This timeline compiles the known events and investigative steps authorities and the Guthrie family have disclosed in connection with the reported abduction of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie. The sequence below follows the information released by law enforcement and the family, beginning with when she was last seen and continuing through searches, forensic results, and public appeals.
Summary chronology
- January 31 - Family members last saw Nancy Guthrie after she spent the evening at the Tucson home of her older daughter, Annie Guthrie, and Annie’s husband.
- February 1 - In the early morning, a doorbell camera at the front entrance of Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson residence recorded a person wearing a ski mask, a backpack, gloves and a holstered firearm tampering with the camera. Approximately 30 minutes after that footage, Guthrie’s pacemaker app lost contact with her phone line. Shortly before noon the same day, relatives reported Guthrie missing when she did not show up for Sunday church services.
- February 4 - Savannah Guthrie, together with siblings Annie and Camron Guthrie, posted the first of several videos on social media addressing their mother’s disappearance. In that and subsequent posts the family said they were aware of media reports about a ransom note and urged anyone holding information to establish communication.
- February 5 - Authorities confirmed that DNA testing matched blood found on the front porch of Guthrie’s home to her. That day a reported ransom letter included a first deadline, which passed at 5 p.m.
- February 7 - Savannah Guthrie issued a video statement with her sister and brother asking for their mother’s return and stating, "This is very valuable to us and we will pay."
- February 9 - In an Instagram video, Savannah Guthrie said, "We believe our mom is still out there" and requested public assistance in locating her. A second ransom deadline also passed on or around this date.
- February 10 - The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI released the doorbell camera footage showing the armed, masked individual at the Guthrie residence. Law enforcement described that clip as the single biggest clue to emerge in the case. Later that day authorities executed a search of a residence in Rio Rico, an Arizona border town about 60 miles south of Tucson, and detained a man for questioning. He was released and no arrests were made. Savannah Guthrie reposted images of the masked individual on Instagram with the caption: "We believe she is still alive; bring her home."
- February 15 - Investigators obtained a DNA sample from gloves that were recovered approximately 2 miles from Nancy Guthrie’s home. Authorities said the gloves resembled the pair worn by the masked person captured on the doorbell footage.
- February 17 - The glove DNA sample was searched against known genetic profiles in CODIS, the national database, and did not produce a match, according to the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Office.
- February 24 - The Guthrie family offered up to a $1 million reward for information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s recovery. In a video posted by Savannah Guthrie the family, for the first time, directly addressed the possibility that Nancy Guthrie could be dead.
- March 4 - Further DNA analysis traced the same gloves to an employee of a local restaurant. The sheriff’s department stated that the employee is not considered a suspect in the investigation, and the tracing represented a dead end for what had been a lead.
- April 6 - Savannah Guthrie returned to her position as co-anchor of NBC’s "Today" show.
Investigation and forensic progression
Law enforcement has publicly identified the doorbell camera footage of the masked individual as the primary investigative lead. Forensic testing tied blood at the residence to Nancy Guthrie, and subsequent DNA work on gloves recovered near the home produced a profile that did not match entries in the national database CODIS. Additional analysis later linked the gloves to a local restaurant worker who is not being treated as a suspect, and authorities characterized that avenue as exhausted.
Throughout the period of public appeals, the family issued multiple video messages asking for contact from anyone who may have information and offering a reward. The family also acknowledged, in late February, the prospect that Nancy Guthrie could be deceased.
Public communications
Savannah, Annie and Camron Guthrie used social media video statements to both share information and implore anyone with knowledge to come forward. The family publicly referenced a ransom note reported in media accounts, and they repeatedly asked for abductors, if present, to make contact. The family’s $1 million reward offer was announced via social media.
Current status
As of the latest disclosed update in early April, no arrests have been made in the matter. Law enforcement continues to treat the doorbell camera footage and forensic evidence obtained during the investigation as central to their inquiries. The tracing of the glove DNA to a local restaurant employee did not produce a suspect and was described by the sheriff’s department as a dead end.
This chronology reflects only the information that has been publicly released by law enforcement and the Guthrie family through early April.