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

[Cassie P]

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?

Same question I keep asking. Why make a video saying they will pay the ransom when they could just quietly pay it?

I think the purpose of the video is to tell the kidnappers they will pay for their mother dead or alive. They want a proper burial.

 

[mikeshanty]

I never understood why it wasn't a search mission as much as a crime scene

There is also something interesting in terms of what the sheriff said on Monday versus the timeline presented later in the week. He says the family (implying AG and SIL since SG was out of state) got there at 11AM. The slide deck timeline presented later in the week says they called 911 at 12.03PM. That is an hour before the "realized" they needed to call. No accusation here, but the timing is quite interesting. Perhaps sheriff was speaking generally at the earlier conference.

 

[knla]

If it's a group that abducted Nancy, they are probably fighting over the bitcoin.

 

[Trino]

Things to ponder. Strong theory of scenario.

Having worked a decade in psych hospitals, a bit in forensic,

I could certainly see extreme compartmentalization happening, to where it would be possible to sit with distraught family and not give up the ruse. Not necessarily the case here.

You’re a bigger person than me re: the forgiveness part (re: accident)! But I guess it also depends on one’s definition of forgiveness.

I would perhaps try to release my deep acrimony to a higher power for survival’s sake, but would sever all ties. Haven’t been in that situation, though.

Thanks for your thoughts.

MOO

Never heard of an accidental murder ?

Murder definition: the crime of unlawfully and unjustifiably killing a person
Accidental: didn't mean it to happen.

 

[nightowl2728]

Honestly, I have a really hard time believing the family is involved at all, but maybe I'm just naive.

I think AB may have been given information that she should have sat on for a bit. And I also think the world just latched on to her words as truth, and it got out of control (as the drama is bound to do). It seems like a lot of people are taking everything that any source of authority says at face value, and it's causing a lot of unnecessary harm.

But I get it. The circumstances are so strange, and LE is trying to keep things so close to the vest, that it's bound to set the rumors and speculation flying.

IMO.

Agree. I find AB's claims much less relevant than LE's return to AG's home last night (I watched the livestream of it). The length of time they were there, evidence collection gloves, photos being taken in the garage and home, etc. I am just not sure what it means. It could be circumstantial (collecting evidence on NG's perhaps shoe imprints, clothing worn, biological evidence like that), or if there were others there that night that are relevant, timing of things, etc. Or it could be more related to an actual crime. I think those are the only two options? Unless I'm missing something.

 

[rosesfromangels]

Same question I keep asking. Why make a video saying they will pay the ransom when they could just quietly pay it?

I think the purpose of the video is to tell the kidnappers they will pay for their mother dead or alive. They want a proper burial.

It could have been a required condition made by the Perp(s).

<modsnip>

 

[TheDinks]

Two things here:

1) I think the comment about church was genuinely just causing a lot of confusion and potentially causing a bunch of headaches for LE from well meaning people. IE the anonymous source to Daily Mail who said she only attended virtually. “Missing from church” is an accurate statement whether she attended virtually or physically.

2) Their “official” timeline seems focused just on verified, concrete timestamps. Yes it’s meaningful that she wasn’t at church (hence the phone call to family) but it technically isn’t when her disappearance was discovered. If that makes sense?

IMO - there is zero reason the sheriff would bring up the phone call in multiple press conferences unless he felt confident that was the truth. OR I would think LE would be on top of the sister/brother in law much more than we’ve seen so far. SG would also be very concerned and it seems like they’re very much still a united front. It’s been long enough for the story to have been debunked if they lied.

I believe the initial alert is important enough to be included in official timeline... it's the tiny snowball that gets things rolling.

 

[KBlackRabbit]

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

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

This is a special case. I’m sure the bank would be aware this is a high-profile ransom and to do what SG and LE asked them to. If she has to wire funds from one institution to another it may take some time, but if all parties know it’s an emergency and to follow LE direction it can happen faster.

If SG already has enough money in a crypto wallet, it would be less than a minute to input the address and hit send. It might take a few minutes for the transfer to register on the blockchain, but once you hit send it’s gone.

The speed of which she can pay depends on where and how much of her money is kept in the bank, in investments, or in a crypto wallet.

