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

[Moonchime]

(ETA: From looking at the brief video provided a few posts above on blood droplets on front walkway):

There is a flurry of drops and smudged (?) drops right there within a foot or so of the key side of the front door. The droplets further out are more spread apart.

Is this the door NG would have gone in through when delivered to her home after Saturday night dinner? Was she dropped off in the driveway? Or, was she walked all the way to the door?

Could she have been attacked right there as she put her key into the lock of her front door upon arriving home? Were her house keys found? Any blood on them?

Perhaps the kidnapper stopped there while carrying NG's body to grab the Ring camera.

It's been reported that she was attacked while in her bed. Her Pacemaker stopped syncing with her Apple watch @2am Sunday morning.

 

[SlimPickens]

I don’t believe Nancy was kidnapped for ransom. The blood at the scene, combined with the delay in delivering any note, makes that unlikely.

Kidnapping for ransom is also virtually unheard of given the victimology in this case, and the fact that it's not a 1990's Hollywood movie out there.

That leaves two plausible explanations:

• A third party is attempting to exploit the situation after the fact.
• The perpetrator, having already committed the crime, decided to see “why not?” and pursue ransom anyway.

I hope it's the latter, because that's just another way to capture this person. But I'd be shocked if it wasn't just someone taking advantage.

Virtually unheard of yes, but this case has a significant outlier of a quite famous and wealthy child of the victim.

The location of the house really speaks calculated to me, with a specific intention to take this specific person from this specific place. There are other homes in the area that are far more exposed/convenient/accessible/ripe for a crime of opportunity or fetish, and with similar demographics, so why this particular house and this particular person?

There's no doubt that it could be an entirely random, opportunistic, and sadistic crime with no financial motive, but I feel that the unique circumstances in this case skew those odds considerably.

JMO.

 

[turaj]

Taking dog out? If she had been out for the evening, wouldn't she have to take out her dog? I thought someone mentioned she had a poodle?

no one is mentioning the dog so not sure if it is still living with her.

 

[browneyes]

You’ve got to be kidding me:

A ransom note was sent to a local Arizona news station following the disappearance of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy Guthrie, the Pima County sheriff told CBS News.

The note, which the station received Monday and agreed not to report on, contained specific details about the home and what Nancy Guthrie was wearing that night, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said, although he would not confirm the accuracy of that information or the legitimacy of the note.

Investigators have analyzed the note and are taking it seriously, Nanos said.

He said the FBI reviewed the note and made the decision to share it with Savannah Guthrie. Authorities had hoped to keep the information from becoming public, but the note was obtained by TMZ, which reported on it before contacting the sheriff's office, Nanos said.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department had earlier said on social media it was aware of "reports circulating about possible ransom note(s)," adding, "Anything that comes in, goes directly to our detectives who are coordinating with the FBI."

Surveillance video from a home security system has yielded nothing so far, Nanos told CBS News. He said investigators believe the system may have been set to automatically delete footage after a short period of time, and they are now attempting to recover it through forensic means.

Sheriff says ransom note being investigated in disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, Savannah Guthrie's mother

The sheriff says the note was sent to a local Arizona news station, which agreed not to report on it, following the disappearance of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy Guthrie.

www.cbsnews.com

TMZ should be boycotted for this. It’s a possible hoax, but who knows. I watched a 20/20 episode the other day where a guy called the police and confessed to a murder. He was making it all up.

 

[notandy]

I’m confused by the camera situation. I don’t understand how the cameras don’t have anything (unless they’re just not saying) because we can go back for weeks on our cheap ring cameras, it’s like $100 a year for that feature, surely they have it??? Even if it was removed, you’d see by who.

 

[mickey2942]

Her daughter dropped victim off at home after like 8:30pm. The daughter would most likely help Mom in bed and do whatever was necessary to get Mom in bed which I would think would include walking dog and making sure house safe and secure for the night. As caregiver to my Mom, age 85, who chooses to live alone, I make sure every night she is tucked in bed and safe, secure, and comfortable before seeing her the next morning. I wonder who was taking victim to church or if she would go alone. Weekly church seems more like with family members then solo, but maybe victim regularly attends church by herself.

Hmm. I drop off adults at their home, I don't go inside and tuck them in. Even elderly people. Maybe I am dropping the ball here.

 

[Fromeaster]

I’m confused by the camera situation. I don’t understand how the cameras don’t have anything (unless they’re just not saying) because we can go back for weeks on our cheap ring cameras, it’s like $100 a year for that feature, surely they have it??? Even if it was removed, you’d see by who.

The police just don't say anything and that's it.

 

[agilbe]

I'm wondering if they found her car keys and/or checked the trunk of her car.

My husband mentioned that. I think the dogs would have hit on it though. JMO

 

[Cardgame]

droplets of blood could be from asphyxial death if that's what happened perhaps

Me personally I think it is more likely she left the house alive.

Or at least, as likely.

Say a perp accidentally killed her: why hide her body? She's 84 years old and she can't move far alone/unsupported. No one is going to think she's run off of her own free will. Or wandered into the desert, because she wouldn't have got very far. So what is the point of taking her body? You're just giving yourself a massive short term problem to deal with, rather than getting as far away from the crime scene as fast as you possibly can.

