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

[Ur728]

I think it was because they were using layers of gloves. May have made it a bit more difficult for them to fully use their hands.

They used their left hand without a problem.

 

[ogold45]

Exactly, and if you watch all of the videos, that hand, being the right hand, stays in one position for the most part. There's little movement.

Haven't noticed that, I'll take a look again.

 

[DizzyB]

This is what has been on my mind when seeing the video. It was odd, to me, the way he covered the camera lens. You would think you would just use your palm or fingers. However, if he was in mid knock then the strange way he blocked does make sense. If you watch the video it really does seem he was going for the door, looking to the left of it first (looking through the sidelight?). He then raises his hand as if to knock (actually pound) on the door then seems to notice the camera. He actually steps to his right. After covering the camera you can see his left hand do something. At first his left hand is wide as if to grab the doorbell then changes his mind and it really looks like he presses the doorbell. That doesn't make sense. Its between eight and ten seconds of the video released. His left hand presses on something below the lens. The doorknob is clearly seen and not what he is touching.

For some reason after manipulating the doorbell he decides to turn around and find the plant etc.. Unfortunately we don't have video if the camera comes off while the he is holding the plant over it or something else happens. Not having sound also leaves a gap in possibly knowing what is going on. Of course the intention of the released portion of the video was possible recognition of the person and not what he is doing.

It did look like like he first was reaching above the camera, maybe to knock on the glass to someone already inside? I think the doorbell is lower and to the right.
The timeline stated the camera “disconnected” at 1:47 am. Software detected a person at 2:12 am, “no video available, no subscription”. Could the lantana man footage be the recovered 2:12 footage, where the perpetrator believed the camera had already been disconnected? Maybe the filming light turned on at that point and he realized he had a problem. Maybe he then decided to remove the camera , thinking that there would be no cloud footage based available.

 

[tkcrockett]

I’ll add a couple more things that could be on the mat, which might make a good fiber trap:

Fibers from clothing, allowing for a more definitive identification of the brand.

Fibers from vehicle carpeting, allowing for a narrowing down of models, and matching to a suspect’s vehicle should one be suspected.

Shoe prints

 

[joe jones]

I’ll add a couple more things that could be on the mat, which might make a good fiber trap:

Fibers from clothing, allowing for a more definitive identification of the brand.

Fibers from vehicle carpeting, allowing for a narrowing down of models, and matching to a suspect’s vehicle should one be suspected.

but all that evidence is now contaminated as so many people went into crime scene before mat was collected

 

[Auburnlucky7]

It's a shame that this even has to be questioned, as it was from the beginning a high profile homicide investigation.

I don't believe/recall them saying from the beginning it was a homicide investigation. I thought it was said they brought in the homicide detectives because of the scene they found and knew it to be a much more complicated crime and homicide had more experience with that vs a person wandering off (paraphrasing here). In the beginning it was not treated as a homicide. I may be misremembering that so apologies if I'm wrong.

 

[HoveringWombats]

I couldn't figure out which post to reply to because there have been a few that touched on aspects of this, so I will just start clean... Only my opinions in this post from here forward.

If we're talking about (unproven) theories that the ransom note came from the same party or parties who are seen on camera, I really think that we shouldn't over-index on the "bitcoin" aspect of this whole thing.

Two reasons:

First, I fundamentally disagree that the bitcoin wallet address in the ransom note is a sign of sophistication. I think we (mostly) all agree that it would take sophistication to successfully pull of a bitcoin ransom, but that is not what has happened here. I personally find it entirely plausible that someone basically googled how to get money anonymously, saw "bitcoin" referenced, learned just enough to create a wallet, and used that in the letter. And similarly Googled how to hide their origin on the internet, and used one of those more shady VPN services or Tor (which may not obscure the origin forever, but can make it take much longer to track down).

Maybe they are one of those people who are just good at getting out of sticky situations, so they assume that they'll be able to successfully deal with laundering the bitcoin later (probably wrong if they don't already know how to do it). Or maybe they're too clueless to even know that that will be an issue. Maybe they haven't given it any thought at all.

I just don't think that we can conclude that the person who wrote those letters knows what they are doing technically, because the only things they have demonstrated so far are things that many if not most people could do after a bit of googling. The hard parts (laundering the bitcoin, and keeping the internet origin hidden forever) are not things that they have demonstrated an ability to do yet. Time will tell, I suppose.

