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

[Fargo]

If so, I did not know. I’ve been in the hospital and away from WS for some time. Perhaps the rules changed. I’ll watch for Tricia or another mod to verify. Pls accept my apologies if not approved. Thanks for letting me know.

NewsNation is probably the #1 news source posted on this thread. The senior correspondent is Brian Entin. It's fine.

 

[Napoli]

I'm with everyone who's having trouble reconciling "burglary gone wrong" with "Nancy still being alive." The likelihood of kidnapping someone on the fly and being able to contain and hide them away for two weeks without being detected is slim to none.

IT HAPPENS. Elizabeth Smart. That guy in Ohio who held those girls for years and impregnated them. . People who have kids of their own who keep them in a cage and go undetected for YEARS. That family that had like 11 kids or whatever and they were all emaciated and undernourished and no one knew those kids all lived in that house. Twisted people do twisted things. JMO

 

[RayVon]

I've seen some emergency responders carry people from the same family out of a burning house in my neighbourhood, they were unconscious.
That's why i believe it is possible there was only one guy who took Nancy, even if she already passed away.
JMO MOO

MOO I think there were at least two people in order to break into house, check the cameras, unlock back and front door, carry Nancy out to a vehicle with only blood drops on the porch, drive the vehicle and mindlessly toss gloves out the window. The heavily disguised person may be someone known to Nancy. The driver may be a stranger so wouldn't need to be wearing unwieldy heavy disguise- free to move, to drive.

 

[SaraSmile]

How can a burglary go wrong? All my opinion and speculation, but I see three possibilities for what would have happened when the burglar(s) left the home:

• Nancy is alive and the perpetrator decides he must abduct her, then decides to ransom her
  • What reason could he have to abduct her? Maybe he decides he could get more money
  • This would be a very risky gamble, and a foray into two new crimes that a burglar is unlikely to have experience with. Spontaneous kidnapping is always a bad idea, and ransom implies that NG didn't recognize the perpetrator, which would be a reason to change plans.
  • Kidnapping for ransom also brings a ton more attention to the crime, increasing the chance of getting caught.
• Nancy is alive and the perpetrator decides he must abduct her then kill her
  • What reason could he have to abduct her? Maybe he decides he could get more money, and then changes his mind. Maybe he gets recognized, and panics.
  • On top of what I said above, murder is a big jump from the mostly non-violent crime of burglary. Comfort stealing from people doesn't imply comfort executing a person. And then they'd have to dispose of the body, which isn't particularly a fun or easy thing to do, especially if you've never done it before.
• Nancy is dead and the perpetrator decides he must remove her body
  • What reason could he have to kill her? An accident, perhaps, in a struggle. Or he gets recognized. Or he didn't expect anyone to be home so when someone was, he decided that was unacceptable.
  • Death seems plausible, but why take her body? Doing so increases the risk of getting caught by a lot--you have to get a body you didn't plan for to your vehicle, then you have to transport it, then you have to dispose of it, all the while creating opportunities to leave evidence and be witnessed. The only thing I can think of is that NG created evidence the perpetrator did not think they could clean up, such as by scratching him, but I doubt an 84 y/o with limited mobility would fight through the layers we saw on the Nest camera, and even if that did happen,
    Spoiler: warning: coldly morbid

    it would be easier to deal with hands or fingers than an entire unanticipated body

It's possible, criminals don't have to be smart people or make good decisions, etc. etc., but all of these possibilities seem implausible to me. If she was alive, it doesn't make sense to take her unless that is what the perpetrator already planned to do. If she was dead, taking her body creates a lot more risk and I don't know what realistically would be worth that risk.

To me, it seems likeliest that the perpetrator's objective was to abduct or kill NG.

Agreed, with what we now know, seems most likely they were always going to take her, and or kill her, but why?

 

[Cassie P]

I'm with everyone who's having trouble reconciling "burglary gone wrong" with "Nancy still being alive." The likelihood of kidnapping someone on the fly and being able to contain and hide them away for two weeks without being detected is slim to none.

Right, a last minute kidnapping, done in haste and spur of the moment.

Where do you take NG? How do you hide her? Prevent her from escaping, or recognizing her surroundings, or the kidnappers?

Could they keep her in one of their homes or apartment? Keep her sedated with illegal drugs, so she is quiet and docile. Keep her tied up and gagged. They wear masks so she cannot recognize the kidnappers. Push food in the room at least once a day.

I guess it is possible. For the short term.

 

[TIGER0822]

Very interesting in that they say "a burglary that could have gone wrong" and believe NG is still alive.
Many of us thought a burglary that went wrong with NG tragically deceased during the initial attempt. which happens.

I still wouldn't expect a Range Rover in the mix, curious to see how that plays out.

Anyone else get the impression this is coded language? Or the Guthrie family or in touch with one of the alleged ransom note writers? The guy asking for one bit coin. Odd - I get the impression that guy has real information. The others nah.

