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

[EncyclopediaBrownJr]

one of the major factors for me not seeing this as a targeted kidnapping is you would want to keep NG alive and comfortable in order to get your ransom, if targeted you would know what medications she took and you would have taken them with her, would have taken her hearing aids (I haven't heard anything from LE confirming if they were taken with her or left behind),
by not taking her medications you are at risk of her health declining and she may die without her medications, we do not know exactly what she took and how important it was to keep her alive,

Could be kidnapping with intent to murder and not a ransom intent. The ransom letters could be part of a plan to make it look like a classic kidnap for ransom when the intent was something entirely different.

You’re right, if it’s a kidnap for ransom, meds are being taken. Proof of life would have been provided.

If it’s a burglary gone wrong and it’s a stranger, the perpetrators runs off.

If it’s a burglary where the perp is known to Nancy and he realizes she can identify him, he’s taking her out then and there. He’s not taking her with him.

I just think if this guy was working or living with people or had friends, You’d think he’d abruptly leave after following the news and that would lead to somebody calling in with a tip.

There’s still no be on the lookout for this vehicle like in the kohberger case. This guy is/was nearby. IMO.

 

[SlimPickens]

No it doesnt. it doesnt say the FBI TOOK THE LEAD. THEY CAN use their resources when applicable, However. If you can find anywhere that is says the FBI has taken the lead, please advise. moo

A federal warrant confirms federal jurisdiction of a case and subsequent federal administration/facilitation of that case in which the warrant was issued. The Sheriff himself offered that the warrant was regarding the Guthrie kidnapping case.

If federal jurisdiction is asserted and confirmed, as it was here with a federal warrant, then by definition it supersedes any state agency's authority on the same or similar matter. A statement or media declaration isn't necessary to defend my assertion - any high school civics book will do.

Does that mean they aren't working together in much the same fashion? No. It just means they've switched roles, and that state and local authorities are now supporting federal authorities on the evolving nature of this case. If a federal judge issued a warrant and they were looking for Nancy Guthrie, her kidnappers, or signs of her within the execution of that warrant, then federal kidnapping laws have now been deemed germane, have now been applied, and have now assumed jurisdiction in this case.

Can the case go back to a state case? Sure, if the feds ultimately determine that the kidnapping doesn't contain the requisite elements that makes it a federal crime. But as of now they clearly do believe that it does and they have compelling evidence of such, as the federal judge who signed the federal warrant confirmed.

Further, the Sheriff's overnight scheduled press conference being snuffed "at the request of the FBI" pretty much as soon as it was announced is another strong indicator of who is now leading this investigation.

JMO.

 

[GlobeFireCandle]

The article states that .. not me lol. She never collected her own mail either, she had to have help. It points out that her mobility was indeed quite limited. I have had 5 femur surgeries and I can still walked to the mailbox. I just wonder exactly what limited her mobility to the point she could barely walk. Osteoporosis I have but it's treated with infusions, back issues I know are mobility limiting issues.

Has anyone read an articles that stated exactly what her mobility issues were from? age related, a fall, surgeries, etc.

I have not found one yet

Apologies, I read it as your own words!

 

[SMK777]

I have seen quite a few posts through this thread commenting on Nancy’s personality - she was sharp as a tack, she is a feisty lady, nobody’s fool type comments and what a wonderful, lovely person she is. We don’t actually know what she is like as a person, I just find it a bit odd a whole personality is being made up.

I believe most of those statements were taken from articles quoting her family and friends.

 

[jbennett]

They really need to explain themselves , the train of thought they are on, because its making them look incompetent

same

Respectfully, LE do not owe the public any kind of explanation. We have no idea what they are working off of or what led them to treat the situation Friday like they did, nor should we.
I’m sure, besides the family, no one wants to get to the bottom of this more than the officers and agents working nonstop through this mess.

 

[Donswife48]

It was reported strategically for purposes of knowing if she has fallen. Not for security but would know if she fell. I wouldn’t necessarily presume bathroom even though that is a high fall place. I do not have 1 in the bathroom for 90yo mother but more aimed at spaces on floor she might fall. Similar to what’s described.

The Apple watch which NG had, has fall protection. It works well and is reliable. JMO

 

[Napoli]

I think he went cheap because he planned to destroy his costume. jmo

a 1000 dollar Gucci bag and a Walmart pocketbook still serve the same function. To hold a wallet, glasses and car keys. KIDNAPPER COUTURE WAS NOT HIS THING. The price of his gear says nothing to me at all. JMO

 

[SMK777]

And sharp as tack people don’t say “Hey, is that drugs?!” if they happen to see a trunk filled with drug bricks open in the middle of the day.

She wouldn't necessarily have to say anything. Just maybe be caught looking.
Just a thought; it's not my own theory.

 

[birdbox]

The Apple watch which NG had, has fall protection. It works well and is reliable. JMO

Does anyone have any links to articles on location apple watch was found?

