Authorities believe 'Today' show host Savannah Guthrie's mother was
taken against her will
[February 03, 2026]
By JACQUES BILLEAUD and SEJAL GOVINDARAO
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities believe the 84-year-old mother of
“Today” show host Savannah Guthrie was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise
taken against her will, and the sheriff said Monday it’s imperative
she’s found soon because she could die without her medication.
Nancy Guthrie was last seen around 9:30 p.m. Saturday at her home in the
Tucson area, where she lived alone. Her family reported her missing
around noon Sunday. The Pima County Sheriff's Department is
investigating the possibility she was taken overnight, spokesperson
Angelica Carrillo said.
Guthrie had limited mobility, and officials don't believe she left on
her own. Sheriff Chris Nanos said Guthrie was of sound mind.
“This is not dementia-related. She’s as sharp as a tack," Nanos said at
a news conference earlier in the day. “The family wants everyone to know
that this isn’t someone who just wandered off.”
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. Nanos said Guthrie needs her daily medication, and the
sheriff urged whoever has her to free her.
“If she’s alive right now her meds are vital. I can’t stress that
enough. It’s been better than 24 hours, and the family tells us if she
doesn’t have those meds, it can become fatal,” Nanos said.
Searchers were using drones and search dogs to look for her, Nanos said.
Search and rescue teams were supported by volunteers and Border Patrol,
and the homicide team was also involved, he said. It is not standard for
the homicide team to get involved in such cases, Nanos said. The FBI has
offered to help, Carrillo said.
“This one stood out because of what was described to us at the scene and
what we located just looking at the scene,” Nanos said Sunday. He was
not ruling out foul play.
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.
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This image provided by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, on
Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, shows a missing person alert for Nancy
Guthrie. (Pima County Sheriff’s Department via AP)
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 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."
“Today” opened Monday’s show with the disappearance of the
co-anchor’s mother, but Savannah Guthrie was not at the anchor’s
desk. Nanos said during the Monday news conference that Savannah
Guthrie is in Arizona. Savannah Guthrie grew up in Tucson, graduated
from the University of Arizona and previously worked as a reporter
and anchor at KVOA-TV in Tucson.
Nancy Guthrie appeared in a November 2025 story her daughter did
about her hometown. Over a meal, Savannah Guthrie asked her mother
what made the family want to plant roots in Tucson in the 1970s.
“It’s so wonderful. Just the air, the quality of life,” Nancy
Guthrie said. “It’s laid back and gentle.”
She said she likes to see the javelinas, pig-like desert mammals,
eat her plants.
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Billeaud reported from Phoenix.
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