Nancy Guthrie disappearance: Day 19 latest updates

TUCSON, Ariz. - Feb. 19 marks the 19th day since Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her Tucson-area home. Investigators believe she was taken against her will.

Thursday's latest updates

5 p.m.

3:55 p.m.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department released more information on the investigation, including DNA testing, FBI tips, and comparing calls from February 2026 to February 2025.

Investigation

"This remains an active investigation. As long as leads continue to come in, investigators will continue to follow up on them. Currently, several hundred personnel are assigned to this case from various law enforcement agencies and are actively reviewing thousands of tips."

DNA

"Lab analysis continues on biological evidence (DNA) found at Nancy Guthrie’s residence. To be clear - this is not new or different evidence from what was already recovered from the property. No further information will be released at this time."

Calls & tips

"Please see updated PCSD 9-1-1 Communications Center call numbers, including a previous year and month comparison below. These are total calls, as we do not track the number of Guthrie related calls. Administrative calls include our non-emergency line and other calls that come into the center other than 9-1-1."

February 1–18, 2026

• Total calls (911, admin): 31,608
• Total administrative calls: 23,130

February 1–18, 2025

• Total calls (911, admin): 20,808
• Total administrative calls: 8,455

Month of January 2026

• Total calls (911, admin): 26,762
• Total administrative calls: 12,995

FBI tips

"The FBI has received more than 20,000 tips to date and we continue to urge people to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) with any information."

Clothing

"The only item that has been positively identified is the Ozark backpack. Investigators are working to determine where the other items may have been purchased."

3 p.m.

In Guthrie’s neighborhood, yellow roses and ribbons line the streets as symbols of hope.

"I’d hate for anything in our community to be really bad," a local resident said. "We are hoping that our community will find her, and we will pray that they do."

The most significant lead remains security footage from Guthrie’s front porch showing an armed, masked man tampering with a doorbell camera. While the man’s identity is unknown, legal experts say the footage remains a vital tool.

"They can narrow down characteristics down to eye color and sex ... that make the pool of suspects smaller," said criminal defense attorney Donna Rotunno.

The forensic investigation has faced hurdles. DNA recovered from gloves found near the scene did not yield a match in federal databases. However, David Mittelman, CEO of Othram, noted that other biological evidence from the property is undergoing specialized testing.

"It’s very important to run as few tests as possible," Mittelman said, noting that DNA can be "consumed in the process" of testing.

As the investigation nears the four-week mark, frustrations within local law enforcement have surfaced. Richard Carmona, a former Pima County Sheriff’s chief deputy, praised the rank-and-file investigators but criticized department heads.

"Everyone is focused on this mission," Carmona said. "We are just disappointed at the level or lack of leadership at the senior position and some of the remarks that are quite embarrassing."

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos responded to criticism on Thursday, saying, "Right now, our focus is on this investigation and serving the victims and this community. Internal or political commentary distracts from this active investigation, and it is very unfortunate. My focus remains on justice and transparency."

1:29 p.m.

President Donald Trump on Feb. 19 spoke on Nancy Guthrie. The 84-year-old mother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie has been missing since Feb. 1. 

12 p.m.

It's Day 19 of the search for Nancy Guthrie and investigators are sifting through some 19,000 tips that have poured in, but there's no sign of the 84-year-old mother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie.

The total reward now tops $200,000, after an anonymous donation of $100,000. But that money, the nationwide attention, and those 19,000 tips have not led to a break in the case. Not yet, anyway.

The best clue remains security video from Nancy's front porch – the armed masked man, tampering with the doorbell camera.

Authorities say they have ruled out all of Nancy's immediate family members. TMZ says it received a sophisticated ransom note demanding $6 million. The sheriff’s office is working with authorities in Mexico. And investigators are still analyzing biological evidence found in and around Nancy‘s home.

But a DNA test on a glove found near the home did not make a match in the federal CODIS system. And that’s the slow reality of this kidnapping investigation.

