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

[Little Jack]

Do we know of any cases where someone was returned alive after a ransom was paid? Im struggling to think of any.

 

[waldojabba]

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

AB says her source - VERY high level/at the top, is ALL IN on the BIL being the one.
We don't know, as far as I know, that the source is LE.
Bc I wonder why LE would want to plant that info out there ?

Her source could be someone in the fed govt who has shown an interest. Perhaps her source is the person who just remarked on the case yesterday evening

JMO

 

[Sadi]

My current theory: FM needs money now. Maybe asked for it at dinner but she said no. Took her home. Went back to their own home but it festered with FM that they needed money, so went back to Nancy's house. Probably has key. Maybe went in and proceeded to wake her up and force her to leave house. Maybe faking a family emergency, got to leave NOW!? Perhaps a bit of a struggle going out the door when Nancy wanted to go back in and put real clothes on and something happened and Nancy got hurt and that was blood outside. (Barney Fife did not mention ANY blood inside the house.) Took Nancy out to dessert and killed her. Maybe as simple as a bag over her head. Maybe left back door open and her still in her pajamas to look like she just wandered off, so maybe she's not too far in the dessert. (Only heard of aerial searches of dessert nearby -- no ground searches to my knowledge. With all the brush, she could be under a bush of some sort.) Gives off the implication that "she must have gotten confused and wandered off and then just "died" in the dessert." Honestly, if it wasn't the big news media, that might have been the end of it all. But then it quickly became a hot news item. Sooo many people came on tv quickly to say that there was no way she could wander off, so quickly it became a crime scene instead of just wandering off in what family member wanted. I think all the ransom notes are not real. We already have one person arrested for making a fake one. Nowadays with crypto, it could easily be some teenage boy in Russia making these other messages. Someone said she was on Facebook. Maybe the blackmailer saw something in one of her Facebook pics that he uses as "personal information" to prove he was in house even though he never was. FM needs Nancy to be found so that inheritance can happen quickly. My dad has all his money in a trust so that when he passes, my sister and I have access to it all immediately without probate. I think the car was seen on Circle K going by twice in the 2:00ish hours of the morning. But if it was Nancy's car, then maybe they used that for transport. Perhaps garage door was manually opened slowly if her garage door is like mine and motor is way too loud and would make an awful noise in the quiet of the neighborhood at that time. But not sure why blood would be in driveway...

Blood in the driveway? I saw it on the front door area, but not the driveway.

 

[turaj]

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 don't know about Nancy G. but I myself could not pinpoint the absence of night clothes let. alone could my family!!!

 

[katydid23]

Last time anyone saw NG alive was night of 1/31/26. Blood droplets exterior front entryway belonging to NG could mean NG last proof of life 2/1/26 early morning. Zero proof of life after say 2:30am. I don't see ransom letters sent days after NG last known life are related to NG disappearance. Without any proof of life, IMO, NG is deceased

IMO, if those were legit ransom notes from the kidnapper, they would have been left in Nancy's home. And the heading would have been Dear Savannah, We have your mom, please wire 4 million to this address within 24 hours or you will never see her again, No Joke

No copies to TMZ or WOLD , no waiting 4 days and then giving 2 different end dates.

I think the notes are deflections by the perps, to distract from the real situation

 

[tkcrockett]

Yesterday on her podcast, The Nerve, Maureen Callahan was discussing Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance with Ashleigh Banfield.

Maureen said she read that the blood drops on the porch had been tested and the blood came from Nancy. Also that there was sputum mixed with it, that suggested it had come from her mouth or nose (as opposed to a cut on her arm, say).

She didn’t name a source, but she did say this. Obviously I can’t verify the truth of this claim, so it’s JMO.

Banfield made a mistake, I noted. She was talking about the early report that Nancy had been taken from her bed. She was describing a hypothetical scenario in which a person would be knocking on Nancy’s door until she got out of bed, making her come down the stairs to open the door. Maureen corrected her, saying the house was all one level; there’s no ‘upstairs’ or ‘downstairs’. It surprised me that Banfield didn’t know this, and it made me question her knowledge of the case. Even a casual observer of the case, from seeing it on TV, would know that the house is a single storey.

re: there was sputum mixed with it, that suggested it had come from her mouth or nose
i am way out of my depth here but if there is sputum wouldn't that mean she was alive when she went out that door?

 

[Mayor Perk]

The only thing is that the first "ransom letter" referenced the Apple Watch's location in the hous

I have seen reporting that the first ransom note mentioned the Apple Watch. But I haven't seen reporting that the note specified the exact location of the watch inside her home. I've also seen reporting that the watch was left behind. My overall point though is that the abductor knowing about the watch does not suggest one way or another that someone close to Nancy is involved.

 

[Starkville]

Just adding this screengrab from my TV for whatever it’s worth. This shows how close neighbors were, and a general overview of the immediate area around NG’s house and property. I’ve seen many comments elsewhere (not Websleuths) that assume the home is secluded and out in the desert. Local Websleuths have commented that it’s actually quite close to “civilization”. The house seems to enjoy some privacy, but it’s not in the middle of nowhere!

