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

[justme11]

Almost unimaginable that TMZ is inserting itself into this horror. This "reporting" could have tragic consequences for the victims (Nancy and her family). Completely unethical in my very strong opinion.

Exactly. They needed to have contacted LE and stayed out of it.
And I can't figure why someone with a ransom letter would contact TMZ in the first place. That has always seemed strange and off to me.

 

[Sundog]

I’m thinking it would have had to be the earlier service. I thought the church call occurred at approximately 11am? I’m imagining after several calls from AG to NG gone unanswered, AG headed over to her mom’s to check on her. It’s my understanding that AG arrived at NG‘s at approximately 11:56 and then called 911 at 12:03.

It's very common at churches for seniors and the elderly to have a buddy system to check on each other and it doesn't surprise me that someone would call her and then her family if she wasn't at church and didn't answer her phone or text back when contacted.

 

[Sadi]

The FBI agent said it's likely someone who had worked on the house/in the house and knew what she had. Most people are very kind to workers, offering a cold drink, or bathroom use. Gives them a chance to case the house while the homeowner is unsuspecting. They went to rob her, and she woke up and that's when the original plan went sideways. He thinks it was a moronic split decision to take her and hatch the kidnapping plan. They didn't want to leave a witness, but maybe weren't prepared to murder her.

As far as the AG and SIL he said (starting at 23:00m approx). He said the focus on her house has to do with gathering evidence (digital info) about help AG hired for Nancy, all the electronics would be on Annie's stuff because she would have been the appointment maker. He also said most people who are accused "lawyer up" and shut up. They've been completely cooperative. Elizabeth Smart's dad was a suspect, they look at and rule out the closest, then rule out. Deep dive on Tomasso, he's a long time 6th grade teacher in the sciences, no criminal record and he said, "If they were hard up on money there would be a hell of a lot easier ways to get it, like robbing a bank than to do this". The family doesn't fit the profile, he said.

Thank you kindly!!

 

[mikeshanty]

What I meant was that it seems odd - based on her not even being there but on a zoom call -- someone is going to actually notice her username isn't there, and call her kids? Unless she talked to this person the day before and said, "Oh, I'll definitely be part of the zoom call tomorrow! If you don't see me there, call my family!" It just seems unlikely to me. But I am just an ordinary citizen - no LE or investigative experience.

Maybe there was going to be a shout out for her birthday? It was three days prior.

 

[Friday Fan]

Found this interesting. Think this points to the ransom being written by someone outside the country.


“But some experts remain wary of the ransom note, which specified that the payment be made in the equivalent of US dollars, which some said could indicate the sender was not in America — and could be someone trying to scam the Guthries out of millions as they search for their mother.”

“If you’re domestic, why would you ever put ‘USD?’ You put 6 million,” former FBI agent Michael Harrigan told The Post.”

The tiny detail in the Nancy Guthrie ransom note that makes FBI experts think the writers aren’t even in US

Mexico often says "$". (Both countries monetary sign)
Often they don't differentiate. I've seen housing ads on FB and I can't tell whether they're in Mexican dollars (pesos) or USD. These are ads catering to Americans. Some will differentiate. Some don't. (Their advertising style is a bit different than here and is more aggressive)


Inflation makes it hard to tell because a nice place down there will go for 500K USD. But some homes down there go for over 1 Million USD.
$I Million MXN = $580 K USD

Just putting that out there.....


____

However, cartels are more sophisticated and they would likely differentiate.

Over course, any kidnapper could say USD if they're dealing with Bitcoins....

 

[Fargo]

I do think they have managed to reveal Tor identity in the past, but a seemingly impossible task that perhaps AI can assist in cracking?

It's not impossible at all. What it is is logistically cumbersome. If your transmission has traveled through many private TOR nodes in many different countries you have to track down each and every server to get the information about which server sent the transmission and then which server it was further transmitted to.

For instance, my desktop computer is a TOR node. If LE wants to track a message through my server to see where it came from and where it was sent on to they need to either ask me politely for that data or get a warrant. Try that in Nigeria or Serbia.

My opinion only.

 

[cherryleaf]

That whole message is off.

"We received your message and we understand," Guthrie said in the brief video posted to Instagram. "We beg you now to return our mother to us so we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay."

Why send a message that you're going to pay instead of just paying? Why refer to your mother as "this"? This is very valuable to us. What is "this"? It's distancing language, which is a little bizarre.

Savannah Guthrie in new video pleads for mother's return: 'We will pay'

"Today" show host Savannah Guthrie and her siblings released a new video saying they have received a message and begged for their mother's return.

abcnews.go.com

IMO it’s a very carefully worded response, most likely prepared by LEO/FBI. Perhaps a de escalation tactic. It also looks like SG is wearing the same clothes as in the first video. Not sure.

 

[Moonsie]

i assume that "last seen" is going off the in law's sighting, no?

Yeah. I guess my point was, we can’t pick and choose what’s fact based on the contents of the complaint. If we want to accept that the contact regarding church is true, we need to accept that Nancy was seen in her residence.

 

[HoveringWombats]

When Covid hit and remote work started, most public (government) agencies (like schools and universities) required that all laptops and computers use VPN for any official business while working remotely (like for zoom meetings, classes online, etc.). A lot of universities continued to require this even after Covid for any work done remotely online. So if the SIL was a public school teacher, which I think has been stated on this thread, then I would assume that he has/uses VPN on his computers/laptops. JMO.

