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

[PacoElFlaco]

deleted 4 fear of rule viol.

 

[dotr]

Chris KenningPerry Vandel Updated Feb. 7, 2026, 9:02 p.m. ET lengthy.

Ex-FBI agents point to clues, rare circumstances in Guthrie case

The circumstances of the suspected kidnapping of Savannah Guthrie's mom, Nancy, are rare – and pose unique challenges, ex-FBI agents say.

www.usatoday.com

'Now, as investigators searching for Nancy Guthrie focus on possible leads, Schweit and several other former FBI agents say the details released so far suggest the perpetrator likely had prior knowledge of the home or family, and a financial rather than ideological motivation for the crime. At the same time, investigators face challenges including verifying ransom demands in the digital age.'

'Leising, the former FBI agent, said that "the 'understand' comment is obviously referring to something in the note that we are not privy to." He said that could be a nod to the kidnappers grievances or directions on how to deliver money, while the “celebrate” reference could refer to a resolution of some kind.'

'At this point, there’s little to suggest the motive is political or ideological, Leising said. Compared someone making monetary demands, a kidnapper looking to make a statement can be more dangerous because there is less incentive to keep the person alive. The hope for a big payout could lead kidnappers to keep the victim healthy.'

Feb 7, 2026
Investigators have been examining ransom notes and looking for evidence but have not named a suspect

 

[ldlager]

No, sorry.

Yes

 

[MassGuy]

I wonder what they are doing there — it doesn’t seem like they are searching. Possibly guarding the house from the media in anticipation of an announcement? Making sure the media isn’t trespassing? Honestly not sure.

Nothingburger:

https://twitter.com/x/status/2020322724191899867

 

[Fromeaster]

Live drone footage:

https://twitter.com/x/status/2020318494991216704

Dog?

 

[jeff2034]

Does anyone know if we are allowed to share JLR's live on Youtube? He is at he scene at the house right now live. Hoping a mod see's this as I'm not sure what Youtubes are allowed or not.

I did see overhead drone footage of NG's house about an hour ago and I could clearly see someone in her yard with a flashlight looking around. I am not sure that was a youtuber or not, but I thought at the time "haven't the police already looked thoroughly in her yard?!" If it was a youtuber, even though the house may have been released by the FBI, it is still trespassing to go into the yard and look around and they shouldn't be there.

 

[CandyKiss]

Just seems odd. It is HARD to find a body in the desert because it's just wide, barren land. Even with K9s it's difficult to find someone. But one would think if you have a suspicious disappearance of an elderly person, you might at the very least bring in a tracking k9. Grid searches for evidence. Something.

MSN

The had volunteers, K-9’s, S&R Units however one specialized plane sat out for half day

The gist of the article:

The sheriff's department failed to deploy its fixed-wing Cessna aircraft to search the area around Nancy's home immediately after she was reported missing.

The aircraft, equipped with high-resolution thermal imaging cameras capable of scanning vast swaths of desert terrain, remained on the tarmac for roughly half a day.

There was a staffing shortage that left the department without qualified pilots to fly the plane – a shortage people familiar with the situation blamed directly on Nanos.

Sergeant Aaron Cross, president of the Pima County Sheriff's Deputies Association, said that trained aviators who could have crewed the aircraft had been transferred out of the Air Operations Unit in recent weeks.

 

[dotr]

How do you search this thread? I can not figure it out.

At the top right corner click the search button and enter the info you want and click "this thread" option, then hit search.

 

[Charlot123]

As a Catholic and a Christian, the 'funerals' of the past are now more often called "a Celebration of Life." Maybe not everywhere, but here in the midwest anyhow...

That came into use as more options of burials became available (as opposed to one old way). If i use the term with a European Catholic or Eastern Orthodox, I might be misunderstood. Atheists in Europe use it, though.

But I wonder if the use of this term by SG implies knowledge of the abductor was not a European Catholic? It might matter.

You see, she just used the term common for her culture. She had to know she'd be understood.

 

[BigCityAccountant1]

Nothingburger:

https://twitter.com/x/status/2020322724191899867

The guy they spoke to was from JLR Investigates. He is a PI and has a YT channel. I saw something with those initials and went to his YT channel. He is live in front of the house right now and LE pulled him aside and told him no trespassing---even though he wasn't tresspassing. He said he believes someone was watching his live stream and called it in. LE also spoke to several of the other media persons on scene to not tresspass as well. But JLR said LE knew his name.

 

[birdbox]

They know it is a targeted incident with no risk to the wider public. I hear your frustrations about LE, but you are assuming this is an unsophisticated actor. For all we know, this could be a highly sophisticated state attack (pure speculation to illustrate the point the perps are

I’m not normally a pearl-clutcher but I am appalled at the comments I’ve seen wondering why the family didn’t pay the ransom immediately. How dare people question what someone else does in an impossible situation. It is very much coming off as blaming the family for whatever may happen to Nancy by their inaction. What if they demanded more money than the family could come up with immediately? What if they felt or were advised that paying immediately without proof of life would completely remove any leverage they have to get their mother back? What if they understand the wide-ranging precedent that paying the ransom might set for millions of other innocent people, and are having to make the agonizing choice of being purely selfish and paying to get their mom back, or making the choice not to pay but risk losing her, so that other people won’t have to deal with copycat crimes now that they’ve made it known to the world that there are people out there that would pay?

