Hidden True Crime - Apple Watch Holds Chilling Clues in Nancy Guthrie's Abduction

Episode Date: February 3, 2026

Police now say Nancy Guthrie — the mother of Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie — was abducted from her home against her will. Investigators confirm DNA evidence was found, and Apple Watch data shows her pacemaker stopped syncing around 2 A.M., possibly pinpointing when she was taken. Sponsor: Daily Look: For 50% off your order, head to https://DailyLook.com and use code HIDDEN About Hidden True Crime What started as a simple conversation at their dinner table became a captivating podcast. Join the dynamic duo of Dr. John Matthias, a criminal psychologist, and Lauren Matthias, an investigative journalist, as they delve into the psychological facets of unthinkable crimes every week. Their unique perspectives and in-depth analysis offer a fresh take on true crime storytelling. Thank you for your support through sponsorships, subscribing, listening, and becoming a Patreon member at⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/HiddenTrueCrime⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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that moment may mark when she was taken. Yes, taken. Authorities now say the 84-year-old mother of today show anchor Savannah Guthrie was abducted from her home, abducted against her will, and police have confirmed DNA evidence inside the house, reinforcing their belief that this was not a voluntary disappearance. And just 24 hours ago, hidden true crime, we were discussing this as a sudden disappearance,

and we walked through how police escalated this case from a missing person investigation to an active criminal case almost immediately. And now law enforcement, they're no longer speaking in hypotheticals. They're describing a woman with limited mobility who did not leave on her own, who needs daily medication,

and who may have been removed while she was asleep. And as officials have said bluntly, this is a race against time. And today's press conference, it's only reinforced just how dire this situation is. So let's pause, reset, and walk carefully through what we now know. What's changed in the last 24 hours and why investigators believe this situation is far more urgent than anyone initially realized. We'll go through everything we need to know. Stick with me. Nancy was last seen Saturday night, January 31st, around 9.30 p.m. after

spending the evening having dinner and playing the game Monjong with her daughter Annie. She was dropped off back at her home in Tucson, Arizona's Catalina Foothills. And the Catalina Foothills is a quiet, a fluid neighborhood. It has desert scenery reminiscent of a Georgia O'Keefe painting. It's a home of solitude. She lived there alone. And the next morning, though Nancy didn't show up her church, which was completely out of character for her. a friend noticed right away and contacted the family.

And when her kids went to check on her house and couldn't find her, I'm assuming they did not find anything in extreme disarray as they continued to search for nearly an hour before they called 911 just before noon on Sunday. And that is when everything changed. Because by Monday, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said investigators found things inside the home that immediately raised serious concern,

enough that they officially declared Nancy Guthrie's house a crime scene. Homicide detectives were brought in. Search and rescue teams had already worked through the night using helicopters, drones, heat sensing technology, and dogs. But that search has now been paused. This is now being treated fully as a criminal investigation. And here's the biggest update. Sheriff Nanos is no longer hedging his words.

He told CBS News directly. I believe she was abducted. She didn't walk away from there. She didn't go willingly. CBS News correspondent Jonathan Bigliotti asked Pima County Sheriff Chris Nano's about the ticking clock to locate Guthrie. Here's what he said. I mean, the clock is literally ticking. It's been more than 24 hours since she disappeared.

Are you concerned that it may be too late before she is found? Well, yeah. Look, we didn't. We don't want to go there. He also told the Daily Mail that evidence suggests Nancy did not leave on her own. Nano said, quote, she did not walk away. We believe she was forced to leave that residence. It was against her will.

And then when he was asked if abduction was too strong of a word, he simply responded, no. It is not too strong of a word. Nancy's physical condition is a huge reason. Police are so confident about this. Investigators say she has very limited mobility, uses a walker, and could not walk more than about 50 feet without health. Sheriff Nanos said the family told him that she couldn't even walk 50 yards on her own. And police have been very clear about what this is not. This case is not a dementia-related incident, confusion, or someone just getting lost. That is what this case isn't. Sheriff Nanos said,

Again, Nancy Guthrie is of great sound mind. She is sharp as attack. This is not someone who just wandered off. I can't think of the last time where in the middle of the night in someone's bed, an 84-year-old woman disappeared on us. That's a challenge for us. And it's something we just wander back. Yeah, we all do. We all do, Sheriff.