Tip by tip. Test by test. Ruling out suspects, one person at a time, is part of the process.

Nancy‘s daughter, Savannah, released another video over the weekend, saying it’s never too late to do the right thing.

But in our third week of the search for Nancy, more questions are popping up about the investigation, and how it’s being handled.

8:12 a.m.

What happened over the past few days?

Timeline:

On Wednesday, TMZ said they received a "highly sophisticated" ransom demand involving cryptocurrency.

"The email demands a dollar amount similar to the $6 million ransom demand in the previous email we received, days after the kidnapping. This email graphically describes the consequences if the ransom isn't paid," TMZ said.

TMZ said they forwarded the ransom demand to the FBI.

Investigators are also continuing to analyze biological evidence found at Nancy Guthrie’s residence. DNA profiles are currently under lab analysis, and the number of profiles remains part of their active investigation. 

88-CRIME received an anonymous donation of $100,000, increasing the reward to $102,500. This is in addition to the $100,000 FBI reward being offered. The FBI is not involved in the administration of any non-FBI rewards.

PCSD also said they are not releasing any details surrounding additional topics of "working with Mexican authorities, utilizing polygraph tests, specific video surveillance requests, financial analysis, etc."

Dig deeper:

On Tuesday, the Pima County Sheriff's Department said DNA from a glove that was found two miles from Guthrie's home did not trigger a match in the national CODIS database. 

"Investigators are currently looking into additional investigative genetic genealogy options for DNA evidence to check for matches," PCSD added.

Also on Tuesday, FOX 10 Investigator Justin Lum spoke one-on-one with Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who addressed some of the lingering questions about the case. 

"Your question really is on, again, the sheriff's belief from day one that Nancy's still here. You have no proof, nobody does, that she's not, that she is deceased," Sheriff Nanos said. "They ask me, ‘do I have proof of life?’ I ask them, ‘is there proof of death?’ I'm going to have that faith, and sometimes that faith, that hope is all we have. My team, 400 people out there in the field today, woke up this morning and went out there with the hope. And the belief that they're going to find Nancy, and she's gonna be okay. That family has that hope and belief. I'm not crushing that. We're gonna continue working this case every minute of every day, and we will find her, and we'll find you."

Nanos also had a message for the person responsible.

"The individual doing this. Just let her go. It will work out better for you in the long run. Trust me. Just let her go. Take her to a park. Take her, take her to the hospital. Just let her go," said Nanos.

On Monday, the sheriff's department cleared the Guthrie family, including all siblings and spouses, as possible suspects in the case.

What they're saying:

Savannah Guthrie issued a new plea on Instagram for the safe return of Nancy, speaking to "whoever has her."

"I wanted to come on and... It's been two weeks since our mom was taken, and I just wanted to come on and say that we still have hope and we still believe. And I wanted to say to whoever has her or knows where she is, that it's never too late. And you're not lost or alone. And it is never too late to do the right thing. And we are here. We believe. And we believe in the essential goodness of every human being. And it's never too late."

The backstory:

Guthrie went missing on the night of Jan. 31 and was reported missing on Feb. 1 when she didn't show up for church. Since her disappearance, the FBI has released footage of her alleged abductor at her doorstep. The agency also increased its reward in the case to $100,000. A Wisconsin attorney, who is the president of Milwaukee Crime Stoppers, is also offering a $100,000 reward in the case.

PCSD and the FBI are working on finding Guthrie by searching rural and rigid terrain around the Tucson area, where Guthrie and her daughter, Annie, live. The sheriff's department is asking for anyone within a 2-mile radius of Guthrie's Catalina Foothills home to submit any footage they may have from Jan. 1 to Feb. 2 that they "deem out of the ordinary or important."

What you can do:

The FBI continues to urge anyone with information to contact its hotline at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department has also set up a tipline where the community can submit information. A new online form is available for tips.

Map of the area where Nancy Guthrie was last seen:

NewsMissing Persons