Second, even if we do assume that the person who wrote the notes is technically sophisticated, I don't really think that says much about their skills in terms of real-world breaking and entering and kidnapping. It's a trope at this point that people who are "good at computers" are geniuses, but as someone who IS good at computers, I assure you that there are countless things that I am an absolute idiot at. Technology is just a skill (or talent, if you want) like any other, and I don't think that being good at it really has any correlation with being good at other stuff.

Yeah, you could argue that being technical implies being detail-oriented, and you could say that the person on camera doesn't appear to be detail-oriented. But I'm not really sure the generalization applies. I think of myself as a detail-oriented person (maybe not demonstrated by the number of mistakes and typos I make here while trying to keep up with the thread...), and I'm pretty sure that if I tried to pull off something like this, there would be many "real world" considerations I didn't think of until I encountered them in the wild.

Anyway, all that to say, I don't think that we can conclude that the person on the camera is not the person who wrote the notes simply based on any assumption of sophistication either technically or real-world criminally.

I'm not trying to say "it could be anyone!!!" (has anyone heard if I have been cleared yet?!) but I just don't want us to incorrectly narrow our profile of who it could be based on assumptions that may not hold up.

And, just to state it plainly: I am not convinced that the ransom note writer and the person on camera are in any way related. I'm just saying that I don't think the evidence we have disproves it conclusively, so we shouldn't close that door completely.

All JMO of course.

 

[Ur728]

I keep thinking about how the perp didn't cover the camera with an open hand and used a fist. I watched the videos several times and wondered whether they don't have arthritis, a disability, or an illness that prevents them from fully opening their hand. JMO

Quoting myself to add this link: https://www.webmd.com/brain/upper-limb-spasticity
It’s possible the person has something like this. JMO

 

[maskedwoman]

Does anyone have any info on why Nancy’s name would have been searched so many times before the incident - from places outside of her state? I am not seeing a lot of info about this and … idk it seems kind of important? Would love to hear your thoughts!

It's hard to say without knowing exactly how the search was structured. I read somewhere that there is a Nancy Guthrie that is an author. She lives in another area of the country. I don't recall seeing whether the original search history search included just NG's name, or whether it included SG or Tucson, etc., so we can't say for sure which NG that January search was about.

 

[merrymary]

I keep thinking about how the perp didn't cover the camera with an open hand and used a fist. I watched the videos several times and wondered whether they don't have arthritis, a disability, or an illness that prevents them from fully opening their hand. JMO

Wearing more than one pair of gloves could explain this

 

[Curiousobserver]

This is what has been on my mind when seeing the video. It was odd, to me, the way he covered the camera lens. You would think you would just use your palm or fingers. However, if he was in mid knock then the strange way he blocked does make sense. If you watch the video it really does seem he was going for the door, looking to the left of it first (looking through the sidelight?). He then raises his hand as if to knock (actually pound) on the door then seems to notice the camera. He actually steps to his right. After covering the camera you can see his left hand do something. At first his left hand is wide as if to grab the doorbell then changes his mind and it really looks like he presses the doorbell. That doesn't make sense. Its between eight and ten seconds of the video released. His left hand presses on something below the lens. The doorknob is clearly seen and not what he is touching.

For some reason after manipulating the doorbell he decides to turn around and find the plant etc.. Unfortunately we don't have video if the camera comes off while the he is holding the plant over it or something else happens. Not having sound also leaves a gap in possibly knowing what is going on. Of course the intention of the released portion of the video was possible recognition of the person and not what he is doing.

Same here- what an odd way to block the camera. I think 9/10 someone would put their whole hand over it, and the tenth time put their finger over it.

 

[shonyakay]

If you watch the video it really does seem he was going for the door, looking to the left of it first (looking through the sidelight?). He then raises his hand as if to knock (actually pound) on the door then seems to notice the camera. He actually steps to his right.

Snipped by me - This poster made a very interesting observation. It does look like the man appears to make a fist to possibly knock / bang on Nancy's door before honing in on the camera.

 

[Mistermagoo]

LE keeps circling back to a certain family members home which, to me, says they are suspicious of something. Maybe neither one is mask guy, but they paid a 3rd person. LE is trying to figure out who that 3rd person is because that’s the weakest link to this whole situation.

THIS. Just my own 2 cents on this. I have always said to myself while watching true crime stuff that I understand that family members are looked at first, there is a reason for that. But if I truly did not do anything wrong, I would be screaming from a mountain top to get your investigation with me over and use your resources to go find my loved one. I would be telling everybody that I am innocent and have nothing to hide, there certainly is not a shortage of media around to get that word out. Again, that is just what I would do.

