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

[Trino]

The searchers found a backpack on the side of a road near her Tucson home. A Pima County sheriff’s deputy collected it as the search for Nancy entered its fourth week.

They got the backpack about two miles away from where Nancy was last seen.

Nearby, all those volunteers also found clothing and a black glove inside a drainage pipe.

All the items were then carefully handed to authorities as the group, called Searching Mothers of Sonora, is made up of women from Mexico who have lost loved ones to violence.

Nancy Guthrie missing case: Authorities found key hint in search operation

Volunteers who are searching for Nancy Guthrie, mother of TV host Savannah Guthrie, made an important find on Sunday. The searchers found a backpack on the side of a road near her Tucson home. A Pima County sheriff's deputy...

www.geo.tv

Does this mean 460,000 Walmart backpack purchasers no longer need to worry about someone knocking on their door asking about their backpacks?

 

[SoVeryMe]

IMO - there is a lot of details\evidence not being released to the public. If Nanos were botching this investigation as badly as it appears - I can’t believe SG would not be demanding answers or insisting the FBI take over. They know something - maybe they are trying to protect NG’s privacy somehow - if they feel as if she is deceased and was the victim of some type of extreme violence or even SA - I know I would not want that information released to protect my moms legacy - I think they know what happened - and maybe even why but just not the who part - MOO. My heart breaks for the family.

 

[MarciB]

I am older now and live alone and I keep my outside glass door locked so that if someone is at the door and I open the regular door to see who it is I would still have to unlock the glass door to let them in - or they would have to break the glass or something. But I never open the inner door after dark if I'm not expecting someone without a gun in my hand too - yes, I keep one just inside my entry, so it is handy to grab whenever I go to the door. NG would likely do the same with keeping both doors locked too. And I'm not saying she went to the door and opened it because I don't think that she did...but...if she did open her regular door and see a man in a mask with a gun would she have followed his order to open the glass door too? Or would she have slammed the big door shut again and locked it and call 911? That's what I would do. But again, I do not think she ever opened ANY door.

I have Ring doorbell which connects to my phone and Echo Show. I can talk to someone at the door or on my porch from inside my house or even in the car, another person's house, etc. That way I don't have to open the door to anyone unless I know who they are.
At this point we don't even know how the porch guy and/or a partner got in.
on edit: Echo Show and my phone also show live video of the person at the door

 

[SMK777]

Does this mean 460,000 Walmart backpack purchasers no longer need to worry about someone knocking on their door asking about their backpacks?

Not really. The backpack found by volunteers has been found to be unrelated to the case.

 

[Msl1966]

Had a theory come to me in the middle of the night, but I’m not sure if there is a way to search other posts to see if this has been brought up. I’ve tried keeping up with the posts, but not doing so well with it.

What if the abductor was disguised as a law enforcement officer? NOT a real officer, but dressed as one.

Disconnected Door Camera, But Entry Not Right Away-
He (or she) disconnected everything earlier under masked disguise as we have seen, etc, but then quickly changed came back dressed as a law enforcement officer.

Forced Entry or No Forced Entry-
He might have knocked/pounded on the door, stated he was law enforcement, and Nancy woke up and opened the door. This could explain no forced entry. If there was forced entry, he might have forced his way in without waking her until he was inside.

Crime Scene or Not-
So now he’s in the house one way or another. Whether he was at the door or in the house already, he tells her there is an emergency...sudden brush fire, family member hurt, etc. Nancy believes he is a safe person. He tells her they need to go! As Nancy rushes (with mobility issues) to get herself together, she cuts herself in some way or another…maybe even falls and hits her face. This would explain why there was concern that it might be a crime scene.

Why So Long Inside-
Time between his entry and them leaving seems longer than a typical abduction, because he is giving her time and helping her get dressed or something like that to keep up the ruse.

No Phone, Purse, or Apple Watch-
He helps her out to the car and either tells her he will go back in to get her phone and purse for her (but doesn’t) or tells her not to grab them because time is critical. She would have felt ok doing that…after all she’s with a person she thinks is a law enforcement officer.

