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

[Sarahlou]

Are we allowed to post theories here if they do not include persons mentioned by name?

You can post theories. Just include that's it's only your opinion etc.

 

[Wsimm]

Fwiw, noting..
Nov 12, 2025 rbbm.

Valley woman warns of 'too good to be true' door-to-door sales

One Valley woman thought she was saying yes to a great roofing deal. Instead, she nearly lost thousands of dollars. But, before she did anything else, she called Let ABC15 Know.

www.abc15.com

''Ann's roofing problem didn't start with a leak.
She said she was on her couch, watching TV, when her doorbell rang. It was a door-to-door salesman for a roofing company.'

"This guy was so nice, he was so, so nice," Ann said, describing the man who came to her door. " He told me he had gone to a prayer meeting the night before and he had me hooked there!"

Hmm

 

[katydid23]

Do we have any proof that a note was NOT left at the home night of abduction?

Well, I doubt there'd be as much confusion about whether the ransom note was really from the kidnappers, if it had been left that night on Nancy's bed. imo

 

[InspectGadget]

Don’t have a link, but IMO the Uber driver is significant because he was the last non-family member to have seen NG. JMO. He drove her to Annie’s house, reportedly.

It was said during the press conference that the uber driver was spoken to already and cleared. I believe it was the sheriff but it was definitely during the latest presser.

Separately, I am thinking that any similarity to Silence of the Lambs is because most movies etc involve extensive research to make it as realistic as possible.
My opinion is that both match because they are scripted by the fbi, etc to humanize. IMHO

 

[ttjo]

To me, it looks as though he’s chatting with a woman in the kitchen. It doesn’t look like an area that’s open to the public. I’m assuming LE spoke to her to see if she had any information about him. IMO he could be a delivery driver.

Someone will recognize him, IMO.

I think that picture was just showing investigators were in there talking to staff thats all.

 

[redflag71]

Are we allowed to post theories here if they do not include persons mentioned by name?

Is CLR Bruce Rivers a verified source?

 

[connie9030]

IMO its about looking at the credibility of AB and Trump, not just in the context of Nancy's disappearance and nothing to do with their job titles or political leaning.

Many of us do this with reporters, podcasters, etc. That's why there's always comments about 'X gets things wrong all the time' or 'X is just covering the case for attention' or 'X has been spot on in previous cases'.

Considering past behaviour, objectivity and reliability, I think, in all fairness, it is okay to determine one person seems more trustworthy than another when there aren't LE sources to back it up.

So true. The person who ordered resources to the case probably knows more about it.

 

[Jade]

I just want to take a minute and apologize to all elders and NG. I have seen reference to “tucking in” so many times. I am the one who originally mentioned tucking my 86 year old mom into bed at night and locking her house up when I left. She didn’t want anyone overnight yet. But as I said, my mom was sick and her hospice days were weeks in the future. I literally helped her get in bed, fixed her sheets and blankets, removed her glasses and kissed her cheek. It was as much for me as it was for her. She died a few weeks later. I certainly did not mean to offend so many and wish I’d never used those words. NG did not need tucking in and I never meant to imply that.

No apology necessary!

This case is hitting hard for those of us that are and have been responsible, ultimately, for our elderly parents.

From grim experience of mine having their friends die around them I’ve learned the health of the elderly can change in a snap.

May you find solace in your tender care of your mother I can feel your comfort and love from your posts.

All imo

 

[dogmom805]

I feel the same way. I’ll say again, that’s why I love this site… so many different personal perspectives. It really gets you thinking. For me personally my mom is 86 in excellent physical health, fiercely independent and I too would describe her sharp as a tac. With that said, I’ve become increasingly protective of her over the last 10 years. Primarily to keep her desired independence as long as possible.

I asked the same thing earlier, about ubering there and getting a ride home. Someone else commented that is not 'odd'. I wasn't implying it was, but in this particular situation, you have a woman who was taken from her home while bleeding that same night, it begs for an answer.

Me myself, due to mobility/pain issues, sometimes drives, sometimes takes uber or gets a ride, possibly was the case with NG as well, and perfectly understandable. Maybe if she was going to drink, she wanted to take car out of the equation, or maybe understandably doesn't like to drive in the dark. Or, in the worse case scenario, planned to take an uber, but was instead offered a ride home for nefarious reasons.

 

[thefragile7393]

Yep - how awful for the family though.

absolutely. Even though I'm sure it couldn't be the two from out of town (and I'm on the fence about the local) they're going through the scrtutiny for sure

 

[Starkville]

Yup
However, here's a thing I posted a few days ago which has bugged me

Why did NG take an uber to dinner that fateful Sat night?
Hunh - who makes an 84 yr old do that?
Even if she wanted to, I wouldn't let my 84 yr old mom to take an uber.
You might just have the one in a thousand weirdo driver be her driver
Just me I guess

And then she's driven home by the daughter and/or SIL
Which kinda proves my point

One of my questions about this is: did the Uber driver pick Nancy up at her home? Was she somewhere else that was too far for Annie/Tomasso to pick her up?

I also wonder about the mah jong game mentioned. Was that an activity she did before she went to Annie’s? As I keep saying, mah jong requires four people. If she was playing it at her daughter’s, who were the four?