Corporate VPNs used for remote work are entirely different beasts than the VPNs that are sold to consumers for "privacy" purposes, and those used by bad actors to hide their tracks. There are overlaps in the technology used, but it would not be difficult for even unsophisticated LE to tell the difference, IMO.

 

[SMK777]

He said they don't fit the profile, period.

[Snipped for emphasis by me]

"If they were hard up on money there would be a hell of a lot easier ways to get it, like robbing a bank than to do this". The family doesn't fit the profile, he said.

He's putting the emphasis on premeditated crime, clearly.

MY OPINION ONLY.

 

[Charlot123]

dbm

When Covid hit and remote work started, most public (government) agencies (like schools and universities) required that all laptops and computers use VPN for any official business while working remotely (like for zoom meetings, classes online, etc.). A lot of universities continued to require this even after Covid for any work done remotely online. So if the SIL was a public school teacher, which I think has been stated on this thread, then I would assume that he has/uses VPN on his computers/laptops. JMO.

He may but this may not be a full protection here. Somewhere in Dubai, yes. JMO.

 

[shonyakay]

DBM

 

[shadowsc]

I really hope at the next press conference, some reporter asks the sheriff to clarify if someone actually noticed Nancy not at church, either in person or online, if they called the family to notify them, at what time, and did the police interview that person. Otherwise this question is going to keep circulating non-stop with speculation, trying to fill in gaps, and no straight answer. It doesn't seem like it should be all that secretive. The sheriff mentioned it on his own at the very first press conference like it was no big deal. If he suddenly gets tight lipped, either something changed or he didn't have all his facts right the first time and now they're just keeping everything close to the vest.

 

[rosesfromangels]

IMO it’s a very carefully worded response, most likely prepared by LEO/FBI. Perhaps a de escalation tactic. It also looks like SG is wearing the same clothes as in the first video. Not sure.

I think she's asking for her mother's remains and that she knows she is deceased. Hope I'm wrong.

Amateur opinion and speculation only

 

[MomTea]

Can anyone link a legit source says that stated the contact by the church friend was a "call"?

I have only heard "notified" and "contacted" when Nancy's church friend reached out to the family after she was noticably absent from church.

What if after the church service the friend decided to stop by Nancy's to check on her and a family member was already there?

Remember the family was "contacted" at 11:56 a.m.

I'm glad you mentioned this. We were just talking about in previous post people stating it was in the time line, and now not. I took a Pic of my TV screen from the initial press conference when they introduced the official timeline, and that detail was not intact in that timeline. I believe the did mention that was a catalyst that sent AG and TC to MG's house to check on her. Did I miss something? Did they put it in the official timeline later and then remove it?

 

[Vegasgrl]

That whole message is off.

"We received your message and we understand," Guthrie said in the brief video posted to Instagram. "We beg you now to return our mother to us so we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay."

Why send a message that you're going to pay instead of just paying? Why refer to your mother as "this"? This is very valuable to us. What is "this"? It's distancing language, which is a little bizarre.

Savannah Guthrie in new video pleads for mother's return: 'We will pay'

"Today" show host Savannah Guthrie and her siblings released a new video saying they have received a message and begged for their mother's return.

abcnews.go.com

I heard the message to be voiced as though they are complying with whatever the messenger wanted to hear (maybe code?). I still think that messenger provided something that wasn't current proof of life, but something specific about Nancy. Maybe they communicated to the children something no one else would know, so they could try to convey proof of life without direct communication with NG. And maybe that caused them to decide to make payment? Although it's apparently still not sent. I didn't know the Bitcoin account could be easily checked regarding a deposit.

 

[LAborn]

On the ransom notes, Levin and others attributed intelligence to the letter writer because of how it was composed, but Hidden Killers made a good observation, with ChatGPT you don't have to have any writing skill or intelligence to create a well written letter. Kidnapping Nancy and demanding ransom reveals they aren't the brightest tool in the shed.

 

[Angelcat13]

There is bird poop on the porch as well. Maybe birds nested above the porch area and bits of foliage fell out.

Good thought! I wondered earlier if the glowers could have been from a wreath but then decided against it after someone here identified the plant and said it doesn’t smell good and isn’t typically used in bouquets AND because I didn’t see any mention or photos about NG having a wreath on her door.

 

[maskedwoman]

I'm beginning to think this is a strong possibility. This isn't really playing out like a legitimate ransom situation.

I am struggling with this scenario, so maybe one of you can help me better understand. If someone did kidnap Nancy, why would they do that and then NOT send a ransom demand? What do kidnappers gain, except for ransom of some sort - either money or something being done that benefits them.

I'm trying to understand why kidnappers would sit quietly and let someone else demand ransom for the person they are holding.

That's why I've been thinking she's been killed and the fake ransom demand is to make the investigators to think she was kidnapped and never returned. MOO.

Thanks,

 

[Charlot123]

Exactly. They needed to have contacted LE and stayed out of it.
And I can't figure why someone with a ransom letter would contact TMZ in the first place. That has always seemed strange and off to me.

Things happen. Remember how John Doe posted information about RI shooter first on Reddit. Any SM is meant to be used. We’ll see more of it.