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

[Alxx108]

Google Trends and Google Analytics are not the same thing. Google Analytics is not relevant here (it can't be used for this). People are using Google Trends, which is designed to show how the popularity of common search terms varies over time. To my knowledge (MOO, possibly out of date information disclaimers apply), it operates on a sample of search traffic rather than all traffic. For example (completely making up the number here), they might decide that they only need to look at 1% of search traffic to generate trends, because any sufficiently popular search term will still be in those millions of searches, in the right proportions compared to other popular search terms. But if you have an uncommon search term, it's possible or even likely that it won't show up at all in that 1% slice. And maybe it does show in the next 1% slice and it looks like suddenly there's a spike in traffic, when it was roughly the same.

I would not expect the problem to be that it shows searches that didn't happen. I expect that it will miss searches that did happen, but potentially inconsistently, which can show up as spikes and valleys that don't actually exist.

It's also possible that some search term normalization happens (things like spell correction, clustering of similar search terms, etc.) which might cause searches to show up in a trend when you might not expect them to.

Finally, the geolocation stuff is really iffy at small numbers. If all of the searches in that "spike" come from one user who happens to be using a VPN, it's going to be way wrong. This effect generally will cancel out on a common search term with millions of searches.

Bottom line really, without needing to know any technical details of how this works, is that it's not what Google Trends was designed for. Just like any other time we're using something in a way other than what it was designed for, the results might not be what we hope.

JMO, based on a combination of experience, knowledge, and educated guesses. There may be mistakes here. Trust at your own risk.

Thank you for taking the time to respond with such helpful detail!

I wonder if something as simple as SG and NG being clustered together could be a partial explanation for the spikes showing for NG. I'd find it much less surprising for there to be spikes in searches for SG than NG.

 

[Sakura2Sophia4Lucia]

Savannah did a whole show ( or series?) about her mother and her life growing up in Tucson.
It was in Nov 2025, so only a couple of months ago. Just an idea why people would research her.

JMO

Very interesting that SG recently - just a few months ago - did a whole show about NG and her life growing up in Tucson. Seems people might research her, just on the basis of that show or series. Also, if somebody wanted to get to SG, it would be clear that she was quite close with NG and that could have set something in motion.

MOO

 

[LRinCA]

I 've read hundreds of posts on X , where one {group} says she deserves all of this . I was flabbergasted , yet not .
What evil times we live in.
BRING NANCY HOME !!

I have done searches on the name GUTHRIE on X/Twitter and have been dismayed by what I've seen. In the so-called old days of Twitter you could search a name or word and then ask for results from verified accounts. Back then the verified accounts were mostly all news accounts. Unfortunately, everything comes up in a search and you can't drill down on actual news versus what I can only personify as hate posts. Usually I just exit the search because it's not worth the agita.

MOO/JMO

 

[PCHS]

“The FBI asked Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos for physical evidence in the case, including a glove and DNA from the home of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, to be processed at the FBI's national crime laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, but Nanos has insisted instead on using a private lab in Florida," the official said.

According to the source, the FBI will likely need to re-test the evidence themselves

Nancy Guthrie disappearance: FBI reveals description of suspect and backpack he was wearing

FBI releases suspect description in Nancy Guthrie case, ups reward to $100K as agents review more than 13,000 tips.

www.foxnews.com

Why? If this is a well regarded lab?

 

[Aquabot13]

The military helicopters could be training. I live a few hours from Fort Rucker and close to Fort Benning. Fort Rucker almost always has training helicopters in the area. Just my opinion based on life experience

I'm too far behind to contribute much, but there's a subreddit for FlightRadar24 that usually has answers to weird military flight paths. Probably not an approved source, per se, but they seem to know what's going on/what's otherwise unexplained by normal military exercises.

MOO

 

[ab01]

SBM. This is one of the theories I've been operating under since LE started spending so much time in AG/TCs neighborhood. Searching, talking to neighbors, asking for video. I think they're trying to pinpoint the movement of cars that night. There's a reason they are so hyper focused on that street and the roads in between. There's also a reason they alerted AB so early. There's something wrong with the initial story. As for why you would move a body? You were the last one to see that person and the first one LE is going to come looking for. People kill their spouses at home all the time and remove their bodies and claim they've "gone missing". We've seen that a hundred times. IMO

I think you are likely correct in thinking there was likely some inconsistency in the initial story. Enough to raise suspicion but so far haven’t been able to piece it together.

 

[Friday Fan]

I don't think anybody here is going to have conclusive info, but a few points to keep in mind:

1. NG was on the Today show with SG in November, so millions of people saw her and learned about her there. It's not surprising if some wanted to learn more.
2. There is an author with the same name who probably gets some search traffic.
3. Geolocating the person doing a search query is inexact at the best times, and can be totally off if they are using a VPN or other privacy-protection measures.
4. As I mentioned earlier, Google Trends is not accurate for exact counts of searches, or for information about low-volume searches. Its intended purpose is for showing trends in popularity of relatively common/popular search terms. I would be cautious about drawing conclusions from data about uncommon searches (especially things like "there were no searches before date X, and suddenly people are searching it!")

