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

[KBlackRabbit]

Re: a romance scam.

I don’t think so. They drain their victims dry financially and when they’re tapped out they dump them and move on to the next one. They’re not going to waste money and effort and risk capture by flying to the US to kidnap an old woman. It’s not worth it to them. Romance scammers work in internet sweatshops overseas, each scammer working multiple victims at a time, they’re not flying around to the victims’ homes.

 

[browneyes]

What if…the note writers don’t have her and the family pays? It’s an impossible decision.

 

[Vegasgrl]

To be fair…we don’t necessarily know that they didn’t pay by then.

I'm not criticizing the family's decisions at all. I'm looking for logic. And obviously the messages from the family are not directed toward the public and we don't know the entirety of the messages received. I'm trying to convey that there's no reason to conclude that they are paying ransom for a body. SG does say we will pay, so I think that indicates that they hadn't paid yet.

 

[barth00]

Ok, this might be my wildest speculation to date. You know how on 9/11 the terrorist knew they could not directly engage the US military, so they created this clever way to install fear in Americans by hitting the twin towers and civilain targets as pay back for ongoing presence of US in middle east? OK, hear me out. Lets say this is a payback for Venezuela due to US "kidnapping" their president as well as anger for ongoing ICE raids. There is no scenario where they engage us militarily. But many nations have mercenaries. Let's say they sought a high profile soft target (a media person's family) for launching this payback. It creates complete fear in US. NG could very well be in Mexico right now on property of mercenaries who are united against Venezula and ICE events. But, i honestly think she is deceased.

I do think it might be important that she is the mother of a very well known media figure. This is another out there take but did someone want SG to not be in Italy for the Olympics for some specific reason?

 

[Eloise]

But "celebrate with us"? Idk, i'm not American so i'm not familiar with using celebration in combination with a deceased family member. Is this something common in US?

I'm not American or even Christian, but I think its increasingly common to call funerals, memorial services, wakes etc all a 'celebration of life' and trying to keep them less gloomy in tone. ie no wearing black, no sad hymns, etc

I would suggest that Celebrations of Life are highly differentiated from funerals....
And I believe they are becoming more and more a replacement for funerals.

yep, this is my experience. Its been years since I've been to a very serious, more traditional funeral. People increasingly don't want them and are requesting private cremations and then a more "fun" memorial service with their favourite music, people wearing colours, speeches that are about fun memories etc. And that includes people very close to NG's age who have planned their own services.

 

[Cassie P]

The words, "this is the only way we'll have peace" say it all at least to me.
She's gone and they want to give her a proper burial.

Yes and other wording sounds like they are negotiating to get the body back. They want a proper burial and closure. They cannot go on like this.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

I see defiance in Savannah's eyes and expression.

"We will pay."

My hope is that she is buying time for investigators.

How can Monday be a deadline if Nancy has died?

What will they do?

Not tell where she is after Monday?

If the message said Nancy has died then I feel like perps have lost their bargaining power. Are they going to "reveal the location of her body" one they receive payment? Is that now the offer?

Well, sorry but that's not how a kidnapping works. If there's a body then LE will find it. And if they don't, yes, it would be terrible for the family not to have her body, but it would be much more terrible to have paid millions of dollars to someone who still didn't reveal it.

I feel Nancy wouldn't want them to pay. Especially if she had died.

If this was my mother, I know she would be saying : DONT YOU DARE.

Sorry I'm feeling emotional. And angry. And I do not want them to pay no matter what. They are being scammed. If the note says NG is dead then these are not the kidnappers and they never were.

i getcha... and I think I agree that that is also what Nancy would say............

But i also can understand how important is is for Savannah and her siblings to get her mother's body back for the reverance she deserves.
But these three children are broken righ now, and I dont think they (or SG) cares about the money.

But yes.... the scam might continue.....
I just cannot believe what a can of worms we are opening up to the future...........................

 

[samaor]

"This" is very valuable to us.
This as in laying Nancy to rest, and being able to honor and visit her, bring her flowers, speak to her.

I hope I'm wrong in my interpretation of the words SG said.

My interpretation of "THIS is very valuable to us" is this, as in the act of her being returned.

Edit to clarify: I dont necessarily believe this means she is dead. Simply the act is important, in that context I don't find the wording to be all that bizarre.

 

[Moonchime]

The usage of "this" is...unsettling to me. "This is important to us." "This is the only way we will have peace"

"We understand" - I'm still not convinced completely these ransom demanders have NG BUT if they do, I could see this being an acknowledgement that while there may not have been an alleged intent to kill her, she may have passed due to her own medical issues that have now gone unmedicated for a week.

And to play devils advocate - these ransom demanders may just be continuing to exploit a situation they never had control of. It's believable an 84 year old woman could have passed away in the commission of this and whoopsie, we never intended this to happen. They pay, they don't get a body because they've never had NG. The idea that kidnappers would return a body for money just seems...insane. Locard's exchange. The potential for evidence that would absolutely nail them is an awful big risk.

I believe that NG's body is close to her home. The abductor doesn't have her body nearby. MOO

 

[SaraSmile]

there were some things said that make me think they are now paying for their mother's body. Give them the money and they will be given a spot to find her.