 

[tbgo]

Where in the hell is Sherlock Holmes when the world needs him?

Or Jessica Fletcher.

 

[Sadi]

The 11 AM thing is not verified. LE didn’t include that.

Right. So why wasn’t this call to family from church member in the timeline from police? Should be easy to verify

Thank you. I totally missed this, I honestly don’t remember hearing she attended in person. I appreciate your sharing this.

 

[mpnola]

Please let her NOT have been placed in a septic tank. It was bad enough that Chris Watts dumped his daughters in an oil tank, but a septic tank? Please no. Don't be in there.

One of my first cases here was a cutie little 6 year old named Noah Thomas. He was found in the septic tank. I was destroyed and it was reported that the septic tank cleaning man was struggling with taking a little human out of it. Noah will never be far from my mind.

 

[Strangeworld]

not really

Thanks so much Vegasgrl! I appreciate you letting me know. I was so hoping to wake to an arrest, regardless of who it might be.

 

[SRWCF]

Here's a link to a news story where it says the call from the church goer came in at approximately 11:00 a.m. to the family (I assume AG) alerting them she wasn't at church.

Nancy Guthrie abduction: Timeline and updates on disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's mom from home, latest news on suspects - ABC7 Los Angeles Nancy Guthrie abduction: Timeline of disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's mom, possible ransom notes

 

[Chainspell]

Inmate lookup is no longer accessible for Pima County (Tucson). I've been checking it on and off throughout the weekend and this is the first time I've seen this message. Can check for yourself here. Personally checked for myself in Chrome and Firefox incognito.

EDIT: ITS NOW BACK UP.

 

[shadowsc]

Taking this from the first timeline of notes, the Sheriff convoluted things because he first said:
- 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.

That's why there was all this, "wait why did the family wait an hour to call the police??" But then in the next update he said the family got there at 11:56am and called 911 at 12:03pm." Which is a WAY difference timeline and narrative. (And would be only seven minutes before they called 911, not "spent some time looking themselves before calling us,")

He also seemed to indicate in that same first press conference that someone alerted the family at 11am that mom wasn't in church. (Not that the family first arrived at the house at 11am.)

I honestly think he had his own timelines and church facts confused, so I have no idea what the deal with church vs online is true either.

 

[JKathryn]

Delete if not allowed. What if an ex-neighbor was caught trespassing? Someone that knows the area very well. And the house. And the house they used to live in which was across the street? The same house nobody answered at today when LE was knocking? And the ex-neighbor just happens to work for one of the largest medical device companies in the US...with their top product being...pacemakers? Do we know the brand of NGs pacemaker?

 

[louvillian08]

There is also something interesting in terms of what the sheriff said on Monday versus the timeline presented later in the week. He says the family (implying AG and SIL since SG was out of state) got there at 11AM. The slide deck timeline presented later in the week says they called 911 at 12.03PM. That is an hour before the "realized" they needed to call. No accusation here, but the timing is quite interesting. Perhaps sheriff was speaking generally at the earlier conference.

He was speaking generally I believe. Their timeline now says that the family arrived at 11:56am

 

[Athos65]

Is there any chance kidnapper is mailing them riddles that say "shes close to home" or something?

Oh, yes, that sounds as if someone would find it vastly entertaining, but if it was, in fact, the kidnapper, it would indicate a very twisted nature, or someone who simply does not care. What a terrible thought that is, even beyond what one has imagined so far.

Would we then maybe consider that the person(s) involved are watching all this very closely, but not from within?

All opinions, of course.

 

[Fargo]

Interesting. I've been checking the Pima County Jail inmate roster every hour or two for the last couple of days. Now I see this: Pima County Sheriff Department

 

[mikeshanty]

Taking this from the first timeline of notes, the Sheriff convoluted things because he first said:
- 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.

That's why there was all this, "wait why did the family wait an hour to call the police??" But then in the next update he said the family got there at 11:56am and called 911 at 12:03pm." Which isa WAY difference timeline and narrative.

He also seemed to indicate in that same first press conference that someone alerted the family at 11am that mom wasn't in church.

I honestly think he had his own timelines and church facts confused, so I have no idea what the deal with church vs online is true either.

Thank you for clearing this up as that seemed like a big discrepancy.