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

[Cardgame]

There are some serial killer kidnappers, but your overall point is valid. The only distinction here that makes me think that a kidnapping for ransom is a real possibility is simply the fact that there is a celebrity involved who has the means to pay a sizable ransom. Said celebrity is also viewed as attractive and likeable by many, so a deranged person could certainly plot and scheme against her as some kind of attention-seeking exercise that only he/she understands.

One also has to consider that an elaborate kidnapping/ransom scheme with proxy IPs and cryptocurrencies as a diversion tactic by someone in the immediate family is as unlikely as an actual kidnapping/ransom. An opportunist could insert themselves into the fold, as we have seen in a subsequent arrest, but the FBI isn't going to use a grief-stricken family as bait to catch a suspected opportunist/extortionist. There had to be compelling information in those demands that lead not just the FBI, but the family, into believing that they were authentic. Grieving family members, particularly ones with infinite media exposure at their disposal, aren't just going to focus all of their resources and efforts on a hail Mary. And it's not a hail Mary when the FBI is clearly involved in the family's coordination and messaging to this purported kidnapper.

JMO

The FBI couldn't ask the family to do it, but the family could decide to do it themselves in order to help the FBI catch the hoaxer.

The siblings must be feeling very angry and extremely powerless, maybe it's the one thing they feel like they can do to actually be helpful!

 

[SRWCF]

Savannah was remarkably composed there, and still optimistic that her mom is alive.

She had on her professional hat this time. She means business.

 

[shonyakay]

Interesting. Appealing to the public to find her mother rather than appealing to the "kidnappers" to return her.

I'm sorry but that seems sus

 

[TheDinks]

For some reason, it appears to me that the family now believe the ransom angle was a big fat hoax...so they now believe it's possible Ms Guthrie is being held somewhere, for some crazy reason. Hope, however small has been returned.

Am sure this has been mentioned but I've only just come online to a short from Brian Entin who said it's his understanding that the 3 hour search/pics at AG's house was consensual (so not under warrant)

 

[Chainspell]

Kind of sounds like to me she doesn't think paying the ransom has much of a chance of bringing Nancy back. Will be interesting to see what happens (or doesn't) to the wallet after 5pm. Pretty safe to guess TMZ will report on it. JMO.

 

[Charlot123]

All of them staying together, if true, is either a sign that one (or two) of those folks that some suspect are involved aren't involved at all, or they are rabidly malignant human beings. Odds are the former.

JMO.

IMO. The sister is “the family”. Maybe AG was the closest to the mom; could she have some own “vulnerability”? Possible.

So the siblings do it as they think their mother would have wanted it to be.

SIL is not a family, so he is cut off. (Or maybe he had some bad friends on the side, or maybe someone else, who knows?)

I understand it like: AG is the victim now, too. The SIL can still be discussed. NG, more likely, is gone. This is what I feel. I see grief, not anxiety. At best, SG is not sure.

JMO.

I hope they’ll find their mom, how and when, we don’t know. And may it be the learning story about the plight of aging. Maybe we’ll learn to love our parents as we love our kids?

Please correct me if I interpreted it wrong.

I am very sorry for the children of NG. It is their only parent.

 

[mikeshanty]

I feel this is a genuine appeal to be honest. I am not sure law enforcement would allow SG to go on her Instagram and make a fake national appeal for people to report to law enforcement as a means to "throw off" the perp. It would potentially clog up resources and lead to false reports. I just don't know.

 

[Diddian]

Savannah was remarkably composed there, and still optimistic that her mom is alive.

Given that she is reportedly quite religious, it is hard to discern sometimes whether she is speaking of her mother in a spiritual sense.

Regardless, she certainly wants her mother returned in whatever condition she is in.

I hope that happens but I fear that it will first require a voluntary admission/confession and/or involuntary capture/arrest and might even then be denied because NG's body is evidence of exactly what she suffered and right now the perpetrator has the advantage of denying LE that evidence.

 

[Walela]

What would be the reason for the FBI/LE to be at AG”s home two to three times removing items and taking pictures inside the house if they’re not involved?

Maybe some of the items taken were business related. We don't know how much and in what way AG helped her mom. For all we know she could have kept the records of who was hired to do maintenance, cleaning, etc. or haircut appointments, Mani/Pedi appointments, Dr appointments, or maybe even NG's address book. Stuff like that could help LE figure out just who was in the innermost outer circle. Which ones were current and which ones were in the recent past. She may have had bank records or tax records. She may have paid the bills for her. I realize that it's been noted that NG is sharp as a tack but that doesn't necessarily mean she enjoyed taking care of the business end of keeping a large home clean and in good working order or haggling with roofing contractors or electricians. If it were me and I had a child doing those things for me, I'd be thrilled to just enjoy myself.

 

[abanddb123]

I have a question—why would the people wanting the ransom tell the Sibs that NG was no longer alive? And still demand the ransom. I’d think by admitting that she’s deceased that the ransomer just slammed shut any hope of getting a ransom. Now I heard SGs reply that they will pay for a body - is essentially what she said. I just think admitting she’s no longer alive would decrease your chance of getting any money. That’s just my thought anyway

She never said she would pay for the body. It's how some interpret

 

[Chrissymick]

or do more of whatever they were doing) while my mom was dozing

It hasn’t been paid yet, as far as we know.

TMZ knows the account number, and they will almost certainly report if money enters that account.

