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

[SMK777]

LOL, he didn't qualify. He's retired FBI, meaning he's not a dumbbell. I hope that people following this train of thought take it to its conclusion. So they kill Nancy, then dispose of her body and create a kidnapping scheme to throw the rest of the family off the scent? Or did they just kill Nancy dump the body and someone else created the kidnapping scheme? How exactly did this go down? And what's the motive? Nancy was so difficult and a pain they couldn't take it anymore? *eye roll*

He's not associated with this case.

 

[tbgo]

You don’t send a ransom days after the fact and add that you won’t hear from them again. It makes no sense. A robbery gone wrong doesn’t make sense as nothing, that we know of, was taken. Even if you had a serial killer, they’re not going to take the body with them.

 

[unresolvedmystery]

You don’t send a ransom days after the fact and add that you won’t hear from them again. It makes no sense. A robbery gone wrong doesn’t make sense as nothing, that we know of, was taken. Even if you had a serial killer, they’re not going to take the body with them.

When you go by process of elimination and what we know so far its clear this is local and personal

 

[LAborn]

He's not associated with this case.

But he's worked hundreds if not thousands of cases which provides perspective, insights and patterns. I welcome his analysis. And all for free, thanks to the internet!

 

[abanddb123]

That's a very good point. I decided to go back through the timeline to try and see what we know for sure and what might be assumptions. Items not publicly confirmed by known facts are in bold below.

• 5:32 Uber delivers NG to AG and TC home for dinner. Not publicly released where she was picked up by Uber.
• 9:48 The garage door went up - not sure if LE can be sure exactly who entered house at this time.
• 9:50 Garage door goes down - not sure if LE can be sure if anyone exited at that time.
• Timeline seems to assume NG entered the home and went to bed but not sure if this can be proven.
• 1:47 Doorbell camera disconnects and is later determined to be gone. Pictures confirm it was removed.
• 2:12 Software detects person on camera. Nothing publicly known regarding which camera detected this form. Police say no video. How do they know camera detected a human form?
• 2:28 Pacemaker disconnects from phone. Do we know whether she was actually at home when this occurred? Could she have been somewhere else?
• 11:00 Church member calls family when NG is not accounted for. disappeared from later time lines. Did this really happen?
• 11:56 Family checks on NG Nothing publicly known confirms this
• 12:03 911 Call - 911 records would confirm.
• 12:15 Police arrive - dispatch records would confirm.

I haven't seen any expert quotes mention this specifically, but a real kidnapping and ransom crew would just grab the victim up, stuff her in a vehicle and go. If you don't get get away cleanly with the victim, you get caught. No ransom. Just prison. But if we look at the timeline that way LE has discussed it, it appears something happened to the camera at 1:47, an unknown camera identifies a person 25 minutes later, and then the phone can no longer find the pacemaker 16 minutes after that. So it appears something was going on at the house for a full 41 minutes. Why?

If it's a kidnapping what kept them at the house so long after they have their victim? That makes no sense. The longer they are there, the more chance they are noticed coming or going by a neighbor. And how did they get out of the house? Not through the garage because it appears that door did not go up or down again. Is it confirmed that the back door was open?

Thanks,
Jeanne

Can your notes include dates and am and pm please.

 

[Trish51]

These aren’t “facts”. They are the results of a Google search. You thinking that there are cartels behind every mesquite is an opinion, and one that should be disregarded since you know so little about Tucson that you can’t even spell it correctly.

Numerous, numerous Tucsonans have posted here saying that there is not a lot of cartel violence. But you, a person who has never lived here and has most likely never even set foot in AZ—you know more than people who’ve lived here for decades?

No. You don’t.

So true! I thought about this after these posts and could not come up with one instance of hearing about cartels causing crime and certainly not the harming/killing/kidnapping a 84-year old woman. It doesn’t fit with how they operate.

 

[shonyakay]

This seems like a movie playing out in real life.

4 hours and 5 minutes until the ransom letter's deadline.
(MST)

The greatest outcome would be that Nancy is still alive. I hope that is the case.

 

[vlbay]

They're rare and they often target famous people.

NG just happened to be the mother of SG. I really don't think SG's mother is famous. Heck, SG is famous but isn't that famous. Yes, journalists are under attack these days, but not like this and SG is pretty much neutral. There are plenty who aren't neutral and they are either loved or hated. But I see SG as neutral. (It's probably part of the NBC ethics since NBC is not cable and subject to FCC restrictions, cable is not) Some journalists aren't even registered to vote.

Anyway, even if a journalist is hated, well they did do a job on Charlie Kirk. He was sort of a journalist. Still, he wasn't kidnapped for ranson. He was brutally murdered by someone who became angry over his influence. (Rage was the motive, not money)


Rich and famous would be someone like Brad Pitt or the head of a huge company or something. I remember when that stalker killed the actress from my Sister Sam. (Money wasn't the motive) I just don't see journalists as "Rich". Yes. well off, but just not rich enough to go through all this trouble.

I could still see it being someone who is obsessed with/wants attention from/wants to hurt or inflict pain on SG. They are local to Tucson and can't reach SG in New York, so they decide to target her family. Maybe they've been stalking both her sister and her mother for a while now. They pick last weekend ahead of SG leaving for Italy and abduct NG.

Sending ransom notes to TMZ ensures maximum publicity of SG's pain. If they really wanted money, they would've contacted her privately and told her not to involve LE. But the way they went about it (TMZ and two local stations) feels like the person wants attention that they can watch on TV and they also want SG to make videos pleading for them to let NG go. It's not really about money--its about spectacle and control and inflicting pain on a person they've become fixated on (the reason could be quasi-political, romantic, or some kind of delusion we couldn't guess).

 

[Walela]

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

So.... SG could have been referring to a birthday celebration when she used the phrase "celebrate with her" in the message. Makes sense.

 

[ttjo]

I thought the world’s "this" refers to having her back. (Having her back is the only way we will have peace.)

or that paying the ransom and doing everything they can will give them peace of mind? (no regret)
This thread moves so fast someone may have already said this.

 

[mikeshanty]

So.... SG could have been referring to a birthday celebration when she used the phrase "celebrate with her" in the message. Makes sense.

Yeh, and maybe part of the ransom communication referred to someone specific about what NG did for her birthday or something.

 

[Vegasgrl]

You don’t send a ransom days after the fact and add that you won’t hear from them again. It makes no sense. A robbery gone wrong doesn’t make sense as nothing, that we know of, was taken. Even if you had a serial killer, they’re not going to take the body with them.

add that you won't hear from them again - then hear from them again

 

[Cipher Vale]

So.... SG could have been referring to a birthday celebration when she used the phrase "celebrate with her" in the message. Makes sense.

Or celebrating her release

 

[sony12]

Is there a good chance at this point they never identify any suspects or make any arrests for this?

 

[BrittMontero]

You don’t send a ransom days after the fact and add that you won’t hear from them again. It makes no sense. A robbery gone wrong doesn’t make sense as nothing, that we know of, was taken. Even if you had a serial killer, they’re not going to take the body with them.

Exactly. It’s like the JonBenet case. Nothing makes sense.

Why wouldn’t kidnappers make a quick and easy to fulfill demand? With a short deadline.

Giving a week+ to fulfill a digital ransom is just nonsensical.

Anyone with SG’s wealth and connections can rustle up millions of dollars within hours. Financial institutions would be quick to advance the money.

 

[DS2021]

Is there a good chance at this point they never identify any suspects or make any arrests for this?

I think its far too early to say that

 

[SMK777]

Is there a good chance at this point they never identify any suspects or make any arrests for this?

I sure hope not.
It's something to worry about, though.

 

[shonyakay]

Is there a good chance at this point they never identify any suspects or make any arrests for this?

Like the DB Cooper case? I certainly hope not.

 

[SRWCF]

You don’t send a ransom days after the fact and add that you won’t hear from them again. It makes no sense. A robbery gone wrong doesn’t make sense as nothing, that we know of, was taken. Even if you had a serial killer, they’re not going to take the body with them.

I'm with you about the ransom appearing days later. I don't think we know if an initial ransom was sent immediately to the family, or not. DEVIL'S ADVOCATE: Maybe the kidnappers didn't like the fact that LE hadn't announced an original ransom, so they figured they'd go through TMZ, knowing they'd probably release it to the public.

I'm still entirely baffled why people believe it could all be a hoax. NG was obviously taken from her home - call it what you want, a kidnapping or abduction. If LE thought they were dealing with a homicide, they definitely wouldn't have NG's kids pleading for her return on national television all these days later. Regardless whether NG is alive or not (I hope the latter isn't the case), it would be difficult for kidnappers to care for an immobile, 84-year old woman with a pacemaker, in need of daily medication. You know what else would be difficult? Removing a body from her home, then trying to find a place to hide it.

FWIW, I am totally stumped.

 

[shadowsc]

don't you think that would have been one of the first people they interviewed? and that it hasn't been clarified because it's not relevant? if it was important to the case, it would be one of the easiest leads to follow and we wouldn't be nine days into this case with three video pleas to a kidnapper and billboards all over the southwest.

It may not be complicated at all. But because there are two different versions out there (Version 1: Sheriff, first press conference saying, "Someone didn't see her at church and called the family" and the NY Times saying, "Someone didn't see her in a church pew and said hey, where's mom, we better call her family" and Version 2: The Daily Mail and also Brian Entin's producers saying the church pastor said Nancy hasn't been in person since Covid), it keeps circulating here.

Every 20 pages someone asks, "Wait, I thought she didn't go in person??" "The NY Times said she wasn't in a pew" "The hoax ransom guy's criminal complaint says a family at church told the family" "The Daily Mail says she hasn't been attending church in person since Covid." "Brian Entin's producers said the pastor told him directly." And everyone is correct, and even quotes a credible source. It may make zero difference to the case and be of zero relevance. It's just causing constant rehashing here, because information is conflicting.