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

[InkyEvie]

Theory (I don't necessarily believe this but it fits some gaps in my questions) - AB was told to "leak" LE info that SIL was a prime suspect early on. Planned in order to make actual perp more comfortable. Return to AG's home last night to take photos for 3 hours and have evidence gloves on, highly visible to many reporters at end of street, was again purposeful distraction from actual LE recovery efforts elsewhere. Family is in on this plan. Thoughts?

Oof, I think that is a little far-fetched (respectfully). The reputational and possible emotional damage already caused by AB's video is not entirely unexpected to me, surely LE would know better than to do this. And I can't really imagine the family being on board with something so potentially volatile.

Now, sending a few officers to random places to distract the media? I can see that, but I can't imagine sending a bunch of officers on a wild goose chase just to cause a distraction. They are paying these people, possibly by the hour, and there are costs associated with the resources the officers are using, too.

All IMO.

 

[mikeshanty]

**Summary of statements made by the Sheriff in the first press conference on Monday 2 February.**

I am posting rough notes to show how the picture looked back then, as I think it might be of interest to a lot of us. Key points in bold. I truly feel the early press conference offers clues:

--------

- NG's home is a crime scene and "we know that"; LE saw things that concerned them; saw things at the site suggesting she did not leave alone. "Circumstances on scene that were suspicious in nature".
- NG suffers from "physical ailments" and needs daily medication; risk of things becoming fatal without access within 24 hours
- NG is of sound mind; nothing dementia related.
- Sheriff appeals for public to call 911 if they have seen anything; quite persistent messaging for information
- The investigation is at a stage where they need to depend on tech, including license plate readers.
- The homicide team was involved at this stage as well as a search and rescue (including drone systems, heat sensors, infra-red).
- "All of the family have been very cooperative with us"
- No comment on forced entry
- Not sure whether it was targeted or random
- Confirmed there were cameras on the property and "we're looking through some of that".
- NG had house staff who come by, but NG otherwise lives alone.
- Does not think there is an active threat to the public
- "Right now, we don't see this as a search mission as much as we do a crime scene"
- Refers to a map on screen that shows the search patterns by LE. Confirmed the map is used by search teams when they need to reassess search areas (i.e. might explain why we saw the map again this weekend).
- They have NG's cellphone and they are looking at it.
- Believes at 9.45PM her "children" left her off. Then later in the morning they got a call from "someone at the church saying your mom's not here". "The family went to the house.. they spent some time looking themselves before calling us; maybe they got there around 11AM". They did some searching and realized they needed some help and called 911.
- Declined to comment on the time NG was taken from the home.
- Told neighbours to go through their Ring cameras.
- Sheriff makes a political statement about the benefits of new technologies.

12:34 - 13:16 is quite interesting.

 

[louvillian08]

I did.

"Ms. Guthrie, whom friends have described as a devoted Christian, was expected at church that Sunday morning. But when someone at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian did not see her in the pews, they called her family to check in.

Alerted, Ms. Guthrie’s family rushed to her home, the authorities said. They found her phone, wallet, hearing aid, daily medication and car. But they did not find her. They called 911."

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

Is this article the first we’ve heard about the hearing aid? I could be wrong

 

[MommaV]

Im finding it really hard to believe a kidnapper would take such a risk in the regard that this lady due to advanced age could just literally drop dead of heart attack or no meds in a period of sooner time than given for ransom payment. Plus, liquidating assets in amounts of $6 millie can take up to 10 business days with a bank as they place "holds" on large transfers, even for rich people. So, here's this "mastermind" we are supposed to believe overlooked 2 critical components of this mastermind plan. Im sorry, im calling bs.

I still scratch my head that the first ransom had two deadlines, Thursday and Monday, I believe. Unless there were more specifics we don’t know of what the deadlines were for. Remembering it also stated no further contact would be made.

 

[tbgo]

If the family is no longer asking for proof of life in the last video and says that they will pay, then what are they waiting for? There must be some strategy behind this. They aren’t asking for more communication. They’re not asking for anything in this latest video. They have the bitcoin account. Creating another video was redundant. Can anyone guess why they did it?

They know what the alleged kidnapper wants. They know where to send the money. They’re not asking for proof of life… so, what’s the point of the video message then? They already seem like they’ve accepted that she’s no longer alive. Is this a final plea before sending the money - that the “kidnapper(s) do return the body and not just disappear after they’re paid? Or is there some bigger strategy here?

 

[nightowl2728]

Oof, I think that is a little far-fetched (respectfully). The reputational and possible emotional damage already caused by AB's video is not entirely unexpected to me, surely LE would know better than to do this. And I can't really imagine the family being on board with something so potentially volatile.

Now, sending a few officers to random places to distract the media? I can see that, but I can't imagine sending a bunch of officers on a wild goose chase just to cause a distraction. They are paying these people, possibly by the hour, and there are costs associated with the resources the officers are using, too.

All IMO.

No I appreciate your opinion! Like I said in the post I don't really believe this is the case either, BUT if it's not, that means that the SIL as as suspect leak wasn't purposeful, and that the return to AG's house was legitimate. I'm just trying to weigh the relevance of this.

 

[shadowsc]

I don’t remember this being mentioned at all, but I’m behind many pages and trying to get caught up. I remember it being stated she hasn’t attended in person since COVID, but we truly don’t know this as a fact. Do you recall who posted this information?

I believe it was the Daily Mail. Relevant parts:

A source told DailyMail that she hasn’t been to the church in person since the COVID-19 pandemic, instead choosing to worship online. Church leaders said they are not able to confirm who, if anyone, from the church called Nancy’s family to report her absence.

“All we can tell you is that Nancy has been a member here for many years. She’s part of our community and we love her,” said Ed Coates, administrative assistant at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.

“We’re praying for her. And that’s really all that we have to say right now. I’m sure the media will know before we will, you know, how the story unfolds, but we’re praying for her safety and praying for her family.”

He added that he wouldn’t put much focus or thought into her nor personally attending the services.

“Well, a lot of the older folks in particular like to worship online, particular those that have mobility issues. So it’s just as likely that might have been the case rather than here in person. But once again, that’s not something that we can quantify,” he added.

Shocking truth about mystery tip off that sparked Nancy Guthrie search

Fresh doubt has been cast on the tip off that first led to alarms being raised over Nancy Guthrie's shock abduction this weekend, the Daily Mail can reveal.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[HoveringWombats]

Setting up a wallet for bitcoin is fairly easy, even for newbies. No personal info is needed (no KYC) and therefore can be used anonymously

Yeah, I really don't think that either bitcoin or IP hiding (via whatever means they are using) implies incredible technical sophistication. I also don't think that it implies people being young, as some have suggested. Bitcoin has been around for 15+ years. The internet, and ways to hide your trail, have been around much longer. Kevin Mitnick, arguably the most famous hacker in history, would have been over 60 years old now. Many other prominent hackers are now in their 60s. None of this stuff is new, and we're long past the point where only young people understand technology (if that was ever true).

 

[nhmemorymaker]

I did.

"Ms. Guthrie, whom friends have described as a devoted Christian, was expected at church that Sunday morning. But when someone at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian did not see her in the pews, they called her family to check in.

Alerted, Ms. Guthrie’s family rushed to her home, the authorities said. They found her phone, wallet, hearing aid, daily medication and car. But they did not find her. They called 911."

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

Thank you for reposting this....
We are going to have to do some reconstructive forensics, I am afraid!

 

[MollyHarps]

I feel sorry for the Sheriff I think he is just way out of his depth - you can tell he deeply cares about the case though.

He isn’t helping the case though as he often back tracks on previous statements - makes it really hard to follow

 

[Strangeworld]

Is this article the first we’ve heard about the hearing aid? I could be wrong

I believe so unless I missed it too. Earlier when she was missing I wondered if this was the item the ransom note mentioned as Nancy not having with her

 

[birdbox]

Can someone research major crypotcurrency portals and see how many business days it would take a person to transfer $6 million? I cantvthink of a single bank that woukd allow a $6 million transfer

so the FBI arrested one hoaxer, but they can’t find the person sending the initial ransom and the follow up ransom note, is that correct? I’m mostly in agreement with many other LE and criminology experts that the ransom notes are a distraction…but the idea that the FBI can’t locate the person the Guthries intend to pay makes me nervous. Whether it’s a distraction because they don’t actually have NG or they do and they’re trying to buy themselves time because NG is deceased, I’m worried.

