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

[Bluewing3102]

Who presents a “kidnapping for ransom “ event , approx 18 day duration, without never sending proof of the victim being alive ( tied up, blindfolded, on a bed or chair) and the standard “ pay up or else” threats . Something is not adding up .

I can understand the ransom author not wanting to provide proof of life because they don't want to send a photo/video with metadata. Or risk a photo having a clue in the background. Or risk being caught on a street camera dropping off a letter. However, they could've asked NG (if she was abducted by him) what's your favorite memory of your children, what was your husbands favorite food, etc. and written that in the subsequent ransom email.

Either the ransom author couldn't provide proof of life because:
1) they aren't associated with the abduction and don't have NG in their possession (random cyber prankster)
2) they kidnapped her but she died in the process

JMO

 

[Napoli]

Thank You for the info! A bit hard for me to follow some of this, not knowing about all the history.

What I got from this is the Big Question, When should a warrant be allowed, with private DNA info? When is a criminal case “worth” exposing private DNA?

JMO

They can promise what they will do VOLUNTARILY i.e NOT SHARING customer DNA with law enforcement. What they are not saying or promising is this: "we cannot promise what a court order can compel them to do." JMO

 

[UsernameRequired]

I don't think the LE is going to state anything about this at this moment.
Idk if it is related but Sheriff Nanos said he believes Nancy is being kept nearby, whatever he based this on besides his belief i really have no clue
My theory is also partially made of hope that Nancy is not discarded somewhere because that's just heartbreaking to think about

Yes, that is my point about LE and the internet searches -- they have stated nothing. So Fox News claiming the internet searches and their dates based on Google Trends is absurd. That is not how Google Trends calculates it's data.

 

[Han]

No, the thing next to the plant has moved. I tried to frame the thing in both pictures. It moved more to the background. I'll try again.
Edited to ad picture from Spectrix's post. AZ - Nancy Guthrie, 84, (mother of TODAY Show host Savannah Guthrie) missing - last seen in the Catalina foothills area on Jan 31, 2026

Yes, I see what you see in the background. It appears to be a bag of something, fertilizer or lawn mulch. Or something worse? But worse, the angle of the camera has changed. Notice the tiles; the difference in the angle is apparent there.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Who presents a “kidnapping for ransom “ event , approx 18 day duration, without never sending proof of the victim being alive ( tied up, blindfolded, on a bed or chair) and the standard “ pay up or else” threats . Something is not adding up .

Quote from Detective Arbogast (Martin Balsam) in Psycho: "Well, if it doesn't jell, it isn't aspic, and this ain't jellin'".

 

[HerNameWasBuffy]

.

True. However, the problem with providing proof of life is that it can give away details about the surroundings (whether video, photograph or audio) and also raise the question of whether it was AI generated. The persistence that she could be returned if the sum was paid is interesting though especially the fact that the time between notes provided to TMZ have been decreasing in length. The captor probably wants resolution for this as well. Although in their mind that would come in the form of cryptocurrency and whatever the media component of that is that was requested in the most recent note.

I agree it would be very risky to provide proof of life that way but I wonder why they wouldn't provide it another way.

Have Nancy convey some info to her fam that no stranger could know. Or have her answer a question put forth by her kids regarding a family story or inside joke that no outside could guess at.

Lack of that is concerning.

 

[crumbcleaner]

I think this likely is not based on evidence that they have uncovered.

It's likely base on evidence that they haven't been able to find or doesn't exist. JMO

Agreed! It seems that investigators are learning as much from what isn’t there as from what is — the absence of evidence may be just as telling as the evidence they’ve uncovered about the perpetrator and the circumstances of the incident. IMO.

 

[submarine7]

I can understand the ransom author not wanting to provide proof of life because they don't want to send a photo/video with metadata. Or risk a photo having a clue in the background. Or risk being caught on a street camera dropping off a letter. However, they could've asked NG (if she was abducted by him) what's your favorite memory of your children, what was your husbands favorite food, etc. and written that in the subsequent ransom email.

