What We Know About the Nancy Guthrie Missing-Persons Case

Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today anchor Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing from her Arizona home on February 1. Three days later, her distraught children pleaded for the 84-year-old’s safe return, confirming that law enforcement believe Nancy was abducted against her will and could be alive. Law enforcement has released some details of the ongoing investigation and why it is considering it a criminal matter, but it has yet to home in on any suspects or persons of interest or reveal the full details of any purported ransom note.

Below, everything we can confirm about the disappearance and search for Nancy so far. 

When and how did Nancy Guthrie disappear?

Guthrie was last seen the evening of Saturday, January 31, when she ate dinner at her daughter Annie’s Tuscon home. Annie’s husband, Tommaso Cioni, dropped Nancy off at her house around 9:45 p.m. local time and says he made sure she made it inside safely before driving away. 

When Nancy didn’t show up to her regular church service on Sunday, February 1, friends notified the Guthrie family, who went to her home to see if something was wrong. They discovered her belongings — including a wallet, phone, and daily medications — were there, but she was not. The family called 911, and after an initial investigation, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department determined this was a criminal case, not a situation involving a senior citizen who had willingly left or wandered off. 

How did police determine it was a crime?

The PCSD arrived at Nancy’s home around noon that Sunday and discovered evidence that, according to Sheriff Chris Nanos, gave officers “grave concern.” This included red splatter on her front doorstep, signs of forced entry, and a missing doorbell camera. Homicide detectives were called in because of “what the scene was telling us,” according to Nanos. “It’s not standard. Typically, our homicide team comes out when he have a homicide, a body,” he said at a Sunday briefing, adding, “She did not leave on her own, we know that.”

DNA testing later confirmed that the red splatter was Nancy’s blood. Investigators also learned that the missing camera was disconnected at 1:47 a.m., while her security system had a “person on camera” alert at 2:12 a.m. At a February 5 press conference, Nanos said that Nancy’s cameras were not connected to a subscription service and there’s no recording of the detected movement, which authorities said could have come from an animal and not necessarily a person. An external company’s efforts to recover the footage were unsuccessful and PCSD is exploring other methods to extract any information from the software. 

What are the concerns regarding Nancy’s health?

The immediate worries for Nancy’s safety include fears about her health. Her pacemaker disconnected from her Apple Watch and iPhone at 2:28 a.m., just after her security system detected movement. A cardiologist interviewed by the New York Post said the likely cause of the disconnection was Nancy being physically taken out of range of her devices and that the disconnect does not necessarily indicate anything medically worrisome occurred.

Law enforcement said Nancy is in good cognitive health but cannot walk more than 50 yards on her own and takes daily medication for unspecified pain and cardiac issues. Beyond the complications that the stress of the situation could have on her heart, the interruption in her medication regimen could be serious. Pharmacies in the area are on alert for anyone suspicious picking up the medicines she needs. 

How is the Guthrie family handling it?

Savannah Guthrie didn’t appear on the Today show on February 2, with fellow anchor Craig Melvin reading a statement in her absence: “On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers, and messages of support. Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom. We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.”

Today co-hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones shared the statement again during the third hour of the show, with Bush Hager reminding viewers that Nancy urgently needs her medications. It was later announced that Savannah would no longer be covering the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina.

On February 4, Savannah and her elder siblings, Annie and Camron, posted a video to Instagram, tearfully pleading for information about the whereabouts of their mother, whose husband, Charles, passed away in 1988. “Our mother is a kind, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light,” Savannah read from a statement. “We, too, have heard the reports about a possible ransom letter in the media. As a family, we are doing everything that we can. We are ready to talk. However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated. We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen.” The FBI provided “expertise” ahead of the video, but the Pima County sheriff was not made aware of it until his wife showed him the video on social media.

Later that day, President Trump called Savannah to offer support from federal law enforcement, a day after the White House encouraged anyone with information to come forward in an official post on X. Around 400 people from the Tucson area attended a candlelight prayer vigil at St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church to offer support for the Guthries, who did not attend.

Is there a ransom note?

On February 3, TMZ and local news stations received ransom letters via e-mail from a purported kidnapper, asking for millions of dollars in bitcoin for Nancy’s safe return. The note allegedly included two deadlines for the payment — 5 p.m. on February 5 and 5 p.m. on February 9 — but did not specify a time zone. Law enforcement has not provided any more details, and no developments were publicly announced after the first deadline passed. 

At 5 p.m. on February 5, Camron Guthrie released another statement via Savannah’s Instagram account, saying, “Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven’t heard anything directly. We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward. But first we have to know that you have our mom. We want to talk to you, and we are waiting for contact.” 

Authorities haven’t revealed any specifics of the letter, but TMZ founder Harvey Levin told CNN the letter contained credible details about Nancy’s Apple Watch and a floodlight on her property. Levin added that the author of the note took care to not reveal any identifying information, but said Nancy is “okay but scared.” Without elaborating, Levin called the February 9 deadline “far more consequential.” 

Also on February 5, the FBI arrested 42-year-old Derrick Callella of Hawthorne, California, for sending ransom text messages to the Guthrie family. FBI Phoenix special agent in charge Heith Janke said this “imposter ransom demand” was unrelated to the letters sent to the media. Callella allegedly sent the texts using an app that created a fake phone number for him, and authorities were able to trace it back to an email address he used. According to a DoJ press release, Callella is facing charges of “transmitting a demand for ransom in interstate commerce, and without disclosing his identity, utilizing a telecommunications device with the intent to abuse, threaten, or harass a person.”

Where does the investigation stand?

As of the latest press conference on February 5, PCSD and the FBI do not have any suspects or persons of interest in the disappearance. An Uber driver who dropped Nancy off at her daughter’s home for dinner was interviewed and cleared of suspicion. Several issues have hampered the investigation, including a lack of surveillance footage from neighbors’ security systems and the harsh outdoor conditions search parties could face in the Catalina Foothills area where Nancy lives. Per AZ Central, her neighborhood is close to both the sprawling desert and the Santa Catalina mountains, so the ground and air-rescue teams are dealing with “uneven topography, limited visibility, and temperature changes” with nighttime temperatures in the upper 30s and low 40s.

The FBI also announced it is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to Nancy’s return. “If those that may have Nancy are watching this, the family is ready to talk, get proof of life, because there has been no contact after that ransom note went to the media,” Janke said at the briefing.

On CNN, James Gagliano, a retired FBI supervisory special agent with experience in hostage negotiations, said the family’s video pleas indicate “they have not received any other reach-outs and they’re basically in the dark right now, so that’s what makes this such a tough case from the motivation perspective. Was it revenge or was it for profit? I think investigators have reached a dead end, and that’s why the sheriff of Pima County is basically saying they’re going to start putting up literal physical billboards to try to crowdsource this and get more people to come forward with information.”

“Right now, we believe Nancy is still out there,” Nanos said at the Thursday press conference. “We want her home.” 

The FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department are still asking anyone with tips to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.