Nancy Guthrie case takes dramatic turn as major search launched in Mexico

A major search is underway for Nancy Guthrie, the missing 84-year-old mother of Today star Savannah Guthrie, in a new location south of the US-Mexico border. The grandmother, who has been missing for more than four months, was believed to have been forcibly taken from her home in Tucson, Arizona, in the early hours of February 1. 

According to Mexican publication El Imparcial, a local collective received an anonymous tip on Wednesday about the alleged location of Nancy’s “grave”, prompting a major search in the area known as Mariposa, near the Mexico-Arizona border. 

The Buscando Corazones group leader, Ramona Guadalupe Ayala Ortiz, told El Imparcial that they searched the area that the tipster told them of, where 25 unmarked graves were previously located. “We received an anonymous call telling us that the woman’s remains were in the Mariposa area – in a grave over a stream,” Ramona said. 

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The collective, which is based in Nogales (around 70 miles from Nancy’s home in Tucson), has dedicated itself to locating missing persons in Mexico. They conducted the search with the help of the Sonora State Commission for the Search of Missing Persons, and local and state officials provided security for the search party. 

The group did not find Nancy’s remains; however, they declared their intention to keep up the search for the missing 84-year-old. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department, which is running the investigation into her disappearance, shared in a statement that they knew of the search over the border. 

“We are aware of reports regarding an anonymous tip related to the Nancy Guthrie investigation that was provided to a group in Mexico. At this time, we have not been contacted by Mexican authorities,” the statement read. “This investigation remains active and ongoing, and we will continue to follow up on any credible information.”

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Nancy went missing from her home on February 1, after spending time with her daughter and son-in-law the night before and returning home just before 10 p.m. 

Learn more about Nancy’s disappearance below…

Alarm bells were raised when Nancy failed to turn up to her usual church service, and authorities arrived on the scene around midday. Investigators found droplets of blood on the front doorstep, as well as strands of hair and other DNA evidence that has been sent off for further investigation. 

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos spoke with People about the slow pace of the investigation, which has sparked ire online. “Right now, I think our focus is on the tips, the leads and the evidence we have in front of us,” he told the outlet. “Digitally – the camera footage as well as biological, the DNA and those types of things.”

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“There’s thousands and thousands of videos out there from intersections and Ring cameras that we have to catalog,” he continued. “I know we have DNA that is unknown who the contributor or depositor is, but I think they’re getting closer to finding out who that was.”

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He added that they continued to put their all into finding Nancy. “When the labs tell us, ‘Hey, there’s nothing else we can do,’ well, then maybe we’ve got a problem…we’ve got a cold case…but right now, the labs aren’t telling us that,” he said.

“My team, I’ve said all along, they’re gonna solve this. I fully 100% believe that.”