I know you've been in contact with Savannah, who we know, in Tucson, what is your message to her and the Guthrie family and all the viewers who care so much about Savannah? We're not going to give up. We'll get this. I'm blessed. I have a team that is, look, they'll solve this. I know they will. And when detectives searched the home, they found Nancy's phone, they found her wallet and car still inside. The lights and the common areas were on. The front door was unlocked. Investigators have also noted signs consistent with a forced entry, but they aren't releasing specific details because, again, this is an active investigation. They are holding clues tightly to their chest still. And police believe Nancy, though, was taken some time overnight,

that they're telling us, possibly while she was in bed asleep. Can you imagine? 84 years old, being woken up and being taken while in your bed asleep. Her family, is now asking neighbors to check any security footage they may have had from between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. Sunday morning. Because according to sources, her pacemaker last synced with her Apple watch around 2 a.m. And after that, they believe is when she was taken out of range. That's in quotes, taken out of range. even if a camera doesn't point directly to her house, police say it still matters. Sheriff Nanos has explained,

it could be something as small as headlights, a vehicle passing through the area, or someone walking by. If anything feels even slightly off, they want to see it. Investigators are currently reviewing hoodage, Nancy's cell phone data, license plate readers,

and other cameras throughout the neighborhood. They are also canvassing the area and searching for a, possible vehicle of interest that could help identify a suspect or suspects. And then there's another major development that came in overnight. Sheriff Nanos has now confirmed that DNA evidence was located inside Nancy's home and sent to a lab for testing. He said, quote, we took some samples that we hope will have enough of a DNA profile to give us some identification as to what we're looking at, And according to the Los Angeles Times, that DNA source was indeed blood, according to Los Angeles Times.

And at this point, investigators haven't said whose blood it is, and they've explained that it could take several days or results to come back. But the presence of blood at the scene, if true, only reinforces why police believe this was not a voluntary disappearance. Sheriff Nanos has also been very blunt about how serious the timing is here. Nancy needs daily medication and it has now been well over 24 hours since she disappeared. He said, this is about an 84-year-old woman who is sick who needs her medications who in the middle of the night was taken from her bedroom. If she is alive, she needs her medication. That in itself could be fatal and that's scary. And quote. Right now, police don't know if Nancy was injured when she was taken. Authorities also say there's no evidence that she was taken across the nearby Mexican border and no indication that this involves cartel or border-related activity. It's also worth noting a bit about Tucson as a city. Like many urban areas, it has higher than average crime rates compared with the national average, especially for property crime.

And some neighborhoods also see violent crime in Tucson. But the Catalina foothills where Nancy lives is very different. It's an affluent, low crime area with large homes and generally very strong security. Violent crimes, like in abduction, are extremely rare there. And that's part of why this case is so alarming and why investigators are treating it with such urgency. I've decided I'm officially done with mornings that start with, why do I own clothes but still have nothing to wear? And that's thanks to Daily Look.

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he said that they can't rule that out. He confirmed that investigators are looking into whether Nancy may have been stalked or harassed and said Savannah security team is in contact with law enforcement. And this is where a lot of public speculation starts. One theory that always comes up in cases like this, especially when a family member is well known, is the idea that this could somehow be connected to Savannah Guthrie herself, that maybe this was an attack aimed at hurting her by taking someone she loved or tied to someone who had an issue with her or her work as a journalist. And it's understandable that people wonder this. You know, Savannah Guthrie is a nationally known news anchor. She interviews powerful people. She has moderated presidential debates.

and has had tense, uncomfortable conversations on live television. So people naturally ask, did she make the wrong person angry? But when you really step back and look at Savannah Guthrie's career, she is not generally considered a controversial or inflammatory figure in the way other media personalities might be. She's not a pundit. She's not known for extreme political commentary or taking loud, to polarized stances. If anything, criticism of Savannah tends to come from both sides at different

times. Some people think she pushes too hard in interviews. Others think she doesn't push hard enough. Honestly, that usually points to someone operating pretty close to the middle. She's widely viewed as a mainstream established journalist, professional, measured, and controlled, not someone who builds a brand around outrage or controversy. And look, that doesn't mean that she never upset anyone before. Anyone interviewing politicians at that level will frustrate someone eventually. But there's a big difference between momentary criticism and having real enemies. And there is no public reporting or evidence that Savannah has known threats, stalkers, or people fixated on her in any dangerous way beyond what sadly comes with being a recognizable public figure.

