Estimated read time: 12-13 minutes
- Nancy Guthrie, 84, vanished from her Arizona home on Jan. 31.
- DNA from gloves near her home doesn't match national database records, the Pima County sheriff said recently.
- The family has also been cleared as suspects, but investigators still lack a leading theory for her disappearance.
TUCSON, Ariz. — The search for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, mother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie, has stretched into a third, anguished week, with mounting pressure on investigators and a family grappling with uncertainty.
Nancy Guthrie was last seen on Jan. 31, before she was apparently kidnapped, disappearing from her secluded home in Arizona's Catalina Foothills without her phone or critical medications.
The days since she vanished have been marked by disturbing twists: purported ransom notes demanding millions of dollars, an intensive investigation, emotional video pleas from Nancy Guthrie's children begging for the return of their mother, and video of an armed, masked person tampering with the doorbell camera at Nancy Guthrie's Tucson home.
The latest on where things stand
- DNA analysis: DNA on gloves found 2 miles from Nancy Guthrie's Arizona home does not have any matches in the national database known as CODIS, and doesn't match DNA found at Nancy Guthrie's home, either, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos says.
- Family not suspects: Nancy Guthrie's adult children and their spouses are not suspects in her Feb. 1 disappearance, the sheriff says, calling any suggestion otherwise "cruel."
- No leading theory: Authorities say they believe Nancy Guthrie was removed from the home against her will. But investigators still have no leading theory about a motive, according to a source.
- Tip lines: If you have information that could help investigators, you can call 1-800-CALL-FBI or 520-351-4900. You can also submit information at tips.fbi.gov.
Timeline of key events
Wednesday, Feb. 18
Authorities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border are told to be on the lookout for clues that might assist in the case as part of standard investigative procedures, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the case. Investigators briefed Border Patrol agents and Mexican law enforcement authorities, the official says.
Due to the proximity of Tucson to the border, the official says, both U.S. and Mexican border officials are aware of doorbell camera footage showing an alleged suspect possibly responsible for Nancy Guthrie's disappearance.
It is not uncommon for authorities to brief their Mexican counterparts out of an abundance of caution about cases involving fugitives who may abscond from the United States.
Earlier, the "Today" set is filled with yellow flowers, mirroring the growing tribute outside Nancy Guthrie's home, where neighbors, friends and strangers from across the country have sent or delivered bouquets of support for the Guthrie family.
Tuesday, Feb. 17
The Pima County sheriff announces Tuesday afternoon that DNA tested from gloves found near Nancy Guthrie's house does not have any matches in the national database known as CODIS, and doesn't match DNA found at her home, either.
DNA found at her Tucson property is still being analyzed, Nanos says, adding that nothing in the investigation has any matches in CODIS. CODIS is the FBI-managed Combined DNA Index System, a national database that holds more than 19 million offender profiles, according to the agency.
Investigators are looking into other genetic genealogy options to check for matches with the DNA evidence, the sheriff says, noting that CODIS is just one of the databases available.
Meanwhile, investigators have been visiting gun shops in the Tucson area. The suspect was seen in a doorbell video with a gun and a holster that the sheriff said "had some pretty unique characteristics."
CNN spoke to roughly a half dozen shop owners, most of whom said they weren't able to comment on what investigators asked them, but one owner said FBI officials visited about a week ago and showed him pictures of various people, but he didn't recognize any of the individuals.
Monday, Feb. 16
The sheriff's department clears all Guthrie family members, including siblings and spouses, as possible suspects in Guthrie's disappearance in a Monday afternoon statement.
Nanos' statement puts an end to online speculation throughout the weekslong search for Nancy Guthrie about her family's possible involvement.
"The family has been nothing but cooperative and gracious and are victims in this case," Nanos says in the statement posted on X. "To suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is cruel."
Sunday, Feb. 15
A glove found near Nancy Guthrie's home appears to match those worn by the suspect captured in doorbell camera footage outside her house the morning she disappeared, the FBI says in a statement.
The glove, containing DNA, is one of "approximately" 16 that investigators found near Nancy Guthrie's home, most of which the FBI says belonged to searchers who discarded them while working in the area.