Blood Droplets, but No Footprints-
He walks her to his car, which might have looked like a law enforcement vehicle or not. Just outside the front door, she sneezes and/or leaves drops of blood (from her injury inside). He helps her around the blood droplets supposedly so she doesn’t get blood on her shoes. He also maybe offered to lock the door behind them to make her still feel comfortable in going willingly with him.

He Pulls Away-
He pulls away and her pacemaker disconnects from the app. It wasn’t until the abduction was fully complete, would she have realized something was wrong.

I am NOT saying it was a real officer, but one in an officer’s disguise.

 

[No it's not]

When the light flashes, his arm is higher up. He might be illuminating the step and checking a watch as nonchalantly as he can. (If only we had a few more earlier frames.) Then he lowers it and keeps it down until he puts his wrist right up to the camera.

I'm not sure that whatever's on his wrist is generating light. It looks to me like it's just a reflection of the bite light. It could just be reflective material on his sleeve and not a watch or reflective object at all. So difficult to tell.

True, hard to tell. If it was indeed was watch, it would be interesting to know he is wearing it on his right wrist!

ALL IMO

-Nin

 

[SMK777]

Either a contractor, or somebody connected to a contractor acting on: "Guess what about one of the houses I clean...." type information.

Snipped by me for emphasis:

I think that's very possible and I had thought about that scenario in the first week.

 

[cady]

I have Ring doorbell which connects to my phone and Echo Show. I can talk to someone at the door or on my porch from inside my house or even in the car, another person's house, etc. That way I don't have to open the door to anyone unless I know who they are.
At this point we don't even know how the porch guy and/or a partner got in.
on edit: Echo Show and my phone also show live video of the person at the door

I'm an oldie luddite with no gizmos. My weapons of choice are a tennis racket and a landline phone. I can see who is at the door. Lucky to live in a village and have never had the experience of a late-night unwanted visitor. jmo

 

[penguinface]

I'm an oldie luddite with no gizmos. My weapons of choice are a tennis racket and a landline phone. I can see who is at the door. Lucky to live in a village and have never had the experience of a late-night unwanted visitor. jmo

Now I’m imagining some arcane set-up of pulleys, strings, a tennis racket and a landline that somehow allow you to access the internet! ;P

 

[cady]

Now I’m imagining some arcane set-up of pulleys, strings, a tennis racket and a landline that somehow allow you to access the internet! ;P

LOL. Laptop.

 

[K9Enzo]

People can be well intentioned, but when LE asks you to please stay away and you carry on anyway, I start to believe your intent is self serving.

Like when the predictable SAR team shows up with their flashy decals on their vehicles, expensive gear that’s not dirty because it’s not worn or used, and they reach out to families directly, then get in front of a news reporter and tell the camera they offered to help but LE said no. They become the focus because they just “want to help”. There’s a reason they don’t get call outs from LE. They are not a LE vetted or trusted group.

The harm in this nonsense it creates false leads that LE now has to chase down. LE has to commit manpower to check out found trash. Deal with SM noise that spreads rumors. Unchecked volunteers often trespass and break the law because they just don’t know. It becomes a spectacle.

There is also a real safety risk to themselves while they are wandering around .

If LE wanted citizen volunteers, it would be organized with an agenda, team leads, driver’s license check ins, visible safety vests, and people being tasked based on their physical capabilities.

If there’s a missing neighborhood child immediately get people together out searching as quickly as you can.

This happens in many missing people cases, and it’s always frustrating to hear about.

All my opinion.

Pima County sheriff warns against private volunteer search parties for Nancy Guthrie: MSN​

 

[Warshawski]

She said: “As far as we know, it has not been released yet. It was treated as evidence judging by the tarp. And so I think is the most viable lead right now.”-

Snipped by me because that sentence caught my eye - mostly because imo we don’t have a clue !
And neither do all the armchair experts who are prepared to hire out their opinions for a headline & a buck!

As far as I also know, it hasn’t been released, but no one’s paying me to utter those words!

