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

[TheDinks]

I have made a post that explains things more clearly. We have been announcing to use initials only. Here is the latest post that hopefully clears things up once and for all.

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

Today at 6:45 PM

Considering a million or so people are suspecting or outright accusing him of murdering his mother in law for money, he’s smart to maintain privacy.

Everything he did would be discussed incessantly online, as this thread demonstrates.

It’s not the norm for Websleuths to allow it.

Let me address this.
There is nothing normal about this case. The son-in-law may have been the last person to see Nancy alive. The sheriff has not cleared anyone, and he has also stated there are no “prime suspects” at this time.

Because no one has been cleared, discussion is allowed...

• tricia

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• 
• 

Thank you Tricia, I did read it when you posted.

I watched "Live" where you invited people to come to Websleuths and join the discussion... sure does add to the Mods' work though!

 

[Luna20]

A poster in here just posted a New York Times article that stated a churchgoer did call the family when they noticed Nancy wasn't in her pew. NYT is fairly legit.
I would believe them any day over DM.

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

 

[Fargo]

I probably missed it, but has it been definitively said that the son-in-law took her home alone? I thought they changed it to "family" which had me confused because originally I thought they did say it was the son-in-law? It keeps changing and I can't keep up on the thread so any clarification would be so appreciated!!! TIA.

From the New York Times Feb. 8, 2026 Updated 3:52 p.m. ET:

"They lived near each other, in the unincorporated desert communities north of Tucson, Ariz., and Ms. Guthrie arrived by Uber just after 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 31. The family spent about four hours together before Ms. Guthrie was driven home by her son-in-law, who watched to ensure she made it safely inside, the police said later."

7 Days, No Suspects: The Disappearance of Nancy Guthrie

The mother of the “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie has not been heard from since an evening of dinner and games with family members.

www.nytimes.com

 

[lonetraveler]

Hi there, I checked the NYT article you mentioned. It was last updated today at 3:52 pm ET. Here is a gift link so you can read the article yourself.

Here's the relevant part about the church member:

According to this info, she was expected to be seen sitting in the pew at church.

 

[Vegasgrl]

Anybody know if LE had talked to the church person who had contacted the family? I have never heard that LE had talked to the church person but could may have missed it.

This notification was removed from the official timeline. Don't know why. I have asked several times, so assume unknown to public.

 

[Curiousraccoon]

Like others, i realised quickly that the Sheriff was a little scattergun in his phrasing and probably wasn't meaning some of the things he was saying as literally as a) the media and b) the public would read them. But even if you toss the detail about a bit, the comment about the alert and the church can't really be interpreted in any way other than "the family received an alert from someone connected to the church which set this whole thing off in the morning".

Either Sheriff made it up entirely (improbable), he didn't get the detail quite right (hard to see how the relevant substance of the comment would change in a significant or meaningful way with a little tweak to detail), the known details of the church service or event she was planning to attend that day are simply wrong, or that's what they believed at the time but investigation revealed something which made them snip that right out of timelines and avoid further discussion for some reason.

I can't believe anyone would just make that story up knowing very well that these things would be checked by LE. There's something to it though, and I really want to know what it is.

I do have one theory but it's out there and I myself think it's not what happened. But it could be a potential explanation:

What if the kidnapper (assuming they are real and not an extortionist) called and told the family about the kidnapping or something else alarming that made them go check NG?

In this scenario, the sheriff may have made up the church story in order not to tell the truth to the public yet.

 

[CSIDreamer]

KOLD is the local CBS affiliate in Tucson, AZ. They are owned by Gray Media, based in Atlanta, GA. Am I misunderstanding your question?

Nope. You understood.

 

[Lawnguylander1964]

Doesn't have to be a body, but you have to convince a court that the person is more than likely deceased & have them declared dead.

We have a murder trial coming up this year with no body. He has a great public defender (IMO), but he was also pretty sloppy so I think there's a good chance of conviction (his google searches on his federal government work laptop included).


Still Missing - VA - Mamta Kafle Bhatt, 28, mom & pediatric nurse, 'involuntary missing,' husband reported her missing Aug 5, Manassas Park, 31 July 2024 *Arrest* #2

 

[txsleuth70]

"Church member called family because she was concerned NG wasn't in church" is no longer on the LE timeline. Agree with Masked Woman that we are totally dependent on AG and TC for this critical part of the timeline.

It was never on the timeline from the press conference on day 2.

 

[JKathryn]

Does anyone know if the investigators/police were seen today at any other home besides the one they were knocking on for 20 minutes in the video posted earlier? (apologies I can not find that post)

 

[su5ie]

We may be dependent on AG & TC for that, but I certainly hope that LE asked them who called and double-checked that with call records, interview with the person who called, etc. The removal from the timeline probably does reflect a problem with that account, but we don't know for sure.

