AZ NANCY GUTHRIE: Missing from Tucson, AZ - 31 Jan 2026 - Age 84

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apnews.com

Authorities believe 'Today' show host Savannah Guthrie's mother was taken against her will

Authorities believe the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will.
apnews.com apnews.com

‘Today’ show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother is missing in Arizona and authorities suspect crime​

The disappearance of the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie over the weekend is being investigated as a crime based on what authorities saw at her home, an Arizona sheriff said Monday.

Asked to explain why investigators believe the Tucson-area home is a crime scene, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said Nancy Guthrie has limited mobility and said there were other things indicating she did not leave on her own, but he declined to further elaborate.

“I need this community to step up and start giving us some calls,” Nanos said during a news conference.

The sheriff said Guthrie, who lived alone, was of sound mind.

“This is not dementia related. She’s as sharp as a tack. The family wants everyone to know that this isn’t someone who just wandered off,” Nanos said, adding that she needs her daily medication.

Guthrie was last seen around 9:30 p.m. Saturday at her home in the Tucson area and her family reported her missing around noon Sunday, the sheriff said.

Nanos said a family member received a call from someone at church saying Guthrie wasn’t there, leading family to search for her at her home and then calling 911.

“From what the family’s told us and everything we’ve learned, she could not walk out of that home 50 yards. We believe she was taken out of the home against her will, and that’s how this investigation is moving,” the sheriff told NBC’s Tom Llamas.


On Monday morning, Nanos said search crews worked hard but have since been pulled back.

“We don’t see this as a search mission so much as it is a crime scene,” the sheriff said.

Even so, a sheriff’s helicopter flew over the desert Monday afternoon near Guthrie’s home in the affluent Catalina Foothills area on the northern edge of Tucson. Her brick home has a gravel driveway and a yard covered in Prickly Pear and Saguaro cactus.

Savannah Guthrie issued a statement on Monday, NBC’s “Today” show reported.

“On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and messages of support,” she said. “Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear Nancy.”


MEDIA - NANCY GUTHRIE: Missing from Tucson, AZ - 31 Jan 2026 - Age 84
 
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SheWhoMustNotBeNamed said:
Maybe trying to emulate others like BTK, Zodiac, etc.?
But...those guys we just talking/bragging about their crimes, not asking for a ransom.

Exactly. And how could they possibly say the intruder / guy on camera didn't write it unless they know who he is.

The way that release was written makes it sound like they do believe these letters are legit. But honestly, who knows. This investigation has been all over the place.
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Or, that by asking for ransom, they're trying to mislead, I mean, why a media outlet and more specifically, why TMZ?
 
What if they stole things and she interrupted them in the middle of the theft? They haven’t really said whether or not anything was taken. But the guy did have a backpack, which leads me to think that he was planning on putting something in it.

The only part of this theory that doesn’t make sense is them taking her with them.
 
testerv said:
What if they stole things and she interrupted them in the middle of the theft? They haven’t really said whether or not anything was taken. But the guy did have a backpack, which leads me to think that he was planning on putting something in it.

The only part of this theory that doesn’t make sense is them taking her with them.
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That's what I'm thinking is that they didn't think she was home or thought she would sleep through and then they might have panicked when she saw them.
 
testerv said:
What if they stole things and she interrupted them in the middle of the theft? They haven’t really said whether or not anything was taken. But the guy did have a backpack, which leads me to think that he was planning on putting something in it.

The only part of this theory that doesn’t make sense is them taking her with them.
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Well, I don't think it's unheard of that an eyewitness was abducted...Now, in your scenario, I'd think the guy must have thought or knew Nancy could identify him.
 

Nancy Guthrie latest: Man detained to sue for $2.5 million​

Carlos Palazuelos, a man who claims he was wrongfully detained in Nancy Guthrie‘s disappearance, is now suing Pima County for $2.5 million.

ABC15 reports a Phoenix law firm has filed a notice of claim on behalf of Palazuelos and two of his family members against the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Chris Nanos, and Detective Earl Gieron.

According to the report, Palazuelos said he was held for 7 to 8 hours and was released without being charged.

TMZ reports Daniel Maddox claims he was cuffed and held under armed guard, and Josefina Maddox, who owns the home, said deputies did damage to the property while executing a search warrant.

Daniel Maddox is seeking $500,000 and Josefina Maddox wants $250,000.

www.ibtimes.co.uk

'Whatever Evidence Is Secret': Detained Suspect Demands Officers Expose Nancy Guthrie Case Files

The lawyer for Tucson delivery driver Carlos Palazuelos is demanding that investigators unseal the secret search warrant affidavit that tied his client to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
www.ibtimes.co.uk www.ibtimes.co.uk

'Whatever Evidence Is Secret': Detained Suspect Demands Officers Expose Nancy Guthrie Case Files​

A man detained and briefly treated as a potential suspect in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie in Tucson, Arizona, is demanding that investigators unseal the secret case files that led deputies to his door.