Meanwhile, in a video posted to Instagram, Savannah Guthrie shares a new message to the possible kidnappers of her mother.
"It's never too late and you're not lost or alone, and it is never too late to do the right thing," Savannah Guthrie says.
The "Today" show anchor says she and her family are still hopeful. "We still have hope and we still believe," she says.
Friday, Feb. 13
As neighbors tie yellow ribbons around trees in Nancy Guthrie's neighborhood in solidarity and hope for her safe return, a local official tells CNN investigators have received more than 30,000 tips from the public so far.
Later Friday, authorities conduct an operation at a residence roughly 2 miles from Nancy Guthrie's home, the sheriff's department says.
No arrests are made, though one man is questioned and released, with law enforcement believing him not to be the kidnapper, a law enforcement official tells CNN. More than a dozen vehicles, including those from SWAT and forensics, are seen at the location.
Local authorities and the FBI are also at a second location near where law enforcement activity is underway.
Authorities are seen at the site investigating a gray Range Rover in a parking lot of a restaurant.
Thursday, Feb. 12
As the search for Nancy Guthrie enters its 12th day, the Pima County Sheriff's Department asks neighbors to submit video footage that includes cars, traffic, people or pedestrians — and anything they feel may be out of the ordinary or important for law enforcement to review.
Later in the day, the FBI releases a description of the person seen in footage captured by Nancy Guthrie's doorbell camera, and the agency raises the reward for information to $100,000.
The suspect is described as male, approximately 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall and having an average build. The backpack he was wearing in the video is identified as a black, 25-liter "Ozark Trail Hiker Pack."
Related:
Former FBI agent says surveillance video points to 'amateur' in Nancy Guthrie kidnapping
A retired FBI agent said new surveillance images from the home of Nancy Guthrie suggest the person who abducted her may have been an inexperienced kidnapper.Savannah Guthrie also shares a touching tribute to her mother on social media.
The video features a short clip of young Savannah Guthrie and her sister, Annie Guthrie, smiling at the camera while handing their mother flowers, along with a photo of the three siblings and their mother.
"We will never give up on her," Savannah Guthrie captions the post.
Wednesday, Feb. 11
Thousands of tips for investigators to pore over are generated after the Feb. 10 release of surveillance photos.
TMZ reports the media outlet received a "bizarre letter" from someone purporting to know Nancy Guthrie's kidnapper.
Harvey Levin, the outlet's founder, tells Fox News the person who sent the email demanded a single bitcoin in exchange for information about the kidnapper.
CNN has not been able to independently verify the existence or authenticity of the note.
Meanwhile, CNN speaks to Carlos, the man detained Feb. 10 by law enforcement, outside his home in Rio Rico, Arizona. He says investigators told his family he'd been stopped as a result of an anonymous tip that came after surveillance photos of the suspect were released Tuesday.
Tuesday, Feb. 10
The FBI releases new images and video from a camera at Nancy Guthrie's house, showing a person wearing a mask.
The images show "an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie's front door the morning of her disappearance," according to a post on FBI Director Kash Patel's X account.
Shortly after the images and videos are released, Savannah Guthrie shares them to her social media accounts.
"Someone out there recognizes this person," she writes. "We believe she is still out there. Bring her home."
Later Tuesday, the Pima County Sheriff's Department announced it had detained a person for questioning in the case after pulling them over "during a traffic stop" in Rio Rico, around 60 miles south of Tucson, near the U.S.-Mexico border. Hours later Wednesday morning, the person is released.
Separately, Patel says the agency is looking at "persons of interest" in the case without saying who might be under suspicion.
Monday, Feb. 9
Days after several media outlets received purported ransom letters demanding millions in bitcoin for Nancy Guthrie's return, a second deadline mentioned in one of the notes passes Monday at 5 p.m.
Hours before the deadline, around 1:30 p.m., Savannah Guthrie posts another video to social media, this time appealing to the public instead of her mom's alleged captor, asking for assistance.
"We are at an hour of desperation, and we need your help," the "Today" show host says, telling people to report anything "strange" to law enforcement.