JMO, YMMV, MOO, IMHO, all the things

Yeah, I got the impression it was more of a marketing strategy tool when I took it for a spin this afternoon.

 

[PCHS]

Absolutely!!! No question about it.

Agreed.

 

[HanniBJeter]

Trump never forgets....

how many times do you need to be told?….

 

[LRinCA]

In 2020! That was almost six years ago!!!

I was responding to what someone else mentioned regarding an exchange.

 

[SUNchips]

Now, that makes a lot of sense. Most households in the area have an ATV, it is a popular outdoor activity in the area.

Not really, I only can think of one person I know living in Tucson who owns an ATV

 

[PCHS]

Is that the blue Subaru crosstrek they are referring to?

NG owned a blue Subaru ...I think they said they were looking for a truck not a blue subaru

 

[simlyme]

I have done searches on the name GUTHRIE on X/Twitter and have been dismayed by what I've seen. In the so-called old days of Twitter you could search a name or word and then ask for results from verified accounts. Back then the verified accounts were mostly all news accounts. Unfortunately, everything comes up in a search and you can't drill down on actual news versus what I can only personify as hate posts. Usually I just exit the search because it's not worth the agita.

MOO/JMO

The very sad part is that it's there and when you read it ,it's a WHAT? moment.

 

[britinsussex]

Woefully behind, but I did have a comment. I feel very differently about the FBI and its abilities now than I did in the not so distant past. Perhaps, there was actual reasons behind these decisions, and perhaps, all the negative “leaks” about the Sheriff are being promoted by an overly self-promoting and not so trustworthy current FBI

Just as a side note. My uncle is a retired special agent. He often speaks about how the agency became politically weaponised and how this affected the trust of the citizens it serves. jmoo

 

[Friday Fan]

I'm too far behind to contribute much, but there's a subreddit for FlightRadar24 that usually has answers to weird military flight paths. Probably not an approved source, per se, but they seem to know what's going on/what's otherwise unexplained by normal military exercises.

MOO

I'm pretty sure it's border patrol because they had the same flight path last night. (Don't know what they will find at the top of a mountain, but who knows? Maybe there are secret hideaways??? )

US Army helicopters are very obviously doing border surveillance in Texas. Their flightpaths are competely parallel to the border.

 

[nightowl2728]

The military helicopters could be training. I live a few hours from Fort Rucker and close to Fort Benning. Fort Rucker almost always has training helicopters in the area. Just my opinion based on life experience

I'm too far behind to contribute much, but there's a subreddit for FlightRadar24 that usually has answers to weird military flight paths. Probably not an approved source, per se, but they seem to know what's going on/what's otherwise unexplained by normal military exercises.

MOO

Thanks I should check that out. These didn't take off from a base but rather a public airpark just northwest of Tucson and all were doing similar circling mountains/old mines/canyons/playas around Tucson, not near the border or another base. My hope is that they were searching for Nancy! But not really any way of knowing.

 

[PaulaDC]

If the found glove is the perp's, looks likely it was tossed out from the passenger side. Maybe someone else was driving?

I toss my banana peel out the passenger side when I drive because the woods are on that side. Just saying.....

 

[Desperate Howswif Detec]

Genetic genealogy is a very slow process. Can take months. Or longer.

If they allowed those of us Experienced genetic genealogist’s to volunteer , after they uploaded the DNA we all could make backwards family trees and come up with 1-10 possible suspects to go get their thrown away cups, napkins etc. I do this for adoptees who want to know who their birth parents are and I have not had one I did not solve. It’s taken me anywhere from a couple days to a month or two with only ONE case talking me 10 months. But i eventually got it! I’ve offered to volunteer my services for cases such as these and for cold cases but no takers! Go figure! Btw we are a first responder family and know how private these searches need to be, yet no department has taken our offer!

 

[Friday Fan]

Thanks I should check that out. These didn't take off from a base but rather a public airpark just northwest of Tucson and all were doing similar what looks like "searches" circling mountains/old mines/canyons/playas around Tucson, not near the border or another base. My hope is that they were searching for Nancy! But not really any way of knowing.

BP is taking off from public airports in South Texas and using army helicpoters.

I don't think BP are searching for Nancy in those mountains.

I asked that question the other night. Her body would not radiate enough heat.
Day would be better for searching for Nancy because they would rely on visual of someone who isn't very mobile.

BP does alot of night time stuff because that's when there is more movement and activity.

 

[auburnmomof2]

Anyone else just feeling extra on edge because of this case? I live in a neighborhood where the houses are so close I can literally hear the kids playing inside the house nextdoor from inside my house. Safe street, safe neighborhood. But my dog just started barking from inside and it literally made me feel more panicked than usual. It was our neighborhood suburban raccoons wandering from there nest in the tree line lol.
I can't even imagine how Nancy's family and community feel though Praying for safety for each of you and for the hearts of criminals to be softened and for people to genuinely value the lives of others.
In the midst of all the sleuthing, we must never lose sight of the humanity of everyone.