Or doesn’t by the deadline…

One t

Transcript:

"Hi there everybody. Um, I wanted to come on and just share a few thoughts as we enter into another week of this nightmare. Um, I just want to say first of all thank you so much for all of the prayers and the love that we have felt, my sister and brother and I. And that our mom has felt. Because we believe that somehow, some way she is feeling these prayers and that God is lifting her even in this moment and in this darkest place.

We believe our mom is still out there. We need your help. Law enforcement is working tirelessly, around the clock, trying to bring her home, trying to find her. She was taken and we don't know where. And we need your help. So I'm coming on just to ask you not just for your prayers but no matter where you are, even if you're far from Tucson, if you see anything, if you hear anything, if there's anything at all that seems strange to you, that you report to law enforcement. We are at an hour of desperation. And we need your help."

One thing that seems very clear from this video: it would be pointless to post something like this - even as a diversion - if police were closing in on your family members as murder suspects.

 

[moonglow123]

It could be a bait and switch. These videos are all quite strange.

Very true. I really don't know what to think anymore. Echoing that this is one of the strangest and most baffling cases in recent memory.

I do think 5pm is a breaking point. If it's not paid, we'll know LE and the family are leaning towards it being a hoax or coverup or something else going on. All so bizarre. Heartbreaking for the family to be toyed with like this.

 

[ab01]

This was a public plea for information.

Totally different from the previous videos

 

[stmichael]

and Now I am circling back to my initial thinking. repairmen, someone delivering or installing something. Who gathered just enough intel on their visit(s) to the property to case the home.

Yes, this theory was always out there. As a homeowner I see a lot of upkeep with NG house (the pool, etc.) I suppose her nearby family could help but we know she did have some help. Her clean roofs seen in the drone footage were recently res-surfaced as explained by one interviewed neighbor, and surely she had more people coming and going.

On the security side, it was very vulnerable with DIY/residential aspect and the cameras IIRC were more for "wildlife" watching rather than security. A few Nest cams and a single Ring doorbell cam and a home depot metal security door ain't it. Couple that with Tuscon's low light ordinance (a favorable component to predators--I have flood lights on my property, skells like the shadow of the night), and the houses being nestled back with no major sights of line to neighbors, etc. Any worker spending an hour on the property would figure all this out and see the vulnerability of a medically compromise elderly lady living there alone.

Now AG and the SIL surely come and go and are also very familiar w/ the property and probably which cams are charged, which work, the lapsed sub service etc. The fact that they were the last ones to spend time w/ her alone still leaves them on my big board.

 

[Czechgirl]

and Now I am circling back to my initial thinking. repairmen, someone delivering or installing something. Who gathered just enough intel on their visit(s) to the property to case the home.

I can't help but think if someone were in her home(repairman)she'd have photos of her and Savannah. Or all a staff person would need to do is share that info with the wrong person. I know we look at the person who last saw her or discovered her missing and I understand that. But there were places for an unknown someone to hide and wait...
I don't want it to be family.

 

[Lalalacasbah]

SG sounds utterly desperate in her post Not her tone of voice, just what she's asking for.

Asking anyone, anywhere for any scrap of info they might have to help in this. But is she really just asking just anyone? Or someone in particular.

Anyone else feel this sounds a bit personal like she's addressing someone? Using the word 'you' a lot. Maybe FBI think there's an accomplice or more than one person involved? Is SG trying to get through to someone involved?

 

[No_Stone_Unturned]

SG on TMZ;

Savannah Guthrie Believes Mother Nancy Is Still Alive, 'We Need Your Help'

Savannah Guthrie and her family are not giving up hope Nancy Guthrie is alive ... but she's desperately asking for the public's help in locating their mother.

www.tmz.com

 

[Cardgame]

BBM

It was not days, was it? It was the next day (reported missing Sunday, ransom note sent to TV station Monday). At the latest, because we have no way of knowing if it was sent some other way before they sent it to media. It was two days before it went to TMZ, which is when we heard about it, but that was not the initial time it was sent.

Sources:

Overall timeline - A timeline of the disappearance of and search for Nancy Guthrie
Additional detail on ransom letter timing - What we know about the ransom notes in the Nancy Guthrie case

If this was my email, and this isn't a joke although it's sounds like one, I would never joke about this, but if this happened to me the email would have a high chance of going into my spam folder.

Especially if it came from a weird encrypted email address with numbers and letters etc.

And since no one would be expecting a ransom note via email, the family may not have seen it until the media became aware of it.

 

[dogmom805]

One t

One thing that seems very clear from this video: it would be pointless to post something like this - even as a diversion - if police were closing in on your family members as murder suspects.

If the latter statement you mentioned was true, though, I doubt the other family members are in the know and even if they were, I would expect denial.

 

[HoveringWombats]

It is what Sheriff Nanos stated at last Thursday's press conference.

Exact wording from last Thursday's press conference:

"Right now, I have no plans to schedule any further press conferences unless we have some real evidence or something to bring up to you. It's pretty pointless to just keep hounding the same things over and over..." No mention of next Thursday at all. Unless it was earlier and I missed/forgot (I did watch the whole thing live, but obviously a lot has happened since then).

Sorry, I am not at all trying to pick on you!!! Just want to make sure we're not perpetuating misinformation accidentally, so I've been trying to be better about continuing to refer back to the actual sources whenever possible. There's so much info flying around, it's very hard to keep track.

Link to the exact part of the press conference: