Nancy Guthrie was 84 when she vanished from her home in the Catalina Foothills outside Tucson, Arizona. Family members dropped her off at about 9:45 p.m. on January 31. When relatives found her missing the next day, her phone, wallet and car were still at the house. Nearly nine months later, she has not been found.
The case drew national attention because her daughter is Savannah Guthrie, co-anchor of NBC's Today show. The Pima County Sheriff's Department leads the investigation with the FBI, and Sheriff Chris Nanos has said investigators believe she was taken by force.
The evidence made public
Nanos said blood found on the porch tested positive for her DNA. Her doorbell camera was disconnected at 1:47 a.m. on February 1, NBC News reported, and on February 10 the FBI released doorbell footage of a masked man outside the home that morning, wearing gloves and a backpack and carrying a holstered handgun. He has not been identified.
A first ransom note sent to news outlets demanded $4 million in cryptocurrency, a second claimed she had died shortly after being taken. An FBI official told Reuters in July that three notes were deemed fake, though the FBI later said some "may potentially be legitimate," according to Yahoo News' running timeline. In July, Derrick Callella pleaded guilty to federal harassment charges for posing as a kidnapper. No suspect in the disappearance has been named or charged. Nanos has said evidence was sent to four specialized labs. The family has offered a $1 million reward, and the FBI up to $100,000.
What the panel saw early
On Episode 61, recorded in February while the case was breaking, Daniel Rosenberg, Michael Dye and Lloyd Golburgh worked through the timeline, the doorbell footage and the ransom demands. Michael focused on what the footage suggested about the suspect's inexperience. Lloyd was more measured, pointing to forensic tools, AI triangulation and the absence of any proof of life.
They also discussed her health. She needed daily medication, which gave the search urgency from the first day. The panel debated the friction between local investigators and the FBI, and how far a private investigation can help when a public one stalls.
Where it stands
Savannah Guthrie returned to the Today show as a guest co-host in June. In September she made a new plea for information so the family could give their mother "a proper goodbye." In late September, the sheriff's department and the FBI task force said they were reviewing the credibility of a possible new ransom note.
Anyone with information can contact the FBI at tips.fbi.gov. For more of the panel's casework, see their breakdown of the Nolan Wells investigation.
Two Taps News stories summarize reporting and the analysis discussed on Two Taps and Friends. They are not legal advice. Read our standards.