How on earth this person is evading police at this point seems to me that this was either premeditated with elaborate planning, or they’re getting lucky because of LE’s missteps.

If LE/FBI does have an idea of where the ransom notes are coming from…are they thinking the Guthries need to pay first to avoid NG being killed? Or would they just go into a location w/ guns blazing?

Right? How was hoaxes found so fast? Id love to know. Hoaxes didnt have a VPN?

 

[Vegasgrl]

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

It was on the original timeline 2/1 -11:56am relatives having been alerted by the church member, checked on Nancy at her home, and discovered she was missing, 12:03pm family members called 911 to report her missing. I don't know the best way to search for this here. Please someone help, so we can reference the ORIGINAL timeline. Because it was removed from the timeline later.

 

[LAhiker]

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

I did a search of this thread and it looks like someone (@MeadowMuffin) read that she missed Bible study, but couldn't remember where they had seen that. I don't think "online" was specified. Then I mentioned that as did someone else. So it continues to remain clear as mud. My marbles are also rapidly departing.

JMO

 

[SRWCF]

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.

Does anyone fact check anymore? It feels like if a mistake is made, all they have to do is update it online. No need to even issue an explanation. Online news outlets also contribute to incorrect information.

 

[Strangeworld]

I'm sorry, I try not to do this in threads, but I am struggling to catch up since I was on last night (its morning here, I'm in Australia). Have I missed anything significant in the last 12 hours other than the septic tank been searched? I know about the events at AG's place with the flashes. Thank you

 

[Donswife48]

<modsnip: Quoted post was removed> ... the Sheriff has handled this case for more than 2 hours, actually days. And as such, there are layers of officials that are able to handle the case if the situation needs attention. Plus, the FBI has been on this case for days, they are certainly capable of dealing with anything that crops up. And of course, he is available for calls wherever he is if they need him.

 

[tbgo]

Why does this case feel Brian Kohberger-ish? Like he has a criminology friend PhD classmate out there who's like a serial killer fanatic or something? It just feels so off and weird like those college kids case. Like someone who put great effort to this storyline of it? Someone who is enjoying watching this on the news? Look at me, im famous now too. Just beyond stupid all of it.

The only thing that potentially links the two IMO is that the perp could be someone totally unexpected. Someone we’ve never heard of. We heard about every other suspect in the Idaho case and suddenly BK’s name comes out out of no where. Everyone went, “Who?!” Not a student, not some drifter, not a known serial killer, not a parent of one of the kids. Just some random guy who didn’t even live in the neighborhood.

The fact that they keep going back to Nancy’s home though is very suspicious.

There’s still a chance that the crypto thing is a hoax, but who knows. The people behind this kidnapping may be total morons who didn’t think this thing through and later decided to try the ransom angle but still, if ransom wasn’t their original goal, what in the heck was the point of all this? It’s all over the place. It’s not a typical ransom. It again points straight back to the family.

 

[Zeta74]

If AG and SIL lied about the call, I would assume they are involved with NG’s disappearance. My question is why lie about that call? Why did they want to start the process rolling on looking for NG? It seems like something that could easily be a proven false and I don’t know why they needed to say anything.

I do think they have either been proven to be lying about that or have been inconsistent, which is why chief is one evading the question and why the call isn’t in the timeline.

I suspect similar lying or discrepancies on the issue of who drove NG home because chief also seems reticent to address that specifically.

 

[Luna20]

I don’t remember this being mentioned at all, but I’m behind many pages and trying to get caught up. I remember it being stated she hasn’t attended in person since COVID, but we truly don’t know this as a fact. Do you recall who posted this information?

Me
@Luna20

It’s in the recent posts. I’m watching the game and can’t keep up with the pace.