A new development has emerged in the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old Arizona woman who vanished from her Tucson home more than four months ago.
Volunteer search teams in northern Mexico have conducted multiple operations after receiving anonymous reports claiming Guthrie may have been buried in a clandestine grave near Nogales, Sonora. Despite extensive efforts, searchers have not located any evidence connected to her disappearance.
Guthrie, the mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie, has not been seen since the early hours of February 1. Investigators believe she was abducted from her Catalina Foothills residence, and the case remains active.
The latest searches were launched after anonymous messages alleged that Guthrie’s remains had been buried in a remote area known as Mariposa, located just south of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Search efforts focus on remote terrain
Ramona Guadalupe Ayala Ortiz, leader of the Buscando Corazones Nogales search collective, said her organization first received information about Guthrie in May and immediately began examining the area identified by the tipster.
According to Ayala Ortiz, a second anonymous report later directed volunteers back to the same region, prompting another search.
She told The U.S. Sun that the information provided was limited, consisting primarily of a claim that the missing woman had been buried somewhere in the Mariposa area.
The location has drawn attention in previous investigations because volunteer groups have discovered unmarked graves there in the past. Ayala Ortiz said, however, that the information concerning Guthrie pointed to a different section of the region than where those graves had previously been found.
Search teams worked alongside the Sonora State Commission for the Search of Missing Persons and were supported by municipal and state authorities during the operations.
Despite multiple searches of the area, volunteers have found no trace of Nancy Guthrie.
“No, we haven’t found her,” Ayala Ortiz said, adding that additional search efforts are already being discussed with state officials.
Investigation continues on both sides of the border
Authorities in Arizona remain focused on the disappearance investigation.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has stated that the case remains active and that investigators continue pursuing credible leads. Officials have also confirmed that no arrests have been made.
Over the course of the investigation, authorities have reviewed surveillance footage showing a masked individual entering Guthrie’s property on the night she disappeared. Detectives have also gathered forensic evidence from the home, including material that has been sent for laboratory testing.
Reports cited in recent coverage indicate that investigators have examined ransom messages demanding Bitcoin payments in exchange for Guthrie. However, neither law enforcement nor the family has been able to verify the authenticity of those communications.
Officials have repeatedly emphasized that family members are not considered suspects and have also dismissed speculation linking Guthrie’s disappearance to an unrelated kidnapping case in the Tucson area.
More than four months after Nancy Guthrie vanished, investigators have yet to identify a suspect or determine what happened to her.
Meanwhile, authorities and Guthrie’s family continue urging anyone with information about suspicious activity near her Tucson home on the night of January 31 or the early hours of February 1 to come forward as the search for answers continues.