Now if it is a psychopath situation, perhaps that is different.

Whatever the explanation it's going to be an unusual one. MOO.

 

[nycpizzaparty]

I think the alleged pacemaker linked to phone might be important to the investigation. Essentially we have a monitored heart rate with the pacemaker sending possibly real-time or near real-time data to the victim's phone which is accessible to LE. If victim is attacked in the home, volatile heart rate data might show up on phone. If victim is killed in home, the lack of heart rate might show up on phone. Alerts may have been set up to family members and/or caretakers. Until the point of possible disconnection due to distance of lack of network or Wi-Fi, it's possible LE would know if victim was killed in the home. Maybe there is data that covers the abduction through possible death at 2 am. What does "stopped syncing" mean regarding this pacemaker/monitoring device and victim's phone? Is it that the devices were no longer linked due to connection lost or is that the pacemaker was no longer operating?

Also is the pooled blood near the location where the perpetrator(s) might have stopped to take the Ring off the mount? Maybe that was a brief stop, then drops continue in motion.

 

[browneyes]

This doesn’t feel like family to me. This feels like a thrill seeking psychopath who knows who this lady is and the amount of attention this kidnapping will get, hence the ransom letter to a news rag like TMZ (if that turns out to be real). I can’t think of another case quite like this honestly in modern times. Maybe others can.

I’d say the Idaho4.

 

[DakotaJax]

I also remember from the Liknes/O'Brien case in Canada - their murderer "studied" murder books and discovered 3am is perfect time to abduct someone from their home.

And he did that, took 2 adults and a child somehow out of their home when they were sleeping!! Sickening really. I guess that's when people are most asleep/vulnerable? Ugh scary.

I lived blocks from where the Liknes/Obrien case happened and I keep thinking about that case here!
I see many people mention how there must be more than one perp to get an elderly woman with mobility issues out of the house, and the perp in the Liknes/OBrien case took 2 seniors and a child out to the bed of a pickup truck that was parked in the front driveway of a very tightly packed neighbourhood, literally the houses are within feet of each other.

 

[Sarahlou]

Me personally I think it is more likely she left the house alive.

Or at least, as likely.

Say a perp accidentally killed her: why hide her body? She's 84 years old and she can't move far alone/unsupported. No one is going to think she's run off of her own free will. Or wandered into the desert, because she wouldn't have got very far. So what is the point of taking her body? You're just giving yourself a massive short term problem to deal with, rather than getting as far away from the crime scene as fast as you possibly can.

Now if it is a psychopath situation, perhaps that is different.

Whatever the explanation it's going to be an unusual one. MOO.

Because there could be DNA clues on the body as to who killed her. (If she has been killed of course.)

 

[agilbe]

Hmm. I drop off adults at their home, I don't go inside and tuck them in. Even elderly people. Maybe I am dropping the ball here.

I would go in. Not necessarily tuck my mom in. I think she would have given me a funny look!! I think it is what works for each family/situation. I don't think your dropping the ball. When you think about it, sadly, there are a lot of elders who have no one. Those are the ones who have passed by themselves and are not found for days or even weeks.

 

[Pharmasgirl]

Court TV reporting that at least one ransom note has been received, demanding millions in Bitcoin.

BUT, is it bogus or not?

 

[Vegasgrl]

I hope she is alive and has the medication she needs. It's entirely possible. The blood could be staged, or she was mildly injured while being abducted. This was well planned and I hope no relatives are involved. I think two went in and out the front door (ring camera gone), then carried her through the back and through the dark to a waiting vehicle somewhere in the neighborhood. They want money. Millions. When they get it, they will leave her somewhere. If it's someone that had access to the house, they could have set things up before Saturday to make things easier(disabling the alarms).

 

[browneyes]

I’m confused by the camera situation. I don’t understand how the cameras don’t have anything (unless they’re just not saying) because we can go back for weeks on our cheap ring cameras, it’s like $100 a year for that feature, surely they have it??? Even if it was removed, you’d see by who.

My ring doorbell deletes after 3 hours.

 

[Cardgame]

Because there could be DNA clues on the body as to who killed her. (If she has been killed of course.)

Hmmm, maybe. But why is there a source of Nancy's blood, but not enough to indicate a fatal injury? What kind of accidental murder happens with blood on the doorstep and then a murder inside the house that leaves no trace?

 

[pixiepixel]

Surveillance video from a home security system has yielded nothing so far, Nanos told CBS News. He said investigators believe the system may have been set to automatically delete footage after a short period of time, and they are now attempting to recover it through forensic means.

Sheriff says ransom note being investigated in disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, Savannah Guthrie's mother

The sheriff says the note was sent to a local Arizona news station, which agreed not to report on it, following the disappearance of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy Guthrie.

www.cbsnews.com

[sbm]

Security camera footage automatically deleted? How long did it take investigators to check the cameras? I don't know what use a home security system would be if it didn't save the footage for 24 hours, at least.

Hopefully forensic recovery is successful.

 

[browneyes]

I really doubt this is a ransom situation. No way could anyone get away after the payment. Too many eyes in the sky. IMO