 

[Izzylizzy]

My current theory: FM needs money now. Maybe asked for it at dinner but she said no. Took her home. Went back to their own home but it festered with FM that they needed money, so went back to Nancy's house. Probably has key. Maybe went in and proceeded to wake her up and force her to leave house. Maybe faking a family emergency, got to leave NOW!? Perhaps a bit of a struggle going out the door when Nancy wanted to go back in and put real clothes on and something happened and Nancy got hurt and that was blood outside. (Barney Fife did not mention ANY blood inside the house.) Took Nancy out to dessert and killed her. Maybe as simple as a bag over her head. Maybe left back door open and her still in her pajamas to look like she just wandered off, so maybe she's not too far in the dessert. (Only heard of aerial searches of dessert nearby -- no ground searches to my knowledge. With all the brush, she could be under a bush of some sort.) Gives off the implication that "she must have gotten confused and wandered off and then just "died" in the dessert." Honestly, if it wasn't the big news media, that might have been the end of it all. But then it quickly became a hot news item. Sooo many people came on tv quickly to say that there was no way she could wander off, so quickly it became a crime scene instead of just wandering off in what family member wanted. I think all the ransom notes are not real. We already have one person arrested for making a fake one. Nowadays with crypto, it could easily be some teenage boy in Russia making these other messages. Someone said she was on Facebook. Maybe the blackmailer saw something in one of her Facebook pics that he uses as "personal information" to prove he was in house even though he never was. FM needs Nancy to be found so that inheritance can happen quickly. My dad has all his money in a trust so that when he passes, my sister and I have access to it all immediately without probate. I think the car was seen on Circle K going by twice in the 2:00ish hours of the morning. But if it was Nancy's car, then maybe they used that for transport. Perhaps garage door was manually opened slowly if her garage door is like mine and motor is way too loud and would make an awful noise in the quiet of the neighborhood at that time. But not sure why blood would be in driveway...

Who is "FM"?

 

[Cassie P]

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.

I am late to the blood spatter discussion, there are so many posts to keep up with!
So sorry to ask a question that may have already be answered.

So we are looking at a force coming at NG on the porch while she was already bleeding. And she could have been standing or lying on the ground?

Or maybe she coughed or sneezed meaning no blow on the porch?

But she could have been injured in the house and then injured again on the porch?
Where on the body would the blood have been coming from?

 

[BigCityAccountant1]

What could be in NG's car that shouldn't be? Someone's DNA? There'd be a plausible explanation for any family member, imo, so not looking for evidence of one of them. Data showing it went somewhere on that night?

Just catching up here...Her car is important because its being reported that the watch was found in the car. They are looking for perps DNA when the watch was placed in the car. Hopefully they have found a profile for the perp.

 

[Sadi]

Could have been separated at some other location and phone/watch brought back to her house

Good point

 

[smileyface516]

Who is "FM"?

Probably family member

 

[Elley Mae]

Do we know of any cases where someone was returned alive after a ransom was paid? Im struggling to think of any.

J paul getty’s grandson was returned after his ear was cut off.

Jmo

 

[Cassie P]

Criminal profiling continues to make advancements year after year in this field. They study crime scene behavior and offer advice to assist LE in narrowing down a suspect pool. You can't dismiss them outright as they are one of many investigative tools in any LE officers toolbox to utilize during investigations.

I agree.

 

[thefragile7393]

Just adding this screengrab from my TV for whatever it’s worth. This shows how close neighbors were, and a general overview of the immediate area around NG’s house and property. I’ve seen many comments elsewhere (not Websleuths) that assume the home is secluded and out in the desert. Local Websleuths have commented that it’s actually quite close to “civilization”. The house seems to enjoy some privacy, but it’s not in the middle of nowhere!

exactly true. There's a lot of assumptions about Arizona and Tucson in general that make me chuckle....

 

[cady]

AB says her source - VERY high level/at the top, is ALL IN on the BIL being the one.
We don't know, as far as I know, that the source is LE.
Bc I wonder why LE would want to plant that info out there ?

Her source could be someone in the fed govt who has shown an interest. Perhaps her spurce is the person who just remarked on the case yesterday evening

JMO

Agree. FED GOV and not directly on the ground investigating........just shooting mouth off......JMO

 

[judithannegg]

Who is "FM"?

Family member

 

[tkcrockett]

Just catching up here...Her car is important because its being reported that the watch was found in the car. They are looking for perps DNA when the watch was placed in the car. Hopefully they have found a profile for the perp.

do you have a link to watch being found in car? That doesn't sound right to me

 

[EightiesBoo]

There have been instances of LE pretending to do things for the medias sake to keep them occupied while the real investigation is happening elsewhere. I can’t remember the exact case of this but watched something recently. Like shining flashlights in the brush or just walking around with clipboards, could all be distractions. I hope that they have real leads!