Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother, Nancy, lives alone in her home outside Tucson, Arizona, where she has resided since the 1970s. She has been missing since this Saturday night, and was reported missing by her family at noon on Sunday, February 1, after she did not go to church that day. Officials emphasize that Nancy has no cognitive issues and is “sharp as a tack.” Savannah, who recently returned to work at the Today Show following vocal cord surgery, has been away as she deals with this very concerning situation. She issued a statement yesterday thanking everyone for their concern and urging people with any information to call the Pima County Sheriff’s department. She also posted to Instagram asking for prayers for her mom. Rescue efforts initially focused on searching for Nancy and used teams of people along with heat-sensing drones. Unfortunately they’re now treating this as an abduction. The Pima County Sheriff has said that the scene at Nancy’s home is “concerning” and believe she did not leave on her own. Nancy cannot walk more than 50 yards and needs to take medication daily.
“Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy, is missing in Arizona in what police believe was an abduction from her home while she slept, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told CBS News on Monday.
“I believe she was abducted, yes,” Nanos said. “She didn’t walk from there. She didn’t go willingly.”
Nanos earlier Monday confirmed that her disappearance is being treated as a crime, and urged neighbors to review home video camera footage.
“We saw some things at the home that were concerning to us,” Nanos told reporters. “We believe now after we’ve processed that crime scene that we do in fact have a crime scene, that we do in fact have a crime, and we’re asking the community’s help.”
Nanos urged people who think they see Nancy Guthrie to take a picture or record a video and alert authorities. A missing person’s flier from the sheriff’s department said she is 5 feet, 5 inches tall, has brown hair and blue eyes and weighs 150 pounds.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, “is very limited in her mobility” and “we know she didn’t just walk out of there,” Nanos said, adding there are other aspects at the scene that indicate she did not leave on her own.
She doesn’t have any cognitive issues, but is in urgent need of her daily medication, authorities said.
“The clock is literally ticking,” Nanos said, referring to Nancy Guthrie’s need to take her medication. “It’s been more than 24 hours since she disappeared.”
guthrie-nancy-2.pngNanos said she lived by herself, and that the family told him “she couldn’t walk 50 yards. And so we know she couldn’t get far from that home unless she was removed from that home.”
“I want to stress to you, and it is really important: Miss Guthrie, Nancy Guthrie is of great sound mind,” Nanos told reporters. “This is not a dementia-related, she is as sharp as a tack. The family wants everybody to know this isn’t somebody who just wandered off.”
The sheriff said Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her home in the Catalina Foothills area at 9:30 p.m. Saturday. When she didn’t show up for church the next morning, family members went to her home, looked for her and called 911, he said.
Nanos didn’t provide additional details about what investigators found concerning at the home, citing the ongoing investigation. Sgt. David Stivers told reporters, “There were circumstances on scene that we believe are suspicious in nature, I think is the best way to put it.”
Nanos did not provide a possible motive and said there was no initial indication Nancy Guthrie was targeted because of her name, but noted, “We can’t dismiss that.”
I read on People Magazine that Nancy’s last appearance on the Today Show was in November, when she did a segment with Savannah returning to her hometown of Tucson. I’m including that below; it’s the second YouTube video. Nancy is shown at around minute 5:30. This is such a scary situation and I hope that Nancy is ok. I can’t imagine what Savannah and her family are going through right now. Hopefully the media attention will help bring Nancy home safely very soon.
Photos credit: Getty Images and via Instagram and People.com
This is so concerning bc she can not be w/o her meds, and she has limited mobility. How freaking frightening to be abducted in the middle of the night. Is this someone hiding in the house who was a person who had access via another means (like they had come for repairs ) or did someone target her b/c of Savanna for $ or political revenge, but not think it thru and now she is dying b/c she is not on her meds, or hurt, there was blood in the house? So they will panic and kill her or leave her to die.
I do not have a good feeling.
What do y’all think? Prays, but this also shows the danger of publishing where your family lives. How sad this world is.
I’m with you, unfortunately I don’t have a good feeling, either. I hope we’re wrong! It’s such a bizarre story.
I wonder if the abductor even knew who her daughter is, or if it was just totally random?
If she were kidnapped because of Savannah’s fame, surely there would be a ransom request? Otherwise, to what end would she be kidnapped?
There’s something odd about this story, the house looks like a crime scene but a limited mobility 84-year old fought back?
Or someone known to her did something and then made it look like an abduction?
This is very sad and stressful for her family, I hope she is found safely.
Where is it indicated she “fought back?”
@marigold: the article quotes nanos as saying she didn’t go willingly, which to me indicates there is some evidence of a struggle. and @shazbot-i don’t think it’s odd at all. limited mobility doesn’t mean she couldn’t move at all. the article just indicates she has trouble walking, not that she had trouble with the rest of her body. it could just be stuff knocked over in an otherwise orderly house.