In terms of news outlets, the Daily Mail said she hadn't attended church in person since the pandemic. Brian Entin also heard that she wasn't attending St. Andrews Presbyterian but figured she was going to another church. With regard to attending St. Andrews virtually, I've heard that one can't tell who's on the livestream, but I've also heard that there are parts that are like a Zoom meeting so you can tell...

The New York Times stuck with the original account, namely that a churchgoer saw that she wasn't "in the pews" at church. I think ABC said something similar.

All of this is to say that it's not totally clear whether a fellow churchgoer could've reported her missing either in person or virtually. Those who believe that the SIL was involved in her disappearance may tend to favor the reports that she wasn't there. I don't know.

JMO.

Was it not said she was doing online bible study with the church not a sermon per se that she missed ,maybe some one with better recall can clarify this .

650 odd pages in I'm losing my marbles

 

[InkyEvie]

Have question: regarding ring camera removal on front of house. Would this have been done standing directly in front of it, or from inside door frame reaching around? Also, interested to know who installed it for her. As in family member or security company?

I thought of that too. It would be pretty simple, I think, given the camera is on the side the door opens, to reach around and stick the "key" into the slot that let's it pop off the bracket.

I'm not going to post any links on how to remove a doorbell camera, but based on actually having one, I'm just going to say this is IMHO.

 

[Athos65]

It is quite possible, from what I have read so far, that the churchgoer who reported NG missing the service is a fiction. LE would have, of course, checked phones by now and could easily determine if this is a convenient lie. Whether it is something they might want to disclose and alert any suspects about it is another matter entirely.

We (here at home) have been wondering if anyone was in the habit of calling for a "check-in" with NG in the mornings. Many years ago, of course, I would call my dear aunts from work at around 8 a.m. to make sure they were well; all were healthy but elderly, and they would joke that I was "checking that the Angel of Death" hadn't stopped by overnight. Our oldest son, who lives about a 6-hour drive from us, texts every morning:"Marco", and we reply "Polo." We have an emergency protocol for checking if there's no reply.

All the return trips to check "one more thing" by LE are very odd. Are they in response to tips received?

Oh, and one last thing: I understand that AI and digital information through phones and tablets, etc. is the prevailing source these days, but there are things that a paper map will allow to parse better than a digital one. The same goes for information gleaned through the use of AI. When I was young (and going to the computer lab involved the use of punched cards), we learned the expression GIGO: Garbage In, Garbage Out. AI is only as effective and knowledgeable as those entering data. (If you want to take your mind off your troubles for a bit, find the film Desk Set -1957- with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, and enjoy the scene where the computer that has replaced the reference librarians fails to provide the necessary information...it's a hoot!)

All these are my own opinions, and very Miss Marple-y in their nature...

 

[HoveringWombats]

According to this info, she was expected to be seen sitting in the pew at church.

How deeply would NYT fact-check a breaking news story like this? Honest question, because I don't know how this happens in fast-moving news stories. I feel like this is kind of written in a way that suggests it's info they got from the official news conference (or maybe other discussions with LE) and reported it, without directly speaking to the church-goer. "Alerted, Ms. Guthrie’s family rushed to her home, the authorities said." BBM

If they are taking these official statements, which we also have all seen, as fact without further digging, this doesn't really help answer our questions about the discrepancies.

 

[TheDinks]

Can you prove this?

Some people have one hard 'n fast theory and they're sticking to it!

All the experts (ex-FBI, ex-LE, Hostage negotiators etc) that I've watched/listened to on broadcasts have all said it's baffling and is a remarkably unique case. Some have a steady theory on one aspect (ie ransom being extortion) but not a firm theory for what happened to Ms Guthrie.

It's confounding almost everyone...

 

[Cindizzi]

Where are they based?

Looks like Tucson

About Us

www.kold.com

 

[Rumination1]

Maybe an accidental murder.

You mean like a home invasion, gone wrong then took her body and made a note ?

 

[shadowsc]

Yes. I think MK has been sharp covering the case by asking about all the contradictions in this case. Most of the questions we have here she has also asked directly to her guests. And she has said, "The person doing this to this poor family is a true sociopath" and "Someone is torturing this poor family" so I don't think she has been cold. She has also said that no one has confirmed AB's reporting. Strictly speaking on this case (because I actually cannot listen to her otherwise, jmo), I have found good info from these segments and guests. Take from it what you will.

 

[Luna20]

God, this is such a very very important question. We really do need the answer to this.

They know and for some reason they don’t want us to know. One reason why is privacy/safety for the individual. A perp could attempt to remove this individual from the conversation. Witnesses are not typically liked by the perps.

 

[maskedwoman]

i think the Guthrie family is. well connected enough to make their own arrangements. Even if he offered I think they would decline.

I certainly would if I were her, since the President is someone she covers. Conflict of interest. I would imagine NBC might offer, too.