were given by the family member who dropped her off which has been said to be Nancy's SIL TC.

For those wondering about the short duration of time to get her settled, maybe when they arrived they went in the house via the garage, closed the door, got her settled and then exited out the front door instead of the garage?

 

[birdbox]

This case falls in one of those categories like Jon Bennet or Kyron Horman where something just does not add up. Here me out: SG is in her 50s?? host of a daytime morning type show, right? Let's assume the kidnapper targeted NG due to the fame of SG. Asking for bitcoin seems like a "younger generation" play that would put kidnapper in 20s, 30s age range. Why not target Justin Beiber's grandma for example? The point im trying to make is if the kidnapper is targeting NG due to SG fame, it seems like a generational mismatch. I cant see SG being well known to a dude in his 30s. Now, based on that mismatch it points to someone local who knew of her fame. Local dishwasher at restaurant who knew NG had rich famous daughter. Or finally, someone from inside family concocting a super weird Fargo plot. This is my thought dump for the moment!!

 

[truecrimel]

Exactly my thoughts. It gives us a possible age of the kidnapper?

Unless perhaps the movie is now a cult classic that young people watch? I do not know, others will have to chime in on this point.

I am 25, and it’s one of my favorite movies. I watch it every Halloween. But I’m also weird so… lol

 

[Curiousraccoon]

I am 25, and it’s one of my favorite movies. I watch it every Halloween. But I’m also weird so… lol

You live in Tucson by any chance?
FBI may want to talk to you

 

[thefragile7393]

Isn't it common for the last person to see a victim alive is a prime suspect until they are cleared? So it may just be standard procedure at work.

Law-enforcement has not named anybody as a prime suspect. Yes of course the families are all looked at first, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a suspect yet until the police announce it as such.

 

[Cassie P]

I agree with you - and understand the "heterogeneity" problem; that one intervention applied to a population generally may not be effective for specific individuals or parts of a population. But we also know ransom situations are not common at all. So perhaps the "playbook" is based on a very limited data, testing and research. It is just a theory.

I understand the FBI is an institution with a good old boy network which may be rigid and outdated. But it just goes against common sense and psychology principles to uses generic and outdated data to deal with a crisis that involves life and death.

Licensed mental health professionals have a legal and ethical duty to protect. Using 35 year old data and protocols are probably not protecting anyone.

And in fact in the real world would be medical malpractice. Think about a medical doctor who is using 35 year old surgical techniques or outdated medication.

But sadly perhaps you are correct. We shall see.

 

[shonyakay]

But there is no directionality, to those drops they looked like they dropped straight down, as if she was standing there. Except how would you get that little aspirated spot ? Wouldnt you need to be close to the ground?
I am a little surprised it wasnt cleaned up b4 they released the house.

I agree they appear to be passive blood drops as she stood at the front door area bleeding. There is what appears to me to be a projected/impact spatter to the right of the mat - meaning a force coming in to contact with an already actively bleeding source. Although, it is possible that it could be aspirated blood from a couch or sneeze while actively bleeding. Hopefully LE tested that area to determine if there was air/mucus mixed in with the blood. Poor Nancy.

 

[Sadi]

There is no indication that NG used her car on the Saturday she disappeared.

There is, however, a claim that Nancy was in Annie/Tomasso’s car.

I would imagine they’d be examining the car in which she was allegedly a passenger, not one she hadn’t used.

Also, nowhere did the sheriff say which home. He just said “the home”. Investigators have been removing evidence from both homes.

ETA: In re-reading this post, it sounds snippy. Not trying to be a jerk! And not arguing with you in particular, just the point.

N’s car could have been used by someone else though. Waiting for DNA results, search warrant approval and once they had that, they had it towed away as evidence.

 

[khaki]

I agree they appear to be passive blood drops as she stood at the front door area bleeding. There is what appears to me to be a projected/impact spatter to the right of the mat - meaning a force coming in to contact with an already actively bleeding source. Although, it is possible that it could be aspirated blood from a couch or sneeze while actively bleeding. Hopefully LE tested that area to determine if there was air/mucus mixed in with the blood. Poor Nancy.

can it be determined how long the blood was there?

 

[cady]

Is AB doubling down on her reporting re: SIL because she believes what she was told by her sources, or only that she is being honest about what her sources TOLD her? I don't believe that SIL did this or was involved in it, but given that AB's reporting has caused a great firestorm of suspicion around him, I wish we could know definitively that he returned to his home after dropping Nancy off at hers. I keep thinking that maybe he did not go straight home but had run an errand or went somewhere else for a few hours. Surely, LE knows by now those details, and given the hubbub about him, I think it's only fair to relieve the public of their suspicions. If the family is considering suing AB, they must have full faith in SIL. But I trust that AB did not make this up so the real culprits are her trusted informants, and as law enforcement officers, they had improperly informed her of their own theories. She shouldn't have tossed that out to the public, to be sure, but she DID, carelessly. JMO JMO

 

[truecrimel]

You live in Tucson by any chance?
FBI may want to talk to you

LOL!! I wish, Virginia is FREEZING