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

[zecats]

It also seems to fit, if they entered through the front door bleeding then left through garage.

The "official" timeline says family dropped her off through garage, but that was sloppy wording; they really should just say when the garage opened/closed, in the absence of other data.

No blood was ever found inside the house though, correct? Or did I miss something there. If bleeding on doorstep before entering, I’d assume more blood drops would continue into the foyer..or whatever part of house was entered. JMO

 

[K9Enzo]

Nobody seems willing to go there, but this has the earmarks of a cartel extortion written all over it. Well researched. Somewhat sloppy execution, and all the leverage.

IMO I think the misconception is the cartel (actual) are a sloppy and chaotic when they are a well run illegal business operation. The funds $$$ at their disposal is incredible. IMO, a kidnap and ransom operation would look like SG herself being kidnapped (no TMZ, local news outlets receiving communication) this would happen out of the public's view, and her husband or maybe in this case her employer receiving the ransom $$$$ demand communication. The kidnapping would be swift, she would not be harmed but taken care of while negotiation went on. IMO, they would not mess with an 84 year old woman, and certainly not for 6 million. While the cartel is in the kidnap/ransom business I don't believe they have anything to do with this case. I also don't believe any of the ransom demands are directly tied to poor NG, but a separate crime. IMO

 

[merrymary]

and "floral fluff" are on top of the blood

the cutup foliage might have just blown in from yard...entryway acting like a "catch-all" like mine does. Since there are no footsteps, perhaps she tried to exit the home and she was pulled back in. Not sure how much blood was found inside...

 

[Cassie P]

Very possible but so strange there are no smudge marks in the blood if there was a big struggle.

So it appears that there was no big struggle on the front porch??

 

[NoseyRecluse]

I'm just wondering, where does it say that he isn't there with her? Maybe he travelled there afterwards and is staying in a hotel out of sight?
Or maybe Savannah requested him to stay home with the kids to keep life for them as normal as possible?
Who knows?
I don't think he purposely told Savannah "nah, i'm busy so deal with it on your own"

Right -- can you imagine how upsetting this would be for the kiddos, who are still relatively young. If they are at home with Dad, perhaps they are being sheltered from any news reports. I still hold out hope against hope that she will be safely returned to her family - for no other reason that I just want a good ending to this. I know that the likelihood of that is very low. But still, I hope.

 

[SaraSmile]

My thoughts on opening the garage door... if someone is dropping me off at home, I would walk in through my front door. If I'm not parking a vehicle in the garage it’s not likely I'm opening that door. Do people really do this? Maybe it just makes more sense with the layout of her house. Was it opened because someone knew there would be a record of it being

Even if LE said we are very confident we know what happened to your mother and it has nothing to do with the ransom request?

And even if the people requesting a ransom did kidnap Nancy, are they really going to be the sort of people the family can trust to honour their side of an agreement to return her? There is a real risk they could be identified by returning Nancy, alive or otherwise

I think family are playing along with what FBI thinks happened.FBI Recommended don’t send ransom, it’s a scam. waiting as long as possible to identify scammers( pretend kidnappers requesting ransom), and investigating the original crime ( probably murder or manslaughter).
Looking for NG’s body. Maybe Conspiracy with several people?

They determined that the S Cal scammer, (already caught) is in a band, same genre as TC.
LE originally said no connection, just a scammer, now looking at, same age, same type of person as TC. Hawthorne to Tucson is 7 hours drive, maybe some bands they both follow, attend same concerts.

(mod snip need link about church caller)

All JMO

 

[tkcrockett]

Were all the locks on those doors still locked when LE arrived?
Also, when my camera needs charging I bring it in.Did NG bring the doorbell in because the batteries were dead and discovered the entire thing needed replacing and tossed it.
The blood on the walkway could be from her fidgeting with it and getting hurt.My husband bleeds doing everything.

gotta remember that there was sputum in the blood. cough/sneeze.spit? why?

 

[SaraSmile]

Did any of you sleuthers ever hold back a comment on a thread because you thought maybe the perp or in this case kidnappers may be reading these posts?

Well I have an idea and I'm not going to post it because I think it's likely the kidnappers are reading this. I don't mean to open up a can of worms, I just care about NG and the family and don't want to possibly help the criminals.

Just throwing that out there.

Yes, MOO. they are following WS and Reddit. Plus other chat rooms maybe.

 

[iluvmyelement]

I think the basic initial details of the case tell us a lot....remember that the Sherriff's office brought in the homicide team first thing. I'm guessing their analysis of the scene indicated a murder scene that was cleaned up (significant use of cleaners or some remaining blood found via luminol). Couple that with the fact that they have been seen searching in septic/water tanks as well as towing two vehicles, searching AG's house multiple times, etc. They know NG is not with us but are trying to let everything play out while they solidify their case. Who knows - maybe this whole "ransom" thing is known to them to be fake but it would introduce more charges so they are just waiting. Now - if you add the timeline back in - it wasn't an accident. The camera was removed at least 40 minutes prior to the pacemaker no longer syncing. If it was an accident, it would have been removed *after*.

 

[nerosleuth]

I thought she had a hearing aide that suggests she might not have heard a bell. My amateur guess is that she was attacked in her bed.

Amateur opinion and speculation only

If she had a hearing aid, she likely would have taken the hearing aid off when she went to bed for the night.

If one wears a hearing aid while sleeping, it can cause a loud whistling sound when sleeping next to the pillow.