 

[m00c0w]

A federal warrant confirms federal jurisdiction of a case and subsequent federal administration/facilitation of that case in which the warrant was issued. The Sheriff himself offered that the warrant was regarding the Guthrie kidnapping case.

If federal jurisdiction is asserted and confirmed, as it was here with a federal warrant, then by definition it supersedes any state agency's authority on the same or similar matter. A statement or media declaration isn't necessary to defend my assertion - any high school civics book will do.

Does that mean they aren't working together in much the same fashion? No. It just means they've switched roles, and that state and local authorities are now supporting federal authorities on the evolving nature of this case. If a federal judge issued a warrant and they were looking for Nancy Guthrie, her kidnappers, or signs of her within the execution of that warrant, then federal kidnapping laws have now been deemed germane, have now been applied, and have now assumed jurisdiction in this case.

Can the case go back to a state case? Sure, if the feds ultimately determine that the kidnapping doesn't contain the requisite elements that make it a federal crime. But as of now they clearly do believe that it does and they have compelling evidence of such, as the federal judge who signed the federal warrant confirmed.

Further, the Sheriff's overnight scheduled press conference being snuffed "at the request of the FBI" pretty much as soon as it was announced is another strong indicator of who is now leading this investigation.

JMO.

This is not necessarily true. FBI can assist locals with violent crime cases when asked, and they can use federal authority when doing so. It’s still a local investigation run by locals with state charges for violation of state crimes, but FBI can run their stuff through fed courts in as much as they’re assisting the investigation.

JMO

 

[densogirl]

I want to make a comment that is MY option only. Mods, feel free to delete if you think i am out of line.

When I saw the statement from the sheriff saying Nancy might not be found “for years”it made my blood boil. Nancy doesn’t have years!!!

Some people are just insane. i mean, who would say that? if i came up missing at my age and i thought the sheriff said that about me and then said he was exhausted I would think he has given up. If I could do so right now, I would grab him by the ear and make him squeal. The nerve of that man!

Constantly putting his foot in his mouth.

 

[BellaToothless]

Sure but they'll capture him approaching the cameras and smashing them and send a person detected motion to their phones before he can disable them (JUST like it did with the Nest cam outside at the front door).

He didn't teleport to right under the cams and start smashing them. You should see and capture his approach from across the room even before the smashing. I believe it infers he evaded motion detection and smashed them but I don't buy that. Again, if these residential cams are not optimized, and motion detection zones are poor (most people don't even configure it in the app) then you'll have blind spots and less than optimal camera detection (which is the downfall of a lot of these DIY systems like Ring, Nest, Simplisafe, etc.)

I think that’s incorrect based on their source and how I read the story and also how I have them set up for 90yo mother. They said they were strategically positioned pointing in a way that they would know if she fell - basic summary. You don’t set them up so they go off every time someone is walking around. I found that out the hard way. And they’re not ring cameras that I have. They’re more directed that I can also manually rotate and it’s also a narrower frame of picture - not the whole room.

 

[Bodhi]

Yes to be clear I was responding to the article itself and not the veracity.

Back in the day everything used to be on dvr recorders and if a convenience store was hit for instance, they'd find the black box of a recorder and rip that out and take it with them. All footage gone. Beautiful thing about cloud based cams like common wifi Ring cams, it that they'll catch the person walking up to the camera and disabling it, so you have footage of them, and know immediately of their presence with a push alert. But you still have to check all your alerts. In my residential system I was getting a lot of deer at that height as "person detected" and started ignoring or downgrading the urgency of it, until one day it was young man in a hoodie doing the petty theft car door thing. So not only do you have to have your detection zones, camera angles, alerts optimized, you have to still pay attention.

I appreciate your insights. As I understand it, that's how security systems are defeated. It's not a failure of the alarm system itself, it's that people become complacent about setting it or change the settings to be less sensitive.

 

[unresolvedmystery]

Does anyone have any links to articles on location apple watch was found?

Nothing confirmed other then in NG house as some ransom demands were said to reference info about it that wasn't known to the public

 

[Tate123]

I have mixed feelings about this sketch.

Obviously, Lois Gibson is amazing, and has an preternatural ability to suss out the human face from almost nothing. She stated she saw the suspect as mid-30s to early 40s. But I feel like the video suspect is younger than portrayed in her sketch, maybe more 20s to early 30s.

Let me blithely contradict someone with decades of expertise here with my weak reasoning.

His movements seem fairly fluid and only slightly stiff, like someone who sits a lot but is young enough to not yet be so tight from the inactivity. Maybe a round of golf here and there.

Compare this to the footage of Michael McKee from the Tepe murder case. I could see he walked like a 35-45 year old (getting stiffer, foot splayed out - like looking in the mirror, minus the murder part).

We don't know if LE has the suspect's DNA. But if they do, and he's not in CODIS, he has not committed a felony in the U.S., and I believe he's a U.S. citizen. It rare to go from no serious criminal history to celebrity kidnapper without a few legal bumps along the way in 4 to 5 decades of life. And that's why I think he younger - and just ramping up.