Another thing about Savannah Guthrie is that she's very open about her Christian faith. She's written two books centered on her faith, mostly what God does as well as mostly what God does is love you. And those books aren't political or controversial. They focus on grace, love, and faith through difficult moments in life. That's not the profile of someone out to stir people up. In an era where some news anchors are clearly partisan or openly ideological, Savannah has generally maintained a reputation for being fairly neutral in the story she covers. And look, viewers might disagree with how an interview goes, but she's not widely seen as

injecting personal beliefs or agendas into her reporting. So while investigators are right to never rule anything out, there's nothing right now that suggests this was retaliation or a targeted attack connected to Savannah's career. And at this point, that theory lives more in the realm of understandable speculation rather than any solid evidence. And there are a few other theories people keep asking about as well. Some have wondered if this could be a ransom situation, right? especially given that Savannah makes an estimated $8 million a year and has a net worth of around $40 million. But if that were the case, investigators would typically expect some kind of contact

by now, right? A demand, a message, something. Others have suggested this could have been a robbery that went wrong. But police have not said the home appeared ransacked or that valuables were taken. In fact, Nancy's phone, wallet, and car were all still inside the house. Again, everything was there. Family allegedly looked for Nancy, as you recall, for an hour before calling 911. So if investigators or even family believe this was primarily about theft, we would likely hear that the scene reflected that. So far, they haven't said that. And honestly, looking at this, from the outside looking in. That's important context because it helps narrow what this might not be, even as police continue to work towards what it is. The FBI is now assisting in the investigation

as well, bringing additional resources and expertise, especially in digital forensics, image analysis, and cell phone data. Meanwhile, Savannah Guthrie has remained off the Today Show and posted a deeply emotional message overnight asking for prayers. She wrote, we believe in prayer. We believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope. We believe in goodness. We believe in humanity. Above all, we believe in him.

Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant. Praise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. We need you. He will keep in perfect peace those whose hearts are steadfast trusting in the Lord, a verse of Isaiah for all time for all of us. And then Savannah ended with this simple but heartbreaking plea. Bring her home. On today's today show broadcast,

Anchors spoke about the case and again, they confirmed that authorities believe Nancy was taken against her will. They said that while police are receiving tips, They still don't have a solid lead, which makes public help absolutely critical right now. Sheriff Nano said it is a race against time. I hope that window hasn't closed. The Pima County Sheriff's Office gave a press conference today, Tuesday as well. We have a lot of work in front of us.

We have a job to do. And we have someone's life who is in jeopardy. And so job number one is we got to. find her and we got to work hard to do that. I understand there's great attention on this and rightfully so and I appreciate it and I thank you for it because it has generated a lot of leads for us. And so we're tracking those leads and we're doing things with evidence that you would expect us to be doing. Most importantly, Sheriff Nanos said that Nancy still hasn't been found. And while that's heartbreaking news, there is still hope.

He mentioned that they're chasing a lot of leads but didn't have any new updates to share. Then he handed things over to John Edwards, the assistant special agent from the Tucson FBI office who said a few words and answers and questions. He assured everyone that they're doing everything possible to bring Nancy home. That includes analyzing cell phones, checking cell tower data, and conducting interviews. He emphasized that they're aggressively following every lead that comes. comes in. If you live in the area or saw something on Saturday night the 31st of January or Sunday morning the 1st of February, please report it to the Pima County Sheriff's Department or the FBI

at 1-800 call FBI. Every lead and tip is important. We are aggressively pursuing and looking into every single one. Again, please help us bring Nancy Guthrie home. Thank you. After that, the floor was open. for questions from the media. Sheriff Nattano still could not say whether this was a random act or something targeted.