Ok - I know there’s a billion media people scrambling to make a $, but somewhere surely there needs to be authentic so people have a path of trust, because we’re talking about a real person here !
My heart breaks for Nancy and what she’s been through. As much as I pray for it to be different, I’m doubting her now being alive. And so my heart breaks for her family.

Do we listen to & trust the Sheriff, or do we listen to all the noise about friction with the FBI ?

Personally, I’m fine with Sheriff Nanos (in the absence of official criticism from the FBI I’m guessing they are too)

I can’t believe the pressure Sheriff Nanos must be under . .. he’s the ‘head’ of dept, the ‘front man’ but he’s not a criminal Investigator. .. someone over there correct me if I’m wrong, but I see him akin to the kBoss who stacks his business with capable people to make it a success ( therefore him a success) but ‘the boss’ has no idea how to do what they do. .. lol.

Sheriff Nanos has to front the media, to answer questions, to stumble through those answers while being very careful to not divulge confidential information, and to bear the brunt of everything that he’s actually not responsible for.

Going back to the start - I sure hope there’s worthwhile evidence for NG in that vehicle.

 

[Warshawski]

Seems like the biggest issue with using the FL lab was the time delays. It seems like there was more emphasis on solving the crime than on saving NG.

Thinking now, and with respect, is it possible that they knew from the outset that NG was no longer alive ?

We’ve never been given any details as to the inside of her house. .. snippets coming out now of foreign DNA / perhaps x 2.

 

[Trino]

Not really. The backpack found by volunteers has been found to be unrelated to the case.

Guess Walmart is still on the hook for locating all buyers. Goodwill is not mentioned.

 

[SaraSmile]

Does this mean 460,000 Walmart backpack purchasers no longer need to worry about someone knocking on their door asking about their backpacks?

Backpack was not the Walmart brand they were looking for, found in a “ homeless area”, taken into evidence to check if any relation to case, (unlikely, my opinion, since different backpack brand).

IMO

 

[stmichael]

Had a theory come to me in the middle of the night, but I’m not sure if there is a way to search other posts to see if this has been brought up. I’ve tried keeping up with the posts, but not doing so well with it.

What if the abductor was disguised as a law enforcement officer? NOT a real officer, but dressed as one.

Disconnected Door Camera, But Entry Not Right Away-
He (or she) disconnected everything earlier under masked disguise as we have seen, etc, but then quickly changed came back dressed as a law enforcement officer.

Forced Entry or No Forced Entry-
He might have knocked/pounded on the door, stated he was law enforcement, and Nancy woke up and opened the door. This could explain no forced entry. If there was forced entry, he might have forced his way in without waking her until he was inside.

Crime Scene or Not-
So now he’s in the house one way or another. Whether he was at the door or in the house already, he tells her there is an emergency...sudden brush fire, family member hurt, etc. Nancy believes he is a safe person. He tells her they need to go! As Nancy rushes (with mobility issues) to get herself together, she cuts herself in some way or another…maybe even falls and hits her face. This would explain why there was concern that it might be a crime scene.

Why So Long Inside-
Time between his entry and them leaving seems longer than a typical abduction, because he is giving her time and helping her get dressed or something like that to keep up the ruse.

No Phone, Purse, or Apple Watch-
He helps her out to the car and either tells her he will go back in to get her phone and purse for her (but doesn’t) or tells her not to grab them because time is critical. She would have felt ok doing that…after all she’s with a person she thinks is a law enforcement officer.

Blood Droplets, but No Footprints-
He walks her to his car, which might have looked like a law enforcement vehicle or not. Just outside the front door, she sneezes and/or leaves drops of blood (from her injury inside). He helps her around the blood droplets supposedly so she doesn’t get blood on her shoes. He also maybe offered to lock the door behind them to make her still feel comfortable in going willingly with him.

He Pulls Away-
He pulls away and her pacemaker disconnects from the app. It wasn’t until the abduction was fully complete, would she have realized something was wrong.

I am NOT saying it was a real officer, but one in an officer’s disguise.

If the Latanas man knew NG or details about her he could have gotten her to the door at night with a ruse.

This is consistent with his actions, and that so far there is no investigative confirmation of forced entry.