Since he's not received the money, he's clearly not a criminal mastermind, but he could be a cybercrime wonk. Unfortunately, for him, the cybercrime smarts mean nothing if he wasn't savvy enough to expect to prove evidence of life. This points to the overconfidence of youth and failure to understand other people's needs and desires.

Now, let me make some more wild assumptions based on no facts, knowledge, or expertise whatsoever.

I think the suspect has a white collar job, maybe in tech, and doesn't live far from Nancy. He's from a wealthy family but is a loner. He may have some juvenile records (maybe peeping tom, harassment, stalking), but nothing major since becoming an adult.

He's not "a gun person" based on the holster positioning, or wants us to believe that. Either way, I think he googled his way to "Mexican carry" (which I know it is not; it's appendix carry) to hint at gang or cartel involvement as a racist disguise of sorts. It was entirely for show, but not to scare Nancy in her dark house, who couldn't see it, but for the camera.

I think he could be wearing a bit of makeup, maybe some eye liner, maybe some foundation, maybe fake facial hair.

Since he's a tech guy, he'd know that he'd eventually appear on video salvaged from the Nest backend. But he'd also know it'd take some legal legwork to recover it, which made the discovery feel authentic and like LE has the upper hand. But his little lantana show for the camera was planned. He's confident he won't be identified by video as he feels well out of LE's scope - he ain't no DoorDasher.

I don't think Nancy is alive. I believe she was intentionally attacked and killed the night she disappeared, and the guy who did it is truly sick, but you wouldn't know it if you met him. The suspect will cut his losses on the ransom before risking getting caught. He doesn't need the money. He just likes inflicting maximum pain. However, he does like the attention the spectacle has caused, and may wish to keep that going.

End of drivel.

I love reading others thoughts and reasoning. Good post.

 

[Love Never Fails]

I don't think he actually believes she's alive. But he probably should have kept those thoughts to himself for now about being exhausted and it maybe taking years. It still feels quite early days to be that negative about it possibly taking so long for her to be found.

If he is exhausted then he should go home and take a nap. Let the second in command take over for 8 hours, instead of having pressers with his favorite news station. Better yet, this is his job! So maybe he should retire.

 

[wibbleflea]

Does anyone have any links to articles on location apple watch was found?

If you post a link to the only news site that has reported details, it will get removed. Don’t ask me how I know

 

[su5ie]

Agree and even that is questionable because he may be wearing two masks

Wearing two masks is quite common for burglars . One like a tight ski mask / snood type often worn under a motorcycle helmet and the other a woollen balaclava. It keeps the balaclava in place to prevent slipping over the eyes and or the wool irritating the face

When the balaclava is removed ,the ski type mask remains in place until the perp is well clear as it covers things like hair colour and style and can distort the shape of the face

The feature I do notice is the shape of perps nose . When looking at the eye holes you can see the perp has a wide bridge and it's more prominent on the left side . His nose is not in a ski slope fashion but rather like a boxers nose

So I wonder was it previously broken .

The other feature I notice is even if a moustache is present he doesn't have a pronounced philtrum

If you observe the finger grip over the flowers you will see his real fingers are also narrow jmo

 

[jbennett]

That would imply that she was monitored inside her home..her movements etc. Since a huge amount of falls happen in the bathroom, that would imply she was viewed even while in the bathtub or shower or?? NO ONE HAS EVER SAiD SHE HAD A LIFE ALERT BUTTON SHE WORE., FOR EXAMPLE. That would be much more practical and far less intrusive than 24/7 cameras in her kitchen. Not buying it. HELL, no one was even paying for her Nest camera doorbell subscription! Now, we are supposed to believe she had cameras all over the house recording her every move? no way. MOO

I know of at least several close friends/ family members that had/ have cameras inside the house of an elderly relatives home so they can monitor in case of falls, etc. These were elderly people that did or do not want to give up their independence but also realize the dangers of living alone. And those were people with far less means than the Guthrie family. Also, cameras were only monitored in real time and not recorded. It’s not uncommon at all.

 

[nerosleuth]

Is it possible that they could have gone to Mexico and gotten the needed medication without a prescription?

I like this. Out of the box thinking and gives a glimmer of hope.

Plausible? I have no idea.

You are glass half full in the middle of desert and we need more like you.

Is there even a possibility that she could have been taken to Mexico and is held there?

But to get her to Mexico, the perps are not going to use the normal border crossing.

So how do the perps get her to Mexico? Among the possibilities are:

Using an hidden unknown tunnel at the border.

Crossing into Mexico at a very remote location in the boonies.

Flying on a small passenger aircraft from a small rural airport.

Driving her to the coastal areas of California or Texas and then putting her on a boat sailing to Mexico.

I don't know if any of these possibilities are plausible but it's the only things that I can think of if someone really wanted to illegally take her to Mexico undetected.