Based on all the other context, I’m reading the “crime scene” and “did not go willingly” more as she resisted being taken – maybe there are shoe marks indicating trying to drag her heels, or yes, things knocked over, things she tried to grab onto to save herself, etc. – rather than “fought back” as in, used self-defense moves, etc., on her kidnappers.
Things that would be appropriate in the context of an 84-year-old with limited mobility.
But, it’s possible that, knowing she has limited mobility and not seeing any evidence that she took a car/ordered a ride, etc., that they determined she did not go willingly based on logic? And that would mean the house is automatically a crime scene?
I’m of the mind that it means she was coerced or scared and went where she was told, not that she physically fought back.
“Signs of a struggle” would indicate fighting back, to me.
I don’t know if there’s any evidence of a struggle or that she fought back, but I’ll say this: my mom is 85, uses a cane, can’t walk that far anymore. She’s 5 foot nothing if that, a sweet, pretty little woman with silver hair & a kind heart.
She is also “sharp as a tack,” and would fight like a honey badger if someone tried to mess with her.
She literally saved my life a few years ago by facing down a roomful of doctors and nurses, yelling at the top of her lungs until they did what she wanted.
Don’t discount the old and disabled. We can be a force to be reckoned with.
I’m not discounting anyone. My focus is the language used.
From my limited knowledge based on true crime shows and fictional crime show, they’re not supposed to tell the public when there’s a ransom request, especially if they’re considering it and using it to find clues, right? There’s surely more going on behind the scenes than they can tell us, so that they can properly save this woman.
I hate sounding like a conspiracy theorist, but I just read that Savannah interviewed 5 Epstein victims in 2019 and the interview never aired due to victims’ safety concerns. And now some of the files are coming out and now this. Remember the goons Stormy warned about that threatened her daughter? I put nothing past this cabal.
This is a horrifying thought.
Especially because that wouldn’t be a ransom situation, that would just be sending a message, like a mafia.
😳
Well that’s terrifying. I very much hope it’s just a rumor, too. Poor Savannah.
Doesn’t necessarily have to be major evidence of a struggle – but perhaps the kidnapper(s) dropped something in the house /left something behind by accident, and it’s an item that obviously doesn’t belong there. Or maybe there were signs of forced entry or a footprint or something.
I’m just hoping the publicity of this case breaks it open and they find her fast.
This is horrifying. I’m hoping hoping it ends well.
Ransom or maybe someone obsessed with Savannah? In any event, how absolutely horrifying.
They’re saying there’s no evidence of that, but what else? Tucson is a very safe city for elderly people and she was hardly chosen for international trafficking.
Hopefully a demand is forthcoming and she will be returned safely.
I’ve been surprised by seeing so many people asking why someone would abduct or attack an elderly person. The reason is because they are vulnerable, and doubly so for elderly women. Evil always looks for easy targets.
This story is terrifying, and Savannah must be frantic with fear. It’s made me think about my own mom, who’s nearly 80 and very independent – just imagining something like this happening to her is unbearable. I’m praying for Nancy’s safe return and for Savannah and her family to get through this with some good news.
I thought it might be a deranged fan of her daughter but there’s no ransom. Also her belongings were left at home. Guess we’ll see if anyone gained access to a bank card. Do you think it might be someone she hired and they thought she has a lot of $? Also read that taking the victim is more common when the assailant is known to the victim & can identify them. It’s shocking & scary. I am guessing other well known media figures must be thinking of their own families safety after this incident. Was she the only mom of a staff person who appeared on the Today show regularly, including showing her home town?
I’m a Tucsonan. I’m not sure why proximity to the border was mentioned in this article? I dearly hope the resolution to this does not serve to further MAGA’s evil agenda.
Everyone here is so concerned for Nancy Guthrie, and I have some friends who were helping to search yesterday.
That’s fine, I deleted it. I thought it was relevant but didn’t think it through
It’s a little confusing – her house is outside city limits but it’s still thought of as Tucson. At the intersection the local news has mentioned, all 4 corners have businesses (including an upscale shopping center with Williams Sonoma, Crate & Barrel, Tiffany’s, etc.). There’s desert everywhere but it wouldn’t be considered rural in any way.
Thanks for covering this, it’s just horrific.
My mom turns 80 in a couple weeks and if something like this happened to her I’d be losing my mind with fear and worry. Just an incredibly scary thing and every day that passes without locating her, the chance for her survival lessens. Poor Savannnah and family–what a nightmare.
This is so upsetting and I hope and pray she is found safely. I can’t imagine what her kids are going through.
Savannah and her sister must be out of their minds with worry. Praying for their mother’s safe return.