 

[RayVon]

Question for @tricia or other mods - I thought I remembered reading earlier on this thread that Newsnation is not an approved WS source? If you could clarify, I would be grateful. Thank you in advance.

Yes. Could you please list the permitted sources again? Thank you

 

[TIGER0822]

Anyone else get the impression the Guthrie family is privately corresponding with one of the kidnapper or ransom note writers?

 

[Cassie P]

The Perp putting the bite light in his mouth may be the thing that catches him in fact. I find it very hard to believe during the 30-40 min he was outside and in the house he did not take it out once. Automatic DNA. It would be a good hit too.

Yes it would be DNA rich. Cheek and saliva DNA. This is how the genetic genealogy DNA kits do it. Inside cheek and mouth saliva swabs.

 

[SMK777]

Anyone else get the impression this is coded language?

Explain, please.

 

[Cassie P]

DBM

 

[Orion96007]

If he carried her out bleeding I feel she would have been bound and wrapped in a tarp. Why would he risk her blood in his vehicle??

IMO and my thoughts, I do not believe this person was thinking with the same hindsight and privilege we have of knowing the consequences of his action and simply acted in a panic to get her from one point to another. IMO this person, based solely on the actions I have observed (Slow moving, using flowers to cover a camera, etc...) was unprepared and of low intelligence and critical thinking.

 

[Sakura2Sophia4Lucia]

This is where I am at. Had to be the plan going in. Had to have been more than one person.

If it was a robbery gone bad, WHY take the body?

I could imagine them taking NG because their DNA was on her or there was some reason they believed they would get arrested if they left her at her home.

But, if their purpose was robbery, they would have been ill-equipped to handle having a dead body or a hostage. Where do you take an alive hostage who is 84 and has medical conditions, and, oh yes, would be recognizable to many people.

Is it was a robbery gone bad, strange that, at least to my knowledge, LE has never posited or suggested that as a possibility. Doesn't mean anything but it seems that the possibility would have been mentioned at the first presser.

IMO people robbing a house would prefer doing it in the day when the homeowner is not home. Only advantage of having the homeowner home is if you need to ask them where their cash is, where their jewelry is and believe that the homeowner will be honest with you with a gun pointed at them.

JMHO

 

[JaimeInLA]

Anyone else get the impression the Guthrie family or privately corresponding with one of the kidnappers?

Yes! Me! That video feels like she is very disappointed in someone in particular but saying she is willing to forgive them. MOO

 

[GMG1999]

Right, a last minute kidnapping, done in haste and spur of the moment.

Where do you take NG? How do you hide her? Prevent her from escaping, or recognizing her surroundings, or the kidnappers?

Could they keep her in one of their homes or apartment? Keep her sedated with illegal drugs, so she is quiet and docile. Keep her tied up and gagged. They wear masks so she cannot recognize the kidnappers. Push food in the room at least once a day.

I guess it is possible. For the short term.

So let's say this was the plan or something like it, is it for ransom? I could have bought the ransom letters but they apparently never gave proof of life, so if that's what the plan was, she had to have passed away or they would have given POL to get paid right?

 

[birdbox]

This may seem off topic, but i'm asking for understanding of the theory going around about "burglary gone wrong" Can someone step me through what does a "burglary at 2am with a person at home going right" look like? How does that even work in a burglar's mind? How do you rummage through my jewelry box or open my safe? Do you wake me up, bind me first? Then, dig around my underwear drawer looking for something? I need to understand how a nighttime home invasion works to process how and where it could go wrong.

 

[VegasGirl35]

IT HAPPENS. Elizabeth Smart. That guy in Ohio who held those girls for years and impregnated them. . People who have kids of their own who keep them in a cage and go undetected for YEARS. That family that had like 11 kids or whatever and they were all emaciated and undernourished and no one knew those kids all lived in that house. Twisted people do twisted things. JMO

Right, but the difference in those cases is the kidnappers planned and prepared for the abductions. Brian Mitchell lucked out because searchers actually got within earshot of Elizabeth, but she was too scared to scream. The guy in Cleveland retrofitted his house before taking his first victim.

 

[BurnerForDaddy]

I try to analyze why certain information is disclosed and other information is not. Why tell us about a random discarded glove being sent for DNA sequencing? They didnt tell us what type of DNA they sent out from the home. Why are they so sure this glove is related? It is similar? Is the other glove in the house? It seems odd and random to me.

Yes every time we are given info, I assume they are giving the info to the perp, not to us. That said, as time goes on, the communication has been so haphazard, I’m no longer sure that is the case.

 

[BellaToothless]

Agreed, with what we now know, seems most likely they were always going to take her, and or kill her, but why?

This why focusing on motive in either probability might help get us there quicker. Forest through the Trees.

 

[Forest_Wood]

Do you think that Nancy left her house alive? Or did something happen during the kidnapping/robbery and she had a medical episode and passed within minutes?

Would she not have to be alive for blood to spill from her on the steps and walkway?