 

[joe jones]

I also think mouth torch would be more of a burglar tool than a kidnapper, a headtorch would have been a better choice, as you need never touch it or remove it, a mouth torch is a fountain of DNA and he had to take it out of his mouth at some point, again to me points to a burglar/attack/murder type crime, who may have been on drugs/drink as I previously posted,

IMO his DNA is in that house in the form of saliva from his mouth torch, but whether it was able to be seen or to have been collected is a different issue

 

[NJLefe]

Just some thoughts to share…

Early on the sheriff said NG did not walk out of that house and he said something about her being abducted from her sleep/bed. He has since walked back those comments and said he didn’t mean them literally but I think they were probably a bit close to the truth. He also called in homicide early on so that tells me perhaps there was a bit more blood than has been stated. I think NG was attacked in her bed. I can’t say she was actually killed there, but I think she was knocked out at the very least and I think she was then wrapped in a blanket and carried out. (They have not stated what her bed looked like or if any bedding was missing ) I also think she may have been wearing her Apple Watch and the perp took it off so her location wouldn’t be tracked. People typically keep an Apple Watch next to the bed or on their wrist while sleeping. Since the ransom note mentions the Apple Watch is in a different or unexpected location I think it was removed prior to her exiting the house.

Lastly regarding the SIL, I go back and forth as to his involvement- leaning more towards not involved now. But AB may be correct that he is “primary suspect “ and that may be part of the problem with this investigation thus far. LE may have tunnel vision when it comes to him/family and they aren’t looking at other possibilities. It feels they have spent a lot of time investigating AG/TC house . And I thought it must mean they have leads, but it could be because they didn’t know where else to look and became too focused on the family to expand the scope.

All just my opinion.

 

[penguinface]

I believe the disconnection of the camera at 1:47 am is key here and why the police have not officially cleared the family. Was it disconnected via an app? Who was in a position/had the credentials to do that?

If the perp we saw on the video looked surprised, maybe it was not because he didn't expect the camera, but because the LIGHT was still on (because of the battery backup.) It was SUPPOSED to be off. And he got flustered.

In my opinion, someone had the credentials to disable the system - and did - and that's one avenue the investigators are pursuing. MOO

I don’t think you’d necessarily need the credentials if you’re armed, look terrifying and can say “Unlock your phone or else..” to an elderly woman!

JMO

 

[SeattleStew]

Thinking just because they have DNA doesn't mean they will get a match right away. Genetic genealogy may be needed to identify the DNA, which can take days or longer, and certain ethnic populations can be really really hard to track because DNA testing for genealogical reasons is fairly uncommon and underrepresented. IMO.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2022313869637517646

 

[acutename]

Many of us probably disagree with being armed inside our homes and that's ok, no need to debate. That being said, I think it is wise to own a firearm, be trained to use it if and only if needed, and encourage our family members to do the same. I'm not comfortable around firearms because I'm not trained. However my young adult daughter is and she carries.
If I were comfortable and trained and was met with an intruder like this case, I would have no problem protecting myself.
Just my opinion and thoughts

I doubt that people alone in their home lock their bedroom doors but maybe that in itself would slow down an intruder and provide time to make a call...also- did NG have hearing aids? If you go to sleep and can't hear- not good. And lastly, shouldn't there be an alarm or notice if flood lights are broken? Could have been done on another occasion... curious if these intruders(s) were at this property more than once though the doorbell guy did not seem to know that the doorbell cam was there- and prior to the video release, no one knew that he handled the lantana but WSers were asking about the broken vegetation from day 1.

 

[nerosleuth]

Seems to me - and I know nothing- that the camera porch guy may not have been trying to get in the house. Perhaps two bad guys are involved. Both, perhaps, went in back and did whatever they did in the house. In my scenario, porch guy came out to front to meet bad guy 2 and help remove Nancy from the house. Forgot the camera was there and then had to deal with it. Backpack could be full of “stuff” from inside - not full of burglary/kidnap tools. Thoughts?

My current thinking is that 2 to 4 people were involved in committing this crime at NG's home.

I'm thinking a getaway driver acting as a lookout, the camera porch guy, and two other people that were inside NG's house.

Was someone trying to frighten NG into giving up her homestead and move? Or was it a home invasion and kidnapping situation that went horribly wrong unexpectedly?

 

[girlhasnoname]

Ć

Not Dove Mountain. She’s in the Catalina Foothills.

Thanks, so the Santa Catalina Mountains (South) not the Tortolita Mountains (North) of Tucson.