The 84-year-old mother of US TV star Savannah Guthrie disappeared eleven days ago. What seemed like a case of abduction turned out to be a kidnapping. Now the whole country is excited about the search, but the police are running out of time. A video should clarify the case.
The search message for Nancy Guthrie on the FBI homepage. The 84-year-old was kidnapped from her home on February 1stAPA-Images / AFP Getty / BRANDON
A masked person tears up tufts of grass and leaves and tries to cover a small video camera. But that doesn’t really work because the green stuff doesn’t stick to the smooth surface of the camera housing. Whereupon the hooded figure looks rather perplexed into the camera behind his ski mask before the clip breaks off.
What at first glance looks like a somewhat bizarre slapstick video is actually the key moment in one of the most extraordinary criminal cases in recent US history. Because the hooded person who moves rather clumsily in front of the camera is probably responsible for the kidnapping of an 84-year-old disabled lady named Nancy Guthrie.
And as if that wasn’t enough, the 84-year-old is also the mother of a national TV celebrity: Savannah Guthrie, one of the most famous journalists in the USA and host of the nationally broadcast program “The Today Show” for 15 years.
The senior citizen has been missing for eleven days now. The authorities assume a kidnapping and the entire country has been in a state of emergency since then. Because the fate of Nancy Guthrie touches millions. Even President Donald Trump offered to help.
What is known about the 84-year-old’s kidnapping case, what the authorities have done so far to find her and how the whole country feels sorry for the old lady’s family – This is what we know about the mysterious disappearance of Nancy Guthrie:
Nancy Guthrie’s home in Catalina Foothills, from which she disappeared without a trace on the night of February 1st
REUTERS/Rebecca Noble
What is it about?
About one of the most unusual missing person cases in recent years. Nancy Guthrie, an 84-year-old woman from Catalina Foothills, a suburb of Tucson in the US state of Arizona, is wanted. The old lady’s mobility is severely limited, she has a pacemaker and has to take medication every day.
What happened to her?
She was last seen on the evening of January 31, 2026. She had dinner with her daughter Annie and her husband, the Italian-born Tommaso Cioni, in their house. After that, her son-in-law took her back home. At 9:48 p.m. (the police have now reconstructed this) the 50-year-old dropped Nancy Guthrie off at home. He made sure that the woman got into her house safely and then drove home himself.
What happened next?
The next morning – it was Sunday – Nancy Guthrie didn’t come to church as usual. A community member contacted her family around 11 a.m. Just before 12 p.m., her relatives were in her house, where there was no trace of the 84-year-old. After a short tour of the property, they call 911 – the beginning of this strange case.
What did the authorities do?
The local Pima County Sheriff’s Office initially launched a search in the area surrounding Nancy Guthrie’s home. With search and rescue teams, including dog teams, drones and helicopters, as well as support from the US Border Patrol. But no trace of the 84-year-old was found.
What happened then?
On February 2, the search was converted into a criminal investigation. Sheriff Chris Nanos said Nancy Guthrie was believed to have been “taken out of the house against her will,” possibly in the middle of the night. And that it was assumed that the old lady had been kidnapped.
Three reasons why the police assume a kidnapping
- Nancy Guthrie is not demented. She has limited mobility but is mentally up to speed.
- The situation in the house suggests this. All personal itemsincluding you Handyare there.
- They were found at the front door Traces of bloodthat could be genetically assigned to her.
The horror video: Shortly before 2 a.m. an unknown person disabled the security camera
But why would someone kidnap an 84-year-old sick woman?
Possibly because Nancy is the mother of Savannah Guthrie is one of the best-known TV journalists in the USA. The 54-year-old has been part of the team on the popular breakfast TV show for 15 years “The Today Show” on NBC and is one of the show’s main hosts. In October 2020, she also moderated a so-called “town hall meeting” with Donald Trump as part of the presidential election campaign.
Has the US President commented on this?
Yes, Donald Trump called Savannah Guthrie on February 4, offering her additional federal assistance and expressing hope for her mother’s recovery. The White House also posted information about Guthrie on its social media channels and called on the public to report any relevant information.
Does Nancy Guthrie have any other children?
Yes, three in total. In addition to Savannah and the elder Annie, who is an author, poet and jewelry designer in Tucson, there is son Camron, a retired Air Force pilot.
Is the family from Arizona?
No, Nancy’s husband, Charles Guthrie, was a mining engineer, so the family had to move frequently. Savannah was born in Australia, where her father was working at the time. In 1973 the family moved back to the USA and settled in Tucson.
Is Charles Guthrie still alive?
No, he died of a heart attack in 1988, and since then Nancy Guthrie has been alone with her children. Not least because of this, the relationship between the three children and their mother is very close.
Was the suspicion that it was a kidnapping confirmed?
In any case, since the 84-year-old’s disappearance, the media has repeatedly received ransom demands. The local station KOLD-TV received the first on February 2nd, the authorities classified it as authentic and forwarded it to the FBI, which had since been involved in the investigation.
In October 2020, Savannah Guthrie moderated a town hall meeting with Donald Trump. He now offered her his support
APA-Images / AP / Evan Vucci
How many ransom demands have there been since then?
The celebrity portal received it on February 3rd TMZ a suspected ransom letter containing millions of dollars in Bitcoin were required. On February 5, TMZ founder Harvey Levin claimed to have received another ransom letter. And on February 11th, another letter is said to have been received by the portal, where information about Nancy Guthrie’s kidnappers was offered in return for a payment of 1 Bitcoin (currently around 57,000 euros).
Are these letters considered authentic by the FBI?
The US Federal Police have not yet provided any information on this.
Who should pay the money, the family?
