Nancy Guthrie search is held back by five inescapable problems
THE desperate search for Nancy Guthrie is nearing a gut-wrenching two weeks after investigators said she was taken from her home against her will in the dark of night during the early hours of February 1.
The baffling case of the apparent kidnapping of the mother of popular Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie has captivated the country, making her rural Catalina Foothills community ground zero for news outlets and true crime influencers.
Investigators believe Nancy Guthrie disappeared sometime after 2:28am on February 1 after her pacemaker disconnected from her phone, which was left behind.
In the days since her family reported her missing, Pima County and FBI investigators have conducted repeated searches at both Nancy’s and her daughter Annie’s homes, which are located about 4 miles from each other.
The mounting pressure to locate Nancy has reportedly led to clashes between Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos and the FBI.
Nanos has reportedly blocked federal agents from obtaining key evidence, including gloves and other DNA found inside Nancy’s home, according to Fox News.
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Federal investigators have reportedly asked Nanos for the items to be processed at the FBI’s national crime laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.
However, Nanos sent the evidence for testing at a private lab in Florida, according to the outlet.
Nanos disputed the claims, telling NBC affiliate KVOA that the reports were “not even close to the truth.”
But it has been Nancy’s unlit, secluded desert neighborhood that has made the investigation challenging for law enforcement.
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Secluded area
The U.S. Sun was on the ground in Tucson and experienced first-hand the rugged stretch of desert terrain that surrounds Nancy’s home and those of her neighbors.
Nancy’s property is located on a roughly mile-long road with no street lights or cameras, dense vegetation, and away from hotels and commercial businesses.
The community is roughly 44.6 miles of desert, according to the Arizona Republic.
The affluent area is popular for hikers due to its mountainous terrain and hilly roads.
Unlit roads
At night and without a flashlight, it is impossible to see where you’re walking or what is in front of you.
Locals, who for decades have called the Catalina Foothills home, relayed to The U.S. Sun that the lack of lights in the community is to protect astronomical research at various observatories in Tucson.
A neighbor told The U.S. Sun that homeowners in the area are encouraged not to have landscape lights on their properties.
“If you have lights, landscape lights on your house, don’t point them up. You want them to point at the wall or down on the ground, not the sky,” said the woman, who asked not to be named.
The sound of chirping crickets and coyotes howling in the night is the only sign of life when you’re standing on the dark remote roads.
The same neighbor told The U.S. Sun that at night she often hears barking and whooping from coyotes around the neighborhood.
“Sometimes we have bobcats. But overall, we don’t have a lot of noise,” she added.
Off-road homes
Unlike traditional neighborhoods where homes are situated closely to one another, the layout of the Catalina Foothills is starkly different.
There are no sidewalks, and neighboring most homes is a desert environment with skin-tearing cacti and thick shrubs.
Most of the residential homes are spaced out off main roads, only have a ground level, and are tucked in behind long driveways.
Due to the dense shrubs, the darkness of unlit roads, and where many of the homes sit; even if doorbell camera footage is available from neighbors, they would not capture activity on local streets.
The lack of surveillance cameras on main roads has forced local and federal investigators to go door-to-door to nearby residences for any home security camera footage they may have.
Desperate search
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has laid out a timeline of what they believe were Nancy’s final hours before she was allegedly kidnapped.
On the afternoon of January 31, Nancy took an Uber to her daughter Annie and her son-in-law Tommaso Cionni’s house for dinner.
At 9:48pm that evening, Sheriff Nanos said Cionni dropped off his mother-in-law at her home.
In the early hours of February 1, Nancy’s doorbell camera disconnected at 1:47am.
At 2:12am, software from one of Nancy’s cameras on her property detected a person.
Then, at 2:28am, Nancy’s pacemaker disconnected from her phone.
By 11:56am, Nancy’s family arrived at her home after being alerted by a friend that their mother missed Sunday mass.
After not being able to locate Nancy, the family calls Pima County deputies to report her missing.
Roughly 10 minutes later, deputies arrive at the scene and uncover “concerning” evidence, including a trail of blood on the porch outside the home and Nancy’s missing doorbell camera.
The FBI has since obtained the doorbell camera footage from the night of Nancy’s disappearance, which showed a man wearing a ski mask using a plant from the lawn to obscure the camera’s lens.
Federal investigators described the man as average build, between 5’9′ and 5’10’, wearing a black, 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack.
The FBI is offering $100,000 for any information leading to the man’s arrest.
Timeline of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance
Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her home on February 1, 2026.
Timeline:
- January 31: Nancy is last seen by her family
- 5:32pm: Nancy travels to her daughter’s home for dinner, about 11 minutes from her own house.
- 9:48pm: Family members drop off Nancy Guthrie at her home in Tucson. Her garage door closes two minutes later.
- February 1: Nancy is reported missing and a search begins
- 1:47am: Nancy’s doorbell camera disconnects
- 2:12am: Camera software detects a person moving in range of the camera. There is no video, and Nancy does not have a storage description.
- 2:28am: Nancy’s pacemaker app disconnects from her phone, which is later found still at her house.
- Around 11am: A parishioner at Nancy’s church calls the mom’s children and says she failed to show up for service.
- 11:56am: Family members arrive at Nancy’s house to check on her.
- 12:03pm: The family calls 911 to report Nancy missing.
- 8:55pm: The Pima County Sheriff’s Office gives its first press conference and reveals some clues found at Nancy’s home caused “grave concern.” Sheriff Chris Nanos says helicopters, drones, and infrared cameras are all being utilized in the search.
- February 2: Search crews pull back. Nancy’s home is considered a crime scene. Savannah releases a statement thanking supporters for their prayers, which her co-hosts read on Today.
- February 3: A trail of blood is pictured outside Nancy’s home, where there were reportedly signs of forced entry. Nanos admits they have no suspects, no leads, and no videos that could lead to Nancy’s recovery. He and the FBI beg for more tips and accounts.
- February 4, 8pm: Savannah and her siblings release a heartbreaking video directed at their mother’s abductors asking for proof she is alive and saying they’re willing to work with them to get her back.
- February 5: FBI offers $50,000 reward for information on the case.
- 5pm: First ransom demand deadline for millions in Bitcoin passes. Guthrie family releases demand to speak “directly” to the kidnappers, saying, “We want to talk to you and we are waiting for contact.”
- February 9, 5pm: Second ransom demand deadline, reportedly with “much more serious” conditions.