Nancy Guthrie Part 1

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2:14purposes. Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney, and this is Voices for Justice.

2:27Today, I'm discussing the case of Nancy Guthrie. This is a case that's drawn a lot of attention, a lot of theories, and honestly, a lot of speculation. You guys have asked me to cover it more times than I can count. And I understand why. Nancy's case has all the pieces that make people want to keep digging. A beloved woman vanishes from a quiet neighborhood. The scene inside her home raises immediate red flags. And nearly every detail seems to lead to another question. But I really want to slow that down. Because when a case has been discussed this much, it can start to feel like the theories have become the story.

3:07And my goal today is to cut through as much of that as possible and get back to what we actually know. What's been confirmed, what's been reported, what Nancy's family has said, what law enforcement has said, and what remains unanswered. And that is especially important because this case is still moving. In fact, less than 24 hours before recording this episode, there have been new updates. So if you think you've heard every podcast, read every post, and followed every thread about this case, there is new information to talk about. Let's go through the facts, the timeline, and the investigation.

3:45This is the case of Nancy Guthrie. It's about 5 p.m. on Saturday, January 31, 2026, and 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie is at her home in the Catalina Foothills area of Tucson, Arizona. She's waiting for an Uber to take her to her daughter Annie's home for dinner. Annie lives just a few miles away with her husband, Tommaso Sione. They're both in their 50s and live with their 12-year-old son, and they are a major part of Nancy's daily support system. Nancy's other daughter, Savannah, said that no one took better care of their mother than Annie and Tommaso. They actually moved to the Catalina Foothills area specifically to be closer to Nancy.

4:24And it really is a great area of Tucson. Nancy seemed to love it. She'd been in that area for over 50 years. While the city is typically known for being very hot and the home of the University of Arizona, northeast of the city where Nancy lives is definitely not known for broke college kids. Her community is at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains, really away from the chaos of the city. And that demographic skews a lot older and wealthier than most of the city. They have about 53 ,000 residents with a median age of 55 and a household income of$115 ,000. It's known for the quiet neighborhoods, mountain views, resorts, country clubs, golf courses, and luxury homes.

5:07So it's a very nice place to live. I have to imagine that Annie thought it would be a great place to raise her son when her family made the move. According to statements from family members, when Annie moved her family to be closer to her mom Nancy, she and Tommaso would help monitor her medical concerns and conditions, along with things like mobility and just routine social support. Again, Nancy is 84, and she has a pacemaker. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos noted that Nancy couldn't walk 50 yards without assistance. And her daughter Savannah said that on a good day, she might be able to walk to the mailbox.

5:43But that was a rare occurrence. So while Nancy is living independently in her own home, she did have family support just a few miles away. She also had a robust community of support around her. Nancy's been described as sharp as a tack, and is extremely active in her congregation at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. Despite her mobility issues, she's also a part of a group of women who walk the Catalina Foothills neighborhood together. She is extremely involved in her community, the type of woman who knows her neighbors and keeps as active as possible. So it's no surprise that Nancy's spending that Saturday night out of the house at her daughter Annie's.

6:21She has dinner with Annie, Tommaso, and her grandson. An Uber drops her off at Annie's at exactly 5.32 p.m. But this is a one-way Uber trip. After dinner, her son-in-law, Tommaso, drives Nancy home. It takes about two minutes. He pulls into her driveway at about 9.48 p.m. He said he waits and watches Nancy walk inside the home before driving away. The following morning, on Sunday, February 1st, Nancy's expected at a friend's house to watch an online church service. According to reporting by Stephanie Price for Fox News, who spoke exclusively with a source close to the Guthrie family, during the COVID pandemic, Nancy and her friends began gathering at each other's homes to watch a live stream of a church service based in New York.

7:06It was actually the same church that her other daughter Savannah Guthrie attended, which has to be one of the sweetest things I've ever heard. But according to this source, they just continued this tradition of watching the live stream into 2026. Nancy never missed a Sunday with the group. Until today. And her friends immediately knew that something was wrong and that she could need some type of help. So according to Sheriff Nanos, at about 11 a.m., they call Annie. At 11.56 a.m., Annie and Tommaso arrive at Nancy's house to check on her. Seven minutes later, they call 911 at 12.03 p.m. to report her missing to the Pima County Sheriff's Department.

7:48About 10 minutes later, deputies were on the scene. And that scene made one thing clear. Nancy hadn't left of her own accord. Something terrible had happened.

