Eighty-four-year-old Nancy Guthrie vanished from her home in the Catalina Foothills, Tucson, on the morning of 1 February, after a family dinner the previous evening. Her daughter Annie and son-in-law Tommaso Cioni had dropped her off at her home after supper, but when she failed to attend church the next day, friends alerted the family. Police were called that afternoon and found droplets of blood on her front porch, later confirmed to be hers, and her doorbell camera missing. Her phone and heart medication were left behind.
The case has drawn exceptional attention because Nancy is the mother of Savannah Guthrie, 54, co-anchor of NBC's Today show for over a decade. Savannah has described her mother as her “rock” and “inspiration”, and the family has made emotional public appeals for her safe return. Savannah cancelled a planned trip to Italy to host NBC's Winter Olympics coverage to be with her family during the ordeal.
Investigators have pieced together a timeline: the doorbell camera was disconnected at 1.47am on 1 February, movement was detected on the home security system 20 minutes later, and at 2.28am her pacemaker app disconnected from her phone, indicating she left the property. The sheriff's office concluded she was taken against her will. A purported ransom note arrived soon after, demanding millions of dollars in bitcoin, and the FBI confirmed it contained details only the kidnapper would know. Three further notes have since emerged, but the FBI says it has seen no communication between the family and alleged kidnappers.
The case has become a national obsession, with armchair sleuths descending on Nancy's neighbourhood to livestream updates. As the investigation enters its third week, many questions remain unanswered. The family continues to plead for information, while police urge anyone with details to come forward.
