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

[missy1974]

Maureen O'Connell was on Fox last night... I tried to find just a clip of it but was not able to, so found a youtube with the whole show.

In her segment, she said that the 2nd ransom note said Dear Savannah.

I have no other way to put that info here, so I am biting the bullet and posting the link LOL

(note: she says "samantha" 3 times before correcting herself )

So IF the ransom note is real... is SG the target, whether because of $$$ or some other personal reason?

it is cued up to where she starts talking, but the mention of 'Dear Savannah' is at the 13:00 mark.

 

[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?

 

[Inthedetails]

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

 

[Inthedetails]

Wow! First time hearing about a bar visit. If that’s the case is it usual for SIL to visit bars at 10pm? I understand he’s in a band so this may be a usual thing….checking out other local bands? If he’s involved it’s my feeling he’d have to be pretty sober to pull this off, even if his role in the abduction was a smaller one in the bigger scheme of things.

Can someone post a link about the bar visit? It's the first I'm hearing of it too.

 

[Wagora]

The outside metal door opens outward.Nancy sees someone she recognizes and opens the metal door outwards,maybe stepping down into the mat.The blood droplets are beside the mat.I think she was then taken back inside,killed and taken out the back door to be buried somewhere.I’m thinking strangulation if AG and TC didn’t see a lot of biological evidence.

I live here and can’t imagine stepping outside in the dark. There are javelinas and coyotes all around. I have only opened the door, backed up, and let people inside.

 

[Inthedetails]

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

That does make some sense because if any images were captured, it would be of HER dismantling the camera. But the blood does go away from the stoop and down the walkway in drips iirc.

jmo

 

[ab01]

Yes I think a defense attorney would get a lot of milage in court with no warrant. I would think the judge would be more apt to sign a warrant in the case of an elderly woman being kidnapped or detained in some way.

Yes they most certainly got warrants. Especially when they went back and did follow up searches and removed evidence.

It would be common for and to be honest expected for the victims family to give consent, but that wouldn't make investigators feel the need not to get a warrant especially when they were seen removing evidence.

Both things are likely true, family gave consent and investigators still procured and issued warrants.

Things like Cellebrite extractions of phones, vehicles impounded, blood evidence, and many other things. They would definitely want a warrant for these things as they would want them down the road in a possible prosecution in a court of law.

 

[merrymary]

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.

OR they were already in her home and she was trying to get out!

 

[LAborn]

Maureen O'Connell was on Fox last night... I tried to find just a clip of it but was not able to, so found a youtube with the whole show.

In her segment, she said that the 2nd ransom note said Dear Savannah.

I have no other way to put that info here, so I am biting the bullet and posting the link LOL

(note: she says "samantha" 3 times before correcting herself )

So IF the ransom note is real... is SG the target, whether because of $$$ or some other personal reason?

it is cued up to where she starts talking, but the mention of 'Dear Savannah' is at the 13:00 mark.

Other experts have talked about how well composed the letters have been, calling the writer "intelligent", etc. I would say using "Dear" is in keeping with someone who is educated, intelligent, possibly older? Could be a tech savvy older person maybe. Harvey Levin said the person is likely local to Tucson...in a small town the celebrity of Savannah Guthrie would be a big deal and known by all. Clearly NG is the target because of SG wealth.