Delivery driver Carlos Palazuelos, 36, was held for several hours in February by Pima County sheriff's deputies as part of the search for 84-year-old Nancy, the mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie.

He was released the same day without charge, but his lawyer now wants to know precisely what evidence justified the search of his family home.

Attorney Jesse Showalter is asking a court to force the disclosure of the search warrant affidavit and whatever evidence investigators say they presented to a judge.

Attorney Showalter confirmed that the search warrant used to raid the Palazuelos family home in February remains under seal months later.

Speaking to Newsweek about the Nancy Guthrie investigation, he said he was seeking the search warrant affidavit, the sworn document investigators submitted to a judge to obtain authorisation for the search.

In his words, he wants to read how it 'came to pass that they went after Carlos, what their purported evidence was and what they told the judge in order to get that search warrant.'

Showalter told reporters that the affidavit has not been made public and said, 'Whatever evidence supposedly existed, for the arrest and for the search is secret.' He added that whether it ever sees the light of day may depend on upcoming litigation, since law enforcement frequently asks courts to keep sensitive material under a protective order.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has defended the decision to pursue the warrant, saying deputies had sufficient grounds to put the case before a judge. He said investigators had information suggesting there was a 'potential that Nancy's there, or there's a potential the bad guy's there', and that this was enough for a judge to sign off on the operation.

Nanos has declined to describe that information in detail or say what, if anything, was recovered from the home. The sheriff's department has said it will not comment on pending litigation.
 
SheWhoMustNotBeNamed said:

Nancy Guthrie latest: Man detained to sue for $2.5 million​

Carlos Palazuelos, a man who claims he was wrongfully detained in Nancy Guthrie‘s disappearance, is now suing Pima County for $2.5 million.

ABC15 reports a Phoenix law firm has filed a notice of claim on behalf of Palazuelos and two of his family members against the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Chris Nanos, and Detective Earl Gieron.

According to the report, Palazuelos said he was held for 7 to 8 hours and was released without being charged.

TMZ reports Daniel Maddox claims he was cuffed and held under armed guard, and Josefina Maddox, who owns the home, said deputies did damage to the property while executing a search warrant.

Daniel Maddox is seeking $500,000 and Josefina Maddox wants $250,000.

www.ibtimes.co.uk

'Whatever Evidence Is Secret': Detained Suspect Demands Officers Expose Nancy Guthrie Case Files

The lawyer for Tucson delivery driver Carlos Palazuelos is demanding that investigators unseal the secret search warrant affidavit that tied his client to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
www.ibtimes.co.uk www.ibtimes.co.uk

'Whatever Evidence Is Secret': Detained Suspect Demands Officers Expose Nancy Guthrie Case Files​

A man detained and briefly treated as a potential suspect in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie in Tucson, Arizona, is demanding that investigators unseal the secret case files that led deputies to his door.

Delivery driver Carlos Palazuelos, 36, was held for several hours in February by Pima County sheriff's deputies as part of the search for 84-year-old Nancy, the mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie.

He was released the same day without charge, but his lawyer now wants to know precisely what evidence justified the search of his family home.

Attorney Jesse Showalter is asking a court to force the disclosure of the search warrant affidavit and whatever evidence investigators say they presented to a judge.

Attorney Showalter confirmed that the search warrant used to raid the Palazuelos family home in February remains under seal months later.

Speaking to Newsweek about the Nancy Guthrie investigation, he said he was seeking the search warrant affidavit, the sworn document investigators submitted to a judge to obtain authorisation for the search.

In his words, he wants to read how it 'came to pass that they went after Carlos, what their purported evidence was and what they told the judge in order to get that search warrant.'

Showalter told reporters that the affidavit has not been made public and said, 'Whatever evidence supposedly existed, for the arrest and for the search is secret.' He added that whether it ever sees the light of day may depend on upcoming litigation, since law enforcement frequently asks courts to keep sensitive material under a protective order.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has defended the decision to pursue the warrant, saying deputies had sufficient grounds to put the case before a judge. He said investigators had information suggesting there was a 'potential that Nancy's there, or there's a potential the bad guy's there', and that this was enough for a judge to sign off on the operation.

Nanos has declined to describe that information in detail or say what, if anything, was recovered from the home. The sheriff's department has said it will not comment on pending litigation.
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I sure can't blame them for wanting to know why they thought he was the guy.
 
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