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10:36Let's talk about Nancy's house. She's been in it for decades. It appears since 1975 when it was last sold just six years after it was built. It's one story, five bedrooms, and four and a half baths, just under 4 ,000 square feet on about an acre of land. That's what the real estate listings say, though some reporting says it was about an acre and a half. Either way, it's a Spanish-style brick home with mostly desert landscaping, but there's also a patch of grass and a pool. Being from Arizona, it looks pretty standard to me for the older and nicer homes near the mountains. While it was purchased for about$85 ,000 back in the 1970s, it's worth just over a million dollars today.

11:19So it's clearly a very nice home, but just for some context, it's not on the level of the$5 million mansions nearby. I say that because I've seen a lot of discussion about how rich Nancy is because of her home. So I really just wanted to lay out this context here. She's owned it since the 70s and it's gone up in value. It really just seems like a smart buy versus an indication of extreme wealth like you see with some of her neighbors. Now, I obviously have no personal insight on Nancy's finances. It seems clear she was comfortable, but her home was nowhere near the most expensive in the neighborhood, which I do think is important to discuss as we go into potential motives in this case.

11:59To be very blunt, if the goal was a simple robbery, there were much more expensive homes to target, which leads some people to believe that this was either personal or motivated by a potential ransom. Of course, we will dive deep into all the theories, but now that you understand more about Nancy's home, let's get into the scene the Pima County Sheriff's Department walks into on February 1st, 2026. Nancy's back doors were propped open. According to one report, they were held open with her planters. Nancy's car was still in the garage. Some reports say it's a Subaru, possibly a Forester. But what we know for sure is that all her essential items were left behind, including her hearing aid, wallet, and purse, the heart medication she took daily, and her cell phone, which was used to monitor her pacemaker.

12:52These are things Nancy really needs. Of course, the most alarming, though, were the drops of blood found on the front steps of the home. In that same area, Nancy's Google Nest doorbell camera was also missing. Now, her front door has a metal security gate with bars where the camera was attached, but when deputies got to the scene, the camera was missing with only the mount remaining on the door. But inside of Nancy's home was described as impeccable, with no obvious signs of a robbery or attempted robbery. That's really all they're telling us at this point. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos described the scene as very concerning and inconsistent with a voluntary disappearance.

13:38But after evaluating the scene, the searches for Nancy began. The sheriff's department started with their standard search and rescue team. They were treating this with urgency, but they also understood that Nancy's limited mobility meant she couldn't have gotten very far on her own. But that search grew very quickly. More quickly than most. There were hundreds of volunteers, investigators, and searchers with approximately 100 patrol cars on the scene. They had search dogs from the sheriff's Department. They had units from U.S. Border Patrol. In the air were helicopters, planes, drones with heat sensors, and infrared cameras for searches into the night.

14:19Investigators went door-to-door asking for surveillance footage and did extensive desert searches. This was an all-hands-on-deck situation like I've never covered before. When I say every resource was utilized to look for Nancy, I mean it. It's a topic that we just can't avoid in this case. Nancy got special treatment, though I'd argue it shouldn't be special for anyone. Every missing person deserves these resources, but Nancy does have a special connection that I'm sure most of you are aware of. I mentioned her daughter Savannah Guthrie earlier in the episode. She's been a main co-host of the Today Show since 2012.

14:58In short, she's a very popular TV personality, so her mom's case was and is being treated as a priority above others. Again, I'm really not trying to pick on anyone, but that's the reality that I don't think is responsible to avoid discussing. I think it's also important to lay this out so you can fully understand the theories in this case, along with statements from law enforcement who often mention Savannah. But due to all these factors, Nancy's case became viral on the internet almost instantly, and the Pima County Sheriff's Department held a press conference the very next day with Sheriff Chris Nanos leading the charge.

15:34I believe it was around noon yesterday, we got a call to the Guthrie residence that Nancy Guthrie, 84 years old, was missing. We expended a lot of resources for a missing person that we typically always do. Our search and rescue volunteers, our search and rescue teams, other agencies, Boar Star from Border Patrol sent their canines out. They worked tirelessly all day yesterday and all day tonight. I'm sorry, all day yesterday and all last night to know about. As I said yesterday, we saw some things at the home that were concerning to us. We believe now after we process that crime scene that we do in fact have a crime scene, that we do in fact have a crime, and we're asking the community's help.

16:36This community has always stepped up to help us solve some pretty tough crimes. I'm looking for that again. This is an 84-year-old lady who suffers from some physical ailments, has some physical challenges, is in need of medication. Medication that if she doesn't have in 24 hours, it could be fatal. So we make a plea to anyone who knows anything about this, who has seen something, heard something, to contact us. Call 911. We don't need another bad, tragic ending. We need some help. By February 2nd, Nancy's case seemed to have nearly every department and tool available aiding the investigation.