As a Christian, a funeral is often called a "celebration of life" and "the only way we will have peace" may mean "closure" - at least they will have their Mother home, properly buried; rather than always being tortured by "where is she". Just my opinions fwiw.

I understand having a burial, funeral, especially because the family and Nancy’s faith. On the other hand, I’m sure they wondered about not paying( if she is in fact dead). I’m sure LE would prefer family not paying ransom. It just encouraged more bad behavior. Maybe even enables the kidnappers to get away, not get arrested, live off all that money, in another country.
I don’t want to be harsh, I know, very sensitive matter. God bless the Guthrie family as they decide next steps.

 

[mikeshanty]

Ok, this might be my wildest speculation to date. You know how on 9/11 the terrorist knew they could not directly engage the US military, so they created this clever way to install fear in Americans by hitting the twin towers and civilain targets as pay back for ongoing presence of US in middle east? OK, hear me out. Lets say this is a payback for Venezuela due to US "kidnapping" their president as well as anger for ongoing ICE raids. There is no scenario where they engage us militarily. But many nations have mercenaries. Let's say they sought a high profile soft target (a media person's family) for launching this payback. It creates complete fear in US. NG could very well be in Mexico right now on property of mercenaries who are united against Venezula and ICE events. But, i honestly think she is deceased and I don't believe this theory. Just wanted to type it in here.

I see where you are going with this argument, but the target makes no sense. States or state-adjacent actors choose targets that advance a political objective (symbolic sites, officials, infrastructure, or mass-casualty events). The mother of a morning show anchor has no strategic value, sends no coherent message, and doesn’t map onto ICE, Venezuela, or U.S. foreign policy in any intelligible way.

 

[rosesfromangels]

The amount of rage I would feel, I don’t think I could make a video telling you I will pay you for the body of my mother, whom you murdered.

Yes, and given the time that has passed, the remains will not be in good shape.

Evil personified.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Stunned]

A celebration of ones life focuses on sharing happy memories, it's up-lifting , many have slide shows of beautiful times past, music the person loved etc.

Memorial services are somber, formal and and are more ritualistic focusing on mourning.
imo

The Celebrations of Life I've been to have been to celebrate Irish Catholic family members after their Mass. They've been some of the best parties I've ever been too. Including my husband's, who wasn't Irish or Catholic, but they held it anyway.

 

[Beans]

I wonder if that was the nature of the two deadlines: the first for the return of her alive and the second would mean returning her body. They didn't explicitly say "return her body pls" but there's ambiguity there and I suspect that's deliberate for some reason or another.

That's the only explanation I can think of for a scenario in which the 'kidnapper' might have told them she was gone - and we don't know for certain that they did, of course.

Maybe it's just a desperate last attempt to grab some money when they realised they couldn't provide proof of life, either because she isn't alive or because they don't actually have her at all.

 

[MTW2011]

I’m very curious about the “we received your message and we understand”. The face of her sister as SG says “we understand” speaks of so much pain.

I don’t need to know whatever it is they “understand”, I just hope that NG will be able to be returned to them. Such a devastating story. Jmoo.

 

[watson1]

None of us knows what we would do in the Guthrie family's situation, and I can't say for sure what I would do, but my best guess for myself is that I'd refuse to pay, to safeguard my children's safety; and that's what my Mother would want- because if I pay for Mom, I'd pay for my kidnapped child as well - and that would make my own children a target for the future- versus if I refuse to pay, any incentive to kidnap my child in future may be diminished - because you're not getting anything. I'd be very angry and yet make promises to the kidnapper, hoping LE is going to get them before the deadline. Just my opinion. My heart goes out to the Guthrie family; there's no "correct" decision. Prayers for them all. Just my opinion. @Aphrodite Jones

 

[nhmemorymaker]

I sadly worry that even if NG survived the initial kidnap, going through captivity and then dumped somewhere remote would be too much strain for someone of her age. It's very upsetting.

more than upsetting.

it is disgusting.

 

[Sundog]

Putting speculation aside, this really doesn’t make sense operationally. Introducing a high-profile third party into an active ransom situation would almost certainly worsen things, not resolve them.

If a perpetrator believed a billionaire / president had become involved, demands would likely escalate, timelines would change, and negotiations could become performative rather than controlled. That is precisely what professional negotiators try to avoid.

It would also expose the Guthrie family to long-term risk; once it’s known that an outside benefactor will step in, you incentivise repeat extortion, hoaxes, and future blackmail. It is one of the main reasons why third-party intervention is discouraged.

Same with the suggestions that NBC should pay the ransom. That would open up the same issues for NBC in relation to SG and also for other well-known show hosts at NBC. And if they did it for one, why not another. Could they give SG a loan/advance in her salary/pay? Possibly.

 

[academyrd]

I think one of the factors at play here is the desert. Seems like a very convenient place to dump a body all you need is a tank of gas and pick a direction.

 

[Moonchime]

I find the instagram angle to be weird. Maybe the kidnapper requested that tho

That's likely the only way to speak to the kidnapper.