Nancy Guthrie case update: Unidentified body found in Tucson desert; foul play suspected in disappearance

A deceased person was discovered in southeast Tucson on Thursday as law enforcement continues the search for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, who went missing on 1 February.

Officials suspect the mother of TODAY show anchor Savannah Guthrie was abducted from her Catalina Foothills residence near Tucson, Arizona, the preceding night. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos recently provided a sombre update regarding a potential kidnapping motive.

The discovery of the body initiated a fresh investigation.

According to the Tucson Police Department, Operations Division East officers were dispatched to a desert site near Kolb Road, situated between Escalante and Irvington, on 12 March following reports of a deceased person, reported KVOA.

Current reports suggest the body has not been officially identified; however, investigators believe it is unlikely to be Guthrie. The Tucson Police Department noted that preliminary evidence does not suggest foul play in this specific discovery.

Conversely, in Guthrie’s case, authorities remain convinced that foul play occurred and that she was forcibly removed from her home after dining with her daughter, Annie Guthrie. Her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, reportedly dropped her off after their meal that evening, placing the couple among the final individuals to see her before her disappearance.

Sheriff Nanos has explicitly stated that Guthrie's family members are not considered suspects in the ongoing investigation.

“We believe we know why he did this, and we believe that it was targeted, but we, we can't, we're not 100% sure of that,” Nanos said, adding, “So it'd be silly to tell people, 'Yeah, don't worry about it. You're, you're not his target.' Don't think for a minute that because it happened to the Guthrie family, you're safe. No, keep your wits about you.”

While further details regarding the unidentified body are pending, Sheriff Nanos discussed the kidnapper's potential motives with NBC News. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department is spearheading the case with significant assistance from the FBI. Nanos mentioned that he is intentionally withholding specific theories and investigative details to preserve the integrity of the probe, which he described as paramount.

Simultaneously, the FBI has questioned employees at a Tucson Mexican restaurant while retracing the steps of Guthrie and her daughter, Annie, reported The Mirror US.

Savannah Guthrie said her mother was “taken in the dark of night from her bed.”

“As my sister says, ‘We are blowing on the embers of hope,’” Guthrie said on 24 February.

More than a week after the initial disappearance on 1 February, the FBI released surveillance footage from a camera outside Guthrie’s front door depicting a masked intruder. Evidence of her blood was also discovered on the porch, yet the case remains tragically unresolved.

The unusual circumstances and Savannah Guthrie’s high-profile career as a television personality have transformed the search into a national news story. Savannah has released several videos, occasionally appearing with her siblings Annie and Camron, to plead for her mother’s safe release.

Most recently, the family has offered a $1 million reward for information leading to her recovery. As federal and local authorities intensify their efforts, the community remains on high alert for any breakthroughs in this baffling abduction.