Either the ransom author couldn't provide proof of life because:
1) they aren't associated with the abduction and don't have NG in their possession (random cyber prankster)
2) they kidnapped her but she died in the process

JMO

I don't think they ever had any intention of returning her. MOO

 

[MassGuy]

Good breakdown of the DNA testing routes that could be taken here.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2024226861497405716

 

[SMK777]

Great

Quote from Detective Arbogast (Martin Balsam) in Psycho: "Well, if it doesn't jell, it isn't aspic, and this ain't jellin'".

Great quote

 

[SRWCF]

Who presents a “kidnapping for ransom “ event , approx 18 day duration, without never sending proof of the victim being alive ( tied up, blindfolded, on a bed or chair) and the standard “ pay up or else” threats . Something is not adding up .

According to TMZ, this latest ransom demand does "graphically" describe what will happen if they don't pay (at 1:40): Nancy Guthrie Update: Possibly In Mexico...

 

[Cindizzi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2024207676885127668

 

[shonyakay]

What I see is after he pulled some of the plant, he folded or balled it up. So, not looking like he was trying to use the specific part of the stems as a tool to pick at the tab of the doorbell cam.
jmo

https://twitter.com/x/status/2021285842044494279

AB mentioned that after the guy grabbed the lantana that he appeared to stretch it to see how firm it was.
I believe poster Megnut said lantana is sticky.
AB theorized that he used the lantana to place between the nest cam and bracket to help remove it.

 

[Sessiebo]

Yes, that is my point about LE and the internet searches -- they have stated nothing. So Fox News claiming the internet searches and their dates based on Google Trends is absurd. That is not how Google Trends calculates it's data.

Let's just hope they asked Google (or have a warrant) for specific data on searches as they already work with Google on the Nest video footage at this moment.

 

[SBurrus]

In Mexico, they could simply ask NG "what meds do you take? And then just go buy them without a prescription." This would favor not spending too much time in the US before the border crossing (if that did happen) to ensure that she got the medications she needs.

Ya know, I had not thought of this before...about the ease of getting meds across the border compared to in the U.S. That idea would make it at least slightly-more plausible that she would have the meds she needs IF she is actually being held in Mexico.

 

[Cindizzi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2024204007145881919

 

[No_Stone_Unturned]

Great

Great quote

And a great film.

 

[ab01]

1000 POSTS LATER, people speculating on AI vs real images and 2 perps...I dont think there were 2 perps. As everyone knows by now, I have felt from the beginning this was a kidnapper who had a delusional fascination with SG. She is his fantasy girlfriend .He is a marginalized, socially inadequate, man who has a poetic soul and finds his meaning in life through movies and TV. He is fixated on SG. Probably has an area in his home, like an altar, that has her photo, articles about her etc. He thinks when she is on the TODAY show that every word she speaks is CODE, directed at him. He became restless and decided he must have her but he can't. He went for her mom, instead. NOW HE HAS SG's attention. He also has a trophy..SG's mom. He may also have other trophies he took from the home, family photos, or lingerie from SG's old bedroom, for example.

MOTIVE will solve this case, imo. Obsessed stalker. Someone knows him and his devotion to SG. Watching the Today show daily, saving every program she is on, perhaps mentioning her during casual conversations once too often. This is not a 2 perp crime. This guy acted alone. MOO JMO

While this would create an interesting story line for a lifetime movie.

I can’t remember there ever being a case where a famous persons mother was kidnapped due to an obsession with the victims daughter. Or even a non famous persons mother for that matter.

 

[teeandcee]

I also think that’s what he was doing: trying to hang the clump from the top of the camera.

I just see a lot of posts about the suspect using the lantana to remove the Nest, and I’d love to substantiate or discount that idea if possible.

Someone out there must have lantana, a Nest doorbell, and some gloves for an experiment!

I think the ones grown at Nancy’s are the purple ones, right? Those are hybrids and grow in a low sprawling way. The stems are far too soft and flexible to be used as a tool. Even the wild ones that grow into large shrubs with much thicker stems wouldn’t work as tools.

I’ve grown the wild ones, the purple sprawlers, and the yellow sprawlers.

Whether the porch guy knows this or not is anyone’s guess.

 

[cady]

According to TMZ, this latest ransom demand does "graphicly" describe what will happen if they don't pay (at 1:40): Nancy Guthrie Update: Possibly In Mexico...

UhhhhHuh jmo