Yeah there are a lot of what ifs and we won't know which what if was correct until its over. Your what if may be different than another's what if and i dont think judging alone person what if is better than judging another's. Its pretty common to say, hmm what would I do in this situation, but you are correct in that who knows.

 

[Strangeworld]

He's saying the perpetrator has a connection to KOLD news station. I'm not familiar with local news in the US - is there any connection between this station and SG / Today show?

I wonder how much of the information shared in the ransom letters was related to inside versus outside the house. A drone could easily see the smashed light outside. Possibly even see inside through a window.

Just considering all possibilities right now, if the person/s who wrote the letters doesn't have Nancy, they may be opportunistic and hence the delay in sending the letters. They spotted the light, maybe other things just by flying a drone around the property

 

[Sakura2Sophia4Lucia]

Remember BTK. He was known to everyone in that town. Just not as a killer.

BTK was the president of his church congregation. If somebody had been sick and couldn't bring a dish to the potluck dinner, he'd offer to bring an additional dish for them. He did tortured and did other horrifically evil things to people and yet he was the "nice neighbor" and leader in his church.

 

[Puzzles8]

There has been much discussion regarding 'celebrate with her', as a reference to celebration of life. I googled SG and found this regarding her religious upbringing and beliefs.

[...]
Savannah Guthrie, who grew up Baptist in Phoenix, Arizona, is a practicing Christian who regularly attends Trinity Grace Church in Manhattan and considers faith to be an essential part of her life. She is also raising her kids in an interfaith home with her Jewish husband, Michael Feldman. As she recently told the The New York Times, they celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah.


“I’m always so fundamentally aware of not being the center of the universe,” she told the Times. “Faith really helps you know your place in the world. And I really value that. And I find it endlessly fascinating. Believing in God, loving God, believing in a compassionate God… [it] just absolutely spreads through everything I feel and the way I look at the world.”
[...]

Savannah Guthrie Says She's Raising Interfaith Kids With Jewish & Christian Traditions

Savannah's husband is Jewish and she was raised Christian.

18doors.org

I hope her faith is helping her now.

JMO

 

[Sakura2Sophia4Lucia]

Yeah there are a lot of what ifs and we won't know which what if was correct until its over. Your what if may be different than another's what if and i dont think judging alone person what if is better than judging another's. Its pretty common to say, hmm what would I do in this situation, but you are correct in that who knows.

Agree. We have no idea what we'd do in situations like this.

 

[Charlot123]

MSN

The had volunteers, K-9’s, S&R Units however one specialized plane sat out for half day

The gist of the article:

The sheriff's department failed to deploy its fixed-wing Cessna aircraft to search the area around Nancy's home immediately after she was reported missing.

The aircraft, equipped with high-resolution thermal imaging cameras capable of scanning vast swaths of desert terrain, remained on the tarmac for roughly half a day.

There was a staffing shortage that left the department without qualified pilots to fly the plane – a shortage people familiar with the situation blamed directly on Nanos.

Sergeant Aaron Cross, president of the Pima County Sheriff's Deputies Association, said that trained aviators who could have crewed the aircraft had been transferred out of the Air Operations Unit in recent weeks.

I read about it. But is it Nanos's fault? Usually it is linked to the money. Where the money went is a valid question, but is it him?

 

[RayVon]

Sadly I think she passed, probably due to health issues and the whole ordeal. That's why SG said "we understand". The celebration would be a celebration of her life, a common thing ppl do after death.

She may have been scared to death and passed before she was even taken from her from home.

 

[TheDinks]

The guy they spoke to was from JLR Investigates. He is a PI and has a YT channel. I saw something with those initials and went to his YT channel. He is live in front of the house right now and LE pulled him aside and told him no trespassing---even though he wasn't tresspassing. He said he believes someone was watching his live stream and called it in. LE also spoke to several of the other media persons on scene to not tresspass as well. But JLR said LE knew his name.

Seems his presence there was called in...

He's still streaming Live, huh...

 

[InspectGadget]

The guy they spoke to was from JLR Investigates. He is a PI and has a YT channel. I saw something with those initials and went to his YT channel. He is live in front of the house right now and LE pulled him aside and told him no trespassing---even though he wasn't tresspassing. He said he believes someone was watching his live stream and called it in. LE also spoke to several of the other media persons on scene to not tresspass as well. But JLR said LE knew his name.

JLR, please google his full name . There are good reasons his links are not allowed, and also why the cops should have showed up. Just google…he is his own rabbit hole

 

[TheDinks]

She may have been scared to death and passed before she was even taken from her from home.

Megyn Kelly did say Ms Guthrie's pacemaker app showed a spike at 2am