And if she did take her hearing aid off before going to bed, depending upon the level of her hearing impairment she may not hear a doorbell ringing or loud knocking from the door at all while sleeping.

 

[Skigh]

Why would she answer the door in the middle of the night though? Did she hear something? Doorbell ringing and she saw someone she knew? I’m trying to look at the possible situations.

The vast majority of women in the house on their own are cautious about opening their door after dark,unless expecting someone /a delivery. In the middle of the night it must have been something exceptional to make her unlock her door ,especially in her night wear unless it was someone she knew or an emergency . I have wondered if it was someone impersonating a police officer.

 

[Trino]

1000% in agreement with you. The two crimes are not related and someone is taking full advantage of the situation to get the money.

The ransom guy appears to be ultra smart working with Bitcoin. May very well get away with it. Assume the ransom is a ruse, where do we go from here? Guess we will soon know.

 

[Tiger Stripes]

Were all the locks on those doors still locked when LE arrived?
Also, when my camera needs charging I bring it in.Did NG bring the doorbell in because the batteries were dead and discovered the entire thing needed replacing and tossed it.
The blood on the walkway could be from her fidgeting with it and getting hurt.My husband bleeds doing everything.

Interesting possibility. Hadn't thought of that!

 

[CandyKiss]

Now, and bear with as I am slow in the mornings (and not much faster the rest of the day), the doorbell camera lets you know who it is, and you go to open IF you recognize the person, ESPECIALLY late at night.

My point, and I do have one if you give me a moment to get to it, is that if NG went to the door, she KNEW who it was. If she didn't and she opened, she did it cautiously (one hopes), and the metal gate would be (again, one hopes) locked. It will, as is the case with storm doors, open out towards the porch, and she would have been behind the door that opens IN towards the house.

NG didn't need to open either door, she had a glass panel beside the door to see the entry/porch. IF she did open that door she absolutely knew who she was letting into her home.

 

[SMK777]

Also, AG caught in lies, said church person called her to say NG wasn’t at church. This sounded very far fetched to me. Turns out it was not true( proven, no call record), just a set up, part of “alibi” points, reason for AG to go to NG house, discover NG was gone

If true, this would definitely be a huge red flag to investigators. Any lie told would put them on their radar.

 

[Wsimm]

I know it’s been mentioned the SIL went to a bar after dropping N off at her house. Where is the bar located? How long was he there? Did he meet anyone? Was he drinking (no judgement, just thinking it might escalate anger/boldness). When did he arrive home? Hopefully the bar, DOT and neighborhood cameras will show something. LE is awfully quiet and no longer asking for help/tips from the public, makes me think an arrest will happen in the next few days.

DBM

 

[Napoli]

I still am not sure the blood is connected. As I mentioned earlier, there was no indication that it was processed as evidence-so maybe it’s not related? I mean they had to test it to find out it was NGs but it seemed pretty accessible to people taking the pictures. Also—I didn’t see blood smear/footprints that might have been expected if it was a forced removal of ng. I still wonder if she went to investigate the ring camera (eg if she received notice someone was at her door) though.

The blood found on the walkway and front porch of Nancy Guthrie's home was processed for DNA.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed the following details regarding the forensic analysis:

• DNA Match: A rushed DNA analysis confirmed that the blood found at the scene matched Nancy Guthrie.
• Suspect Information: As of February 2026, the DNA testing from the blood and other evidence at the home has produced no hits indicating a suspect or any third party

 

[Sadi]

Well put!If it were someone really close she may have stepped out on the mat to let them in, (to give them room to enter ,since the door swings outward)before closing the metal door again,

What might be a good reason for someone to come over in the middle of the night, knock or ring the doorbell that’s a known person to you be? Why not call ahead and tell her you’re coming over? I’m sure they have a key and the garage door code. I understand the movement is traced for the garage door, but why not just use a key to get inside? If it was an unknown person, I don’t think she would open it. The forced entry mentioned, could that have been done prior to N getting home, but not noticed (door/window unlocked), something that wouldn’t be obvious?

 

[Deleted member 117884]

Why wouldn't LE publicly clear an innocent suspect to dispel the cloud of suspicion? When a career and reputation are at risk?

LE typically doesn't "clear" anyone until the arrest of the perp, in my observation.

It stands out to me that it looks like LE were taking flash photos at AG house the other night. Luminol reacts with blood and changes color, but it only last a short time so investigators take photos of the reaction. imo

If luminol reveals apparent blood traces, investigators will photograph or videotape the crime scene to record the pattern.

How Luminol Works

Have you seen investigators on crime shows who spray some stuff on a "clean" carpet and suddenly -- blood stains! Well, of all the fictional technology on TV, it turns out this stuff is real! Find out how luminol reveals the blood.

science.howstuffworks.com

 

[missy1974]

Could they have made NG go out and remove the camera so they could stay hidden. Blood could have gotten there that way.

This sounds more plausible!

Looking at that front door, I keep thinking that maybe the door hit her arm and that is how she started bleeding. This would make sense if she was made to open that door and smash that camera so the perp didn't have to go near it. Didn't leave a trail because she was only partially out the door, no shoe/footprints.

Thanks for the helping me make sense of this in my own mind lol I kept thinking that door hitting her arm would definitely break the skin and cause bleeding, but thought maybe when an amazon package or something was delivered. Making her smash the camera makes sense to me now.

All JMO