Yes, that certainly seems to be the suspected kidnappers’ plan. On February 4th, Nancy’s three children turned to their mother’s kidnappers for the first time in a very emotional video on Instagram and asked them for a sign of life.
Were there any other videos?
Yes, on February 5, Camron Guthrie spoke alone in a video and asked for proof that her mother was unharmed. And on February 7th there was a joint video of the three children in which they declared that they wanted to fulfill the ransom demand.
Was there a serious ransom demand?
There is no information about this from the FBI, but one can infer it from Savannah Guthrie’s words. She says: “We have received your message and we understand. We ask you to release our mother. We will pay.”
And was it paid? Do you know how much?
No, we don’t know anything about it. A supposed deadline for paying the ransom on February 9 passed without any further action being reported. However, Savannah Guthrie went public again on the same day.
What did she say?
Not only did she ask for continued prayers for her mother, but she also openly called for anyone to report any suspicious observations to the authorities. From this it can be concluded that there was apparently no ransom payment after all.
How were the ransoms actually demanded in the supposed ransom letters?
As Bitcoin payments. Cryptocurrency has established itself as one of the most popular means of payment for criminals because it is considered very difficult to trace.
What does the FBI say about all this?
There is no further information from the federal police. A day later, on February 10, FBI Director Kash Patel went public with a sensational announcement.
What happened?
The director released several photos and videos that may show the or at least one of Nancy Guthrie’s kidnappers. And he also addressed the population with very specific information.
What did the FBI have to say?
It was determined that on the night of Saturday, January 31st to Sunday, February 1st, at 1:47 a.m., an unknown person, fully masked and armed, attempted to first cover a surveillance camera built into the doorbell of Nancy Guthrie’s house (a so-called Nest Camera from Google) with plants and then deactivate it.
The suspected kidnapper in front of the front door of Nancy Guthrie’s house. He carries the pistol in the middle of the front of his waistband
FBI
How could this be determined if the camera was disabled?
This was apparently quite a complicated task for the FBI technicians, as it apparently took them more than a week to complete. A high-tech expert explained on US TV that such security cameras record movements and events in their surroundings even if their sensors are covered (which the unknown person tried to do) or if they are otherwise tampered with.
What can be seen in the pictures and videos?
A person who is not too slim and doesn’t seem particularly agile, who is fiddling with the camera in the doorbell of Nancy Guthrie’s house. The person – it is difficult to determine whether he is a man or a woman – is wearing a jacket, a balaclava (or ski hat) that only leaves the eyes and mouth exposed, rubber gloves, a backpack and a weapon in a holster.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos initially led the search for Nancy Guthrie
REUTERS/Rebecca Noble
Can anything be derived from this?
In interviews Wednesday, several former police officers and FBI investigators said it was clear from the way this person strapped the gun to his person that he had little or no experience handling handguns.
What can be said about the weapon?
That it was probably an automatic pistol. The weapon is said to be in a belt holster that was actually designed for long-barreled revolvers, as attentive users noticed on social media.
Are there any other insights from the video clips?
The person you see in it seems strangely aimless, as if she had to think about what she actually wanted. And of course the question arises as to whether the FBI really published all of the video material, or whether individual parts were withheld in order to maintain a certain information advantage and be able to quickly weed out any free riders.
The masked man first tries to cover the camera by tearing out plants
FBI
Have the videos already enabled new investigative approaches?
As US media reported on Wednesday, a search operation took place on the premises of Nancy Guthrie’s house or in the surrounding area on Wednesday night. Investigators were also at the home of Annie Guthrie and her husband Tommaso Cioni and took photos.
Was there also an arrest?
A man was stopped during a vehicle check on Tuesday evening. He was taken away by investigators, questioned for several hours, but then released. The man, apparently an immigrant named Carlos who works for a delivery service, confronted the media immediately after his release and said he had no idea what it was all about. “I don’t follow the news,” he explains. But he hopes that the perpetrator will be found soon – but in any case he is not the perpetrator.
Have the authorities commented on why this particular man was questioned?
No, no information has been provided about this yet.
What’s next?
Former investigators from various authorities in particular speculated on this on US TV. The FBI, which is leading the investigation into the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping case, has kept a very low profile since the images and videos were published.
Are there many clues from the public?
Yes, after Savannah Guthrie’s call, the Sheriff’s Department alone received more than 4,000 tips within 24 hours, according to a spokesman. The disadvantage of such actions, according to experienced investigators, is that all of these tips have to be followed up on, which ties up valuable manpower but rarely brings real results.
So, what will be done next?
Observers said on Wednesday evening that the area around Nancy Guthrie’s house was currently being searched again. They also want to evaluate the recordings from security cameras in the surrounding houses in order to perhaps find a person who could match the person in the videos. And then the investigators’ interest turns to the clothing of the person in the video.
On Wednesday, investigators’ search for Nancy Guthrie refocused on the area around her home north of Tucson
APA-Images / AP / Ty ONeil
What about it?
This could have been purchased recently, perhaps even from a store near the crime scene. In any case, it seems to have been put together quite randomly, as if it hadn’t been specifically chosen, but someone had just grabbed what was there. That would also suggest that the perpetrator or perpetrators could be amateurs who maneuvered themselves into a situation from which they can no longer find their way out, said former NYPD detective Paul Mauro on Fox News.
Maybe the FBI already knows more than it’s saying?
At least that’s what all commentators assume. Former senior FBI agent Stuart Kaplan said on Fox News that the family’s Instagram messages to the kidnappers were clearly coded and contained messages to the perpetrators that the public did not recognize. “There’s a cat-and-mouse game going on before our eyes,” said former FBI man Kaplan. Let’s hope that we are really sure who is the cat and who is the mouse…
date: 2026-02-11 23:57:00
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