News | Law and Order
21 Feb 2026 18:14
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Law and Order

    Nancy Guthrie may have been abducted in a 41-minute window, authorities say

    Nancy Guthrie was last seen alive when a relative dropped her outside her Tucson home after a family games night. The 84-year-old grandmother has now been missing for a week.


    Nancy Guthrie is a funny, spunky and clever 84-year-old whose grandchildren crowd around her and cover her with kisses.

    "She is full of kindness and knowledge. Talk to her, and you'll see," her daughter Savannah said, in an apparent plea to whoever may have abducted her mother.

    Flanked by her siblings Camron and Annie, NBC Today show host Savannah Guthrie had a message for her missing mother.

    "Everyone is looking for you, Mommy, everywhere," she said.

    Nancy Guthrie was last seen a week ago after a family games night on Saturday.

    After sharing a meal and a few card games, a relative dropped her off outside her home in Arizona's Catalina Foothills desert mountains community.

    In the early hours of Sunday morning, she vanished.

    Investigators believe it was against her will, zeroing in on a 41-minute window about four hours after she arrived home.

    First, the doorbell camera was disconnected. Then, her pacemaker app disconnected from her mobile phone.

    "Her health, her heart is fragile. She lives in constant pain. She's without any medicine. She needs it to survive. She needs it not to suffer," the television anchor said in the video message.

    The 84-year-old has now been missing for seven days.

    "We will not rest — your children will not rest — until we are together again," Savannah said.

    What we know about Nancy Guthrie's disappearance

    In the evening of Saturday, January 31, at 9:48pm (local time) the garage door of Mrs Guthrie's red-brick Tucson home was opened.

    It was closed about two minutes later.

    Local authorities believe Mrs Guthrie had likely gone to bed not long after earlier arriving home.

    [map]

    It was not until the early hours of Sunday morning that authorities say things began to change.

    At 1:47am on Sunday, Mrs Guthrie's doorbell camera was disconnected.

    Less than 30 minutes later, at 2:12am, surveillance camera software detected movement but no footage was retained.

    Authorities say the camera's owner did not have a subscription to allow for footage to be saved.

    At 2.28am, Mrs Guthrie's pacemaker disconnected from its monitoring app on her phone.

    After Mrs Guthrie did not make an appearance at her local church friends and family began to worry.

    At 11:56 am relatives visited her home, and found she was not there.

    It took them just seven minutes to raise the alarm.

    Twelve minutes later, Pima County Sheriff's Office patrols arrived at the house.

    Once authorities began searching the property, they found what has been described as a minimal amount of Mrs Guthrie's blood on the front porch. 

    Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said Mrs Guthrie was taken against her will, with her wallet and medication left in her home.

    "This isn't somebody that just wandered off," Mr Nanos said.

    "She couldn't walk 50 yards by herself."

    He also said he believed she was still alive.

    "Absolutely, absolutely. There's nothing to say she isn't," he said.

    [map]

    On Thursday (local time), FBI special agent Heith Janke said the agency was investigating an alleged ransom letter sent to media outlets.

    The FBI is yet to confirm the authenticity of the notes.

    "If those that may have Nancy are watching this, the family is ready to talk, get proof of life," he said.

    "Because there has been no contact after that ransom note went to the media."

    Authorities have also made an arrest over an "imposter" ransom note, saying there was no evidence it had any connection to Mrs Guthrie's disappearance.

    Who is Nancy Guthrie?

    Mrs Guthrie is a widow and mother of three. She lost her husband, Charles Guthrie, in 1988 when he had a heart attack while working on an expedition project as an engineer in Mexico.

    She also has a connection to Australia. Her daughter, Savannah, was born in Melbourne.

    Savannah wrote about the loss of her father in the decades since his passing, describing him as an affectionate and funny man.

    "My father was a seemingly unlikely mix of qualities: always strong, sometimes terrifying, loyal to the end, and disarmingly gentle and tender when it counted," she wrote in 2014.

    The NBC host later returned to Australia with her mother Nancy Guthrie, saying it was a lifelong dream.

    "For my mum to come back and get to see where she used to live brings back a lot of happy memories with my dad," Savannah Guthrie told the Daily Telegraph in 2015.

    Ms Guthrie describes her mother as "a kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light".

    A week on from Mrs Guthrie's disappearance, the FBI has offered a US$50,000 ($72,088) reward for any information about her whereabouts.

    In a video posted on Wednesday local time, Ms Guthrie delivered a prepared message to whoever had taken her mother.

    “We are ready to talk," she said, her voice shaking.

    "We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please reach out to us.”

    © 2026 ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved

     Other Law and Order News
     21 Feb: How Reuters captured that photo of former Prince Andrew leaving custody
     21 Feb: A warning to Southland residents after a number of rural burglaries
     21 Feb: Four teenagers have been charged by New South Wales Police over the drive-by shooting of former NRL player Matt Utai in Sydney
     21 Feb: Auckland Council says current dog control laws are reactive - not preventative
     21 Feb: Armed Police were called to a street in Te Puke overnight, after a person was injured in an assault
     21 Feb: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's future uncertain under monarch willing to let 'the law take its course'
     21 Feb: Jeffrey Epstein's estate agrees to pay up to $US35 million to settle class action
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Tiaan Whelpton's made a resounding statement at the International Track Meet in Christchurch More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Two dogs have been impounded by Christchurch Council Animal Management officers and three people are in hospital after an attack in the North West More...



     Today's News

    Business:
    Two dogs have been impounded by Christchurch Council Animal Management officers and three people are in hospital after an attack in the North West 18:07

    Entertainment:
    Sharon Stone has unleashed a fiery takedown of society's ongoing discomfort with nudity, blasting the idea that women should hide their bodies - or be ashamed of the most basic parts of being human 17:47

    Cricket:
    To the women's one day cricket final at the Basin Reserve 17:27

    Entertainment:
    Drawings by the late Queen Elizabeth are expected to sell for thousands at auction 17:17

    Education:
    Students in Auckland's Northcote College will be learning remotely next week, due to a fire-damaged building needing to be cleared 16:57

    Entertainment:
    David Archuleta made himself homeless at the height of his fame 16:47

    Entertainment:
    Hart to Hart stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers recently reunited for the former's 96th birthday 16:17

    Motoring:
    A crash has blocked the Glenorchy-Queenstown Road at Mount Creighton 16:17

    International:
    The shamans and designer handbags before Yoon Suk Yeol's insurrection conviction 16:07

    Entertainment:
    Prince William has opened up about the personal work he does to understand his own emotions, saying he often needs time to process how he feels 15:47


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2026 New Zealand City Ltd