They just don't know yet and are looking for all possibilities. Well, we have crime in Tucson all the time, right? Like any city. And so when you say a threat to the public, is there somebody out there who's kidnapping elderly people in the middle of the night every night? We've not heard that. We don't believe that's the case. We do believe that Nancy was taken from her home,

against her will, and that's where we're at. He also has no idea if more than one person is involved. When a reporter asked if any demands had been made, he said they've had all kinds of leads that they're investigating. You were asked if there was any ransom, and you didn't say no, you said we're following all leads. Does that mean a ransom has come in? We're following all leads we have.

That's all I can tell you. We've got hundreds of leads, and it's from you that produced those leads by telling people we need help. And I'm grateful for that. But yeah, I'm not going to get into all that. So far, he added that while they've submitted everything to the camera companies, they have not been given any access to video footage yet. And one reporter pointed out that the camera on the front of the house is missing.

And the sheriff said that they're actually looking into whether the perpetrator purposely took the camera. After a few more questions, the sheriff said, they'll give another update on Thursday, unless, of course, something major happens before then, and if something does, you can count on hidden true crime to bring you all the latest verified updates. We do have one more development to share coming in just now this Tuesday from TMZ, but I want to be very clear up front that this is still highly speculative and could ultimately turn out to be a hoax.

That being said, TMZ reports on Tuesday they were sent a letter within the last few hours claiming to be from the person responsible for taking Nancy Guthrie. The message demands a large sum of Bitcoin be sent to a specific Bitcoin address. It includes a deadline along with a warning about potential consequences if those demands are not met. The letter also references damage to an item inside Nancy's home as well as something she was wearing. which appears to be in attempt to establish credibility by giving details that would not be publicly known. TMZ says they have confirmed that the Bitcoin address itself is real and have turned the letter over to the Pima County Sheriff's Office. Take a listen.

So something happened here just a few minutes ago. We received an email at TMZ from somebody purporting to basically, issue a ransom demand. I'm not going to read this, but the top line to it is that they are asking for money a lot. They

are asking for it in the form of Bitcoin, and they are putting an or else on this. Right. Now, they also say to, they do two things. You don't want that number. Right. They

say two things. They say that there is an address, a Bitcoin address that they could send this money to, and then they give a description of something that Savannah's mother was wearing at the time of the abduction and a damaged item in the house. Both things are clearly mentioned because they want to prove that they're legit, that they have information about something that happened in the house. We don't know. know if that is accurate. We have called the sheriff's department. We've made multiple calls

spoken with the detective unit. We have passed on this email. We don't know whether this is legitimate. I will say, this happens from time to time where a media outlet gets something like this. So just in due diligence, we've... The one thing we should say... It's taken very, very seriously. Go ahead, Charles. Yeah, the one thing that we should say is that we have confirmed it, at least the Bitcoin address that they've included in this email is legit. Right. And the authorities will have to take this very seriously. This is a piece of material evidence that has been turned over. They think an abduction happened. They have found substances in the house. The detective walked back a little bit. The sheriff walked back the blood idea. They said things have been gathered and they are testing those substances. But he did clarify that. This is a very open and active investigation. So we'll have to see what happens.

So we will let you know. But right now, again, all we're doing is we've sent this on to detectives and we will see. And again, still highly speculative could turn out to be a hoax. And there is nothing from the sheriff's office to clarify any of this. But still, TMZ is reporting this as of Tuesday. We wanted to share this. The Pima County Sheriff's Department is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to any arrest. And they are urging anyone with footage, sightings, or even a gut feeling that something wasn't right to forward because at this point, this case is more. It's so much more than online speculation,

online theories. It's about finding an 84-year-old woman who was taken from her home in the middle of the night, a grandmother, someone who needs medication and care, someone whose family loves and misses her. This case is about holding on to hope, any hope, that she can return safely. If you know anything at all, no matter how small it seems, please contact the Pima County Sheriff's Department right away because one person or one tip

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