What started as an ordinary Saturday night has now unraveled into a troubling mystery that investigators say may hinge on just a few critical hours.
Authorities are intensifying their focus on the final known moments before Nancy Guthrie, 84, vanished from her Arizona home — moments that once seemed routine but are now central to a rapidly evolving investigation. Nancy, the mother of Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie, was last seen on the night of Saturday, January 31, in what initially appeared to be a quiet and uneventful return home.
According to officials, Nancy was dropped off at her residence between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m. Her daughter Annie was the last family member to see her and reported that nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There were no signs of distress, no unusual behavior, and no indication that anything was wrong.
It wasn’t until late the following morning — nearly 12 hours later — that concern set in.
When relatives were unable to reach Nancy on Sunday, they contacted authorities. That gap in time has now become a focal point for investigators, who are working meticulously to reconstruct what may have happened during the overnight hours when no one realized she was missing.
By Sunday afternoon, the case took a serious turn.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos confirmed that evidence discovered inside the home prompted the involvement of homicide detectives — a clear signal that this was no longer being treated as a standard missing-person investigation. While officials have not publicly detailed what was found, they emphasized that Nancy did not leave on her own.
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