17:40The Pima County Sheriff's Department was assisted by the Tucson PD, FBI, ATF, Border Patrol, and ICE, along with some smaller agencies as well. While he urged the public to call in with any tips they may have, he described their efforts to access license plate readers and cameras throughout the community and city. He actually makes some pretty strong statements about the power of AI technology in assisting in cases like this. He does take questions, but the answers are limited. He discusses Nancy's limited mobility, says that he has all of his criminal investigation detectives working the case, some going door-to-door looking for information.

18:17He also makes it clear that all of Nancy's family has been very cooperative with law enforcement. But really, at this first press conference, he's pretty tight-lipped. Reporters ask if there were any signs of forced entry. Was it a targeted attack? Is the public at risk? And he gives pretty vague answers. When asked if there were cameras at the home, though, he does answer in the affirmative, saying they are, quote, looking through some of that, end quote. He also confirms that they are looking into Nancy's cell phone, which we know was left behind at her home. At this point, he says the search and rescue team was sent home to get some rest after looking for Nancy all night long.

18:55He reiterates that in addition to boots on the ground, they had aerial support through drones, aircraft, helicopters, heat sensors, infrared. He said they threw everything they had into the search for Nancy. And he adds that he would call them out again to do more searching. But at this point, the investigation has shifted from a search and rescue mission to focusing on the crime scene. They reiterate that Nancy did not have dementia and wouldn't have wandered off. that she also didn't really have the physical capabilities to wander that far at all. A reporter also asks about Nancy's daughter Savannah.

19:30The sheriff confirms that they have been in touch with her security team, but they don't really go into further details. They also appeal to the public for help. They ask Nancy's neighbors to go through any video surveillance they may have for anything suspicious or any person or vehicle who may have traveled through the area. They do confirm that they'll be speaking with anyone working on Nancy's home on a regular basis. really alluding to landscapers and possibly a cleaning service. But that's really all we got from this press conference. It's clear that there's a massive effort to locate Nancy, but we don't get a ton of intricate details.

20:05So the media storm began. Theories began exploding about Nancy being taken for a possible ransom the kidnapper or kidnappers might ask Savannah to pay. I mean, it did seem like the most plausible theory at this point. Nothing appeared to be missing from the home except for Nancy, a woman in her 80s who was well-loved in her tight-knit community. So investigators and the public were racking their brains to come up with a motive. Then, a local news station received a ransom note with information that hadn't been made public. This episode of Voices for Justice is sponsored by Quince. It is summer in Phoenix, y 'all.

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22:47This email, if you will, mentioned details never made public at this point. They mentioned Nancy's Apple Watch, what she was wearing on the night she went missing, intimate descriptions of the inside of her home, and a floodlight in her backyard. It also demanded that millions of dollars be paid via Bitcoin, and cryptocurrency information on how to pay was provided. There were also two deadlines, 5 p.m. on Thursday, February 5th, and Monday, February 9th. Now, this was immediately reported to the Sheriff's Department, who asked the FBI to assist in tracking down the author of the note. At the same time, investigators asked the news organization to refrain from sharing the full contents of the letter with the public in order to maintain the integrity of the investigation, and to hopefully prevent imposters from using the details of the letter for profit.

23:40But the very next day on February 3rd, celebrity news website TMZ reported receiving a series of correspondence from a potential kidnapper as well. These were apparently addressed to the founder, Harvey Levin, and the correspondence was similar to the note that KOLD got demanding millions of dollars in Bitcoin. The author added, though, that TMZ would have no way of contacting them, and that Nancy was scared but alive and aware of the demands. This information, of course, again, was also passed along to law enforcement who was still trying to sort everything out. Then, on Wednesday, February 4th, Nancy's children made a video addressing the demands and posted it to social media.

24:24This video includes Annie, Savannah, and Nancy's son, Cameron. On behalf of our family, we want to thank all of you for the prayers for our beloved mom Nancy we feel them and we continue to believe that she feels them too our mom is a kind faithful loyal fiercely loving woman of goodness and light she's funny and spunky and clever. She has grandchildren that adore her and crowd around her and cover her with kisses. She loves fun and adventure. She is a devoted friend. She is full of kindness and knowledge. Talk to her and you'll see. The light is missing from our lives. Nancy is our mother. We are her children.

25:34She is our beacon. She holds fast to joy in all of life's circumstances. She chooses joy day after day, despite having already passed through great trials of pain and grief. we are always going to be merely human just normal human people who need our mom mama mama if you're listening we need you to come home we miss you

26:20our mom is our heart and our home. She is 84 years old. Her health, her heart is fragile. She lives in constant pain. She is without any medicine. She needs it to survive. She needs it not to suffer.

26:44We too have heard the reports about a 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. Please, reach out to us.