His actions show he tried to cover and disable the doorbell camera, and prominently (though awkwardly) tried to display his firearm as he walked towards the door. To me all of his actions show a preamble for intimidation and coercion.

He could have banged on the door and with the combination of NG being startled and confused, not being able to access the doorbell cam, he could have used a detailed ruse based on prior information (Nancy, help. *Insert person she knows* sent me. There's a *insert whatever urgent ruse might work* I need your help now!)

NG comes to door, opens with false sense of security door, Masked Man brandishes firearm, threatens to shoot through the bars, NG is coerced to open the deadbolt.


------

Having said that one kink in all that is the glass side windows nest to the door. They are a huge vulnerability in residential security. I hate when I see them next to single cylinder deadbolts, as any criminal can break them in 2 seconds, reach in and flip your deadbolt open and then walk in. The sound of the glass breaking would be negligible in a secluded set up like that (even have the brick foyer covering you). Also, with the camera disabled one would think NG would look out of these side windows prior to opening the door if the doorbell cam was disabled, but you can also threaten and shoot through these glass windows so I supposed that's a possibility. Who knows?

----

Now, as to your theory. Dressing as a LEO is becoming a cliche by criminals. It's easy to print a fake warrant and get a vest with a Velcro patch with an agency name on it and bang on someone's door at night. We saw a full disguise of a police officer in the MN political executions case. Always call your local precinct if you feel something is off, and confirm.

 

[Trino]

Snipped by me because that sentence caught my eye - mostly because imo we don’t have a clue !
And neither do all the armchair experts who are prepared to hire out their opinions for a headline & a buck!

As far as I also know, it hasn’t been released, but no one’s paying me to utter those words!

Ok - I know there’s a billion media people scrambling to make a $, but somewhere surely there needs to be authentic so people have a path of trust, because we’re talking about a real person here !
My heart breaks for Nancy and what she’s been through. As much as I pray for it to be different, I’m doubting her now being alive. And so my heart breaks for her family.

Do we listen to & trust the Sheriff, or do we listen to all the noise about friction with the FBI ?

Personally, I’m fine with Sheriff Nanos (in the absence of official criticism from the FBI I’m guessing they are too)

I can’t believe the pressure Sheriff Nanos must be under . .. he’s the ‘head’ of dept, the ‘front man’ but he’s not a criminal Investigator. .. someone over there correct me if I’m wrong, but I see him akin to the kBoss who stacks his business with capable people to make it a success ( therefore him a success) but ‘the boss’ has no idea how to do what they do. .. lol.

Sheriff Nanos has to front the media, to answer questions, to stumble through those answers while being very careful to not divulge confidential information, and to bear the brunt of everything that he’s actually not responsible for.

Going back to the start - I sure hope there’s worthwhile evidence for NG in that vehicle.

Would not do for the FBI to criticize because the sheriff has total responsibility. FBI is secondary.

 

[turaj]

At this point with so little info out there I have listened to many of the Sheriff's interviews. One question he refuses consistently to answer is "was there forced entry"??? So I ask why? I think it is because it takes things back to someone with codes or keys and that means regular workers or trusted friends and family. I think at the end of the day it might all go back to someone in this group. I think the answer is no f orced entry.

 

[Warshawski]

Are there any updates about the white van in the neighborhood? I’d thought it was identified but I googled it and don’t see that it was. So much stuff to wade through. Thanks!

I was following that White Van idea too, but it seems that’s ( possibly) been illiminated in favour of a Silver / Grey SUV type vehicle. … may be ..

 

[iluvmyelement]

At this point with so little info out there I have listened to many of the Sheriff's interviews. One question he refuses consistently to answer is "was there forced entry"??? So I ask why? I think it is because it takes things back to someone with codes or keys and that means regular workers or trusted friends and family. I think at the end of the day it might all go back to someone in this group. I think the answer is no f orced entry.

I agree. This time of year, lots of people like to leave windows and doors open (screens only) to get fresh air and it's possible that she felt safe enough doing that with sliding doors in her bedroom since they opened to a small walled in courtyard. That enclosed area might have made her feel safe enough not to lock the window/door.