 

[PacoElFlaco]

​

My theory. Speculation only.

Persons close to Nancy Guthrie who were in dire financial difficulties concocted a hare-brained and desperate plan to hire pro criminals to kidnap her, forcing a wealthy relative to pay the ransom.

They were assured the old lady would be treated well and merely spend a couple of days watching TV in Mexico until the ransom was paid.

Instead, the kidnappers botched the job and Nancy lost her life during the abduction.

The kidnappers continue to issue demands, despite no longer having her alive, and the people who hired them are left holding the bag.

Nancy will likely never be seen or found again.

 

[Emerald1328]

Wait. First people were saying the 2 minutes between garage door opening and closing was too long to just get Nancy in the house, and now it wasn’t long enough? I give up.

 

[dogmom805]

Those crypto ATMs are commonly used in scams with the elderly - Crypto ATM Scams: Don’t Let Fraudsters Drain Your Wallet

However, the scam usually involves the victim being directed to insert cash (sometimes they also take debit/credit). I'd wager that the amount the kidnapper is asking for in the ransom letter is far beyond what could be reasonably scammed at one of those machines.

Maybe, though, she had been doing smaller transactions for a while and this was a final escalation? Maybe a smaller-scale scammer realized how connected she is and decided to go for a big payday?

I don't think that's the case, but it makes about as much sense as anything else (so minimal). I do think that, even though NG is reportedly "with it," anyone can fall into these traps. AI can impersonate voices and there's so much data available online for scammers to leverage.

Either way, they should be able to see any transactions or large cash withdrawals on her bank account, and there would almost definitely be security footage on the way to/at the ATM. I'm sure they've checked financials already.

MOO

Now that's an idea I haven't heard much of yet, the possibility of NG being the target of monetary scams directed at the elderly.

 

[wibbleflea]

I’m interested in what time the email was sent. Was it before or after the news of NG missing and her daughter was a well known newscaster, hit the headlines? The timing may well indicate whether the ransom demand is genuine or not.

Details here:

What we know about the ransom notes in the Nancy Guthrie case

Both TMZ and KOLD representatives said wording in the messages suggests the sender has familiarity with the Tucson area.

www.newsnationnow.com

They were sent using tip-submission forms and contact forms (via each station’s website) rather than by email.

 

[tkcrockett]

i keep meaning to ask this but get caught up with reading more posts:

so the blood at the front door... people saying they think it may have come from her when taken out the front door.... but has anyone said was the front door and security door UNLOCKED!? that's FOUR locks that would have needed to be locked behind them. i don't see that being the case. IMO

the more likely scenario is she was taken out the back (which is probably the way they got in? again IMO

haven't seen this asked before. good thinking!

 

[Warwick1991]

door numero uno for me, Monty

I agree, because even if there's no immediate gain, it's possible that a newly revised will or trust was destroyed, or even anger about being denied money. Perhaps an initial attempt to make an incident appear to be a natural illness or death went wrong. There might have been long simmering anger that we aren't aware of. Much of what happened appears very carefully premeditated. It's baffling though, and other scenarios are possible.

 

[boredetective]

If the person of interest is not within the family, I'm inclined to believe our suspect is in the 40-59 age range and single.

1. The median age of those who watch NBC news is 57, and older Americans are far more likely than younger Americans to get news on television. Older people are generally more familiar with Savannah Guthrie. Younger people primarily get our news online. (could suspect have seen the episode with Nancy four months ago?) Some sort of superfan?

2. If Nancy is truly being held hostage, you need a place to hold her. So I suspect this person has a place of their own and lives alone, to be able to hold someone for so long without someone suspecting him/her.

I also believe that if the suspect worked on house or roof (like people are saying) he/she would know about the camera on the roof. I also think the SIL would know about the camera on roof. So I'm starting to think the suspect surveilled the house a few times from the street, visiting inconspicuously, and I think from the street you wouldn't be able to see the camera on roof.

If the suspect IS in the family, then waiting in garage with Nancy's body in car, makes more sense for them to go out the front door at 1:47am turning the camera offline, vs. triggering the camera on the roof. Possibly carried body out, that easily cut on doorframe, into other car.

 

[Magic8Ball]

Spitballing:

It's tax season.
Financial institutions including banks, brokerage firms, charitable organizations, etc., are sending out end-of-year statements detailing interest income, capital gains, etc.

Many people, seniors included, get help with managing their finances, and some even turn the keys over to trusted individuals...even when people don't volitionally give people access to their financials, sometimes people gain access to credit card numbers, SSNs, etc., and withdraw, i.e., steal, money without the account owner's knowledge or consent.

Financial exploitation of the elderly is a real thing. The consequences of financial crimes are also real.
People will sometimes commit unthinkable acts in order to avoid the prospect of serious consequences.

I hope LE is doing their due diligence to look at NG's finances and ticking off the boxes to ensure she hasn't been victimized financially as well as whatever else has happened to her.

JMO.

 

[ab01]

Wait. First people were saying the 2 minutes between garage door opening was too long to just get Nancy in the house, and now it wasn’t long enough? I give up.

way too much being made about the garage door opening imo.

I believe the only reason it was shared was to prove that they know she made it home from AG house.

When this is solved i’ll be surprised if it has much if any significance at all.