Sunday, Feb. 8
Just before 11 a.m. Sunday, investigators are seen examining the septic tank near Nancy Guthrie's property after police were notably absent from her home Saturday. Video shows investigators moving around a long stick in the tank, at times repeatedly jabbing it, and using a flashlight to peer inside.
Meanwhile, CNN affiliate KGUN, which received one of the ransom notes sent to some media stations, reports new details from the letter: The purported abductor demanded $6 million and threatened Nancy Guthrie's life if the 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9, deadline isn't met.
Saturday, Feb. 7
On the one-week mark of Nancy Guthrie's disappearance, her three children say to her possible captor in a new social media video: "We will pay."
"We received your message, and we understand," Savannah Guthrie says in the video. "We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay."
Hours after the new video of the siblings, law enforcement officials are seen at the home of Annie Guthrie. They leave shortly after 10:30 p.m. with a bag and one deputy sheriff is seen wearing blue latex gloves.
Friday, Feb. 6
CNN affiliate KOLD receives a second purported ransom note on Day 6 of the search. The news station says it forwarded the message, along with the IP address from which the note originated, to law enforcement. The new note includes sensitive information but no deadline, according to an anchor at the news outlet.
Later in the evening, gloved investigators are seen buzzing over Nancy Guthrie's property, placing evidence markers and climbing onto the flat, stark white roof of her home. Agents peer into bushes and scour the ground as a car that appeared to be Nancy Guthrie's is towed away.
Thursday, Feb. 5
Camron Guthrie, Savannah Guthrie's brother, issues another plea in a video posted on social media at 5 p.m. as the first deadline given in the purported ransom note passes.
"Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you," he says. "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."
The FBI, now jointly working the case with the Pima County Sheriff's Department, announces a $50,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie "and or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance."
Wednesday, Feb. 4
In their first emotional video posted to Instagram, Savannah Guthrie, flanked by Annie Guthrie and Camron Guthrie, pleads for her mother to come home on Wednesday evening, four days after her disappearance.
"We need to know without a doubt that she's alive and that you have her," Savannah Guthrie says in response to the reports of ransom notes. "We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please reach out to us."
Law enforcement activity suddenly increases Wednesday early evening as detectives perform a "follow-up" at Nancy Guthrie's home, the sheriff's department says. Fresh crime scene tape wraps around the length of the house — and is taken down within a matter of hours.
Tuesday, Feb. 3
On the third day of the search for Nancy Guthrie, several media outlets, including TMZ and CNN affiliates KGUN and KOLD, received the first purported ransom letters demanding millions of dollars in bitcoin for her return.
One note includes a first deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, and a second deadline for Monday, Feb. 9.
Sunday, Feb. 1
Hours after Nancy Guthrie was reportedly home from dinner with family, her home doorbell camera was disconnected at 1:47 a.m., and about 25 minutes later, surveillance camera software detected movement. At 2:28 a.m., data from Nancy Guthrie's pacemaker app shows the device is disconnected from her phone.
More than nine hours later, at 11:56 a.m., the family realizes she's missing when checking on her at home.
A person close to the family later tells CNN Nancy Guthrie typically spends her Sundays watching virtual church services with friends at a nearby home. When she did not arrive Sunday morning, her friends alerted the Guthrie family.
Relatives call 911 at 12:03 p.m. to report her missing, and Pima County Sheriff's Department patrols arrive by 12:15 p.m.
Investigators scour the scene, finding blood on the front porch that is later confirmed to be Nancy Guthrie's.
"There's still more items that have been submitted. We just haven't got them back yet," the sheriff would later say on Feb. 5. "In the meantime, we're not just sitting on our haunches waiting. We do have a number of leads coming in."
Saturday, Jan. 31
Nancy Guthrie joins her family for dinner and game night Saturday evening, Ubering to her older daughter Annie Guthrie's nearby home around 5:32 p.m. Hours later, her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, drives her home. Nancy Guthrie's garage door opens at approximately 9:48 p.m. and closes at 9:50 p.m.
"It is that time we assume that Nancy's home and probably going to bed," Nanos would say at a news conference a few days after her disappearance.
