Hidden True Crime - Exclusive: Savannah Guthrie Given Ransom Letter—Still No Suspect in Nancy’s Guthrie's Case

Episode Date: February 5, 2026

AZ Family's Briana Whitney, a boots on the ground journalist, is here to talk about the latest developments in the case of Nancy Guthrie- the mother of TODAY Anchor Savannah Guthrie. Sponsor: To explore coverage, visit https://www.aspcapetinsurance.com/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 Sources: https://youtu.be/T1LXhLABVfo?si=VBLSU2O2lJxoNuiq https://youtu.be/29T8xmrWyvk?si=rOXMZAiIwzBdt2OY https://youtu.be/KiIJLqW7Rz0?si=PbjKjfyVGTaPoMRf https://youtu.be/ODfY9094MfA?si=BOZBYapayibTf2CQ https://youtu.be/izsEOXQyH3Q?si=ijdb7JM6a0eovodL https://youtu.be/p2n3sa300JA?si=SWAwWkfaBDxyQMyW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Born again. Now streaming only on Disney Plus. The FBI deemed it at least substantial enough to put that in front of Savannah Guthrie, to let her know what was going on. and what they were looking at. At this hour, they are still taking this alleged ransom note seriously. I am with True Crime, Arizona reporter Brianna Whitney. Boots on the ground reporter in Tucson. You're in Phoenix now, but you were in Tucson. Is that right, Brianna?

Yep. Yeah. I was out in Tucson in front of the crime scene at Nancy Guthrie's home, doing all of our investigative reporting from Tucson yesterday as the updates came through. quite literally unfolded the whole day back in Phoenix today still reporting and working on the story back in Tucson tomorrow all day so much so that we'll be in there in the morning for the press conference all the way through the night in our true crime streaming show okay thank you for covering this like you have been and thank you for giving us a few minutes of your time as busy as you are you were even at nancy guthrie's home in the catalina foothills is that right that's right so i think the thing that i think the thing that

I'm most curious about right now is, of course, there's a lot of speculation, a lot of rumors going on about a prime suspect, about a possible suspect, about a family member being involved, and you are in touch with the sheriff. Is that correct? Can you tell us what you've learned? Yeah, the sheriff's department. So I heard and saw the same reporting that went out very late last night. So it would have been late Tuesday night. And I sent an email immediately to the Sheriff's Department and the FBI, since we know the FBI's involved and they are conducting interviews. They are just as part of this as the Sheriff's Department at this point when we're looking for information. So I emailed them at, gosh, it must have been 1230 in the morning trying to seek some clarity on this. And I think

it's hard because as journalists and as news stations, oftentimes we have sources. Oftentimes we have law enforcement sources. This is a really touchy investigation based on what is out there, what should or shouldn't be out there, and not wanting to compromise the investigation, wherever that may be. There's a lot we're not privy to. The Sheriff's Department got back to me very early this morning and said, we do not have any persons of interest. We do not have an identified suspect. Then they doubled down in their communication with me about it again, just bolstering that even two hours later. And then they went to social media. I'm assuming they've been getting bombarded with messages about this this morning saying, look, not only do we not have an identified

person of interest, an identified suspect, a prime suspect at that, but these kinds of unsubstantiated reports are really detrimental to the investigation. And at this point would be irresponsible to put out there. So that's the latest that we have, at least confirmed by law enforcement officials. they are aware of what kind of reporting is out there. They are aware that it's about, you know, suspicion of a family member. But at this point, there is no concrete evidence to suggest that that is true. Okay. And let's be clear, a person of interest happens before a suspect and say if there's no person

of interest, there's definitely not a prime suspect. Absolutely. What about this car being impounded? Let's say it as it is, Savannah Guthrie's sisters. partner. What are we learning about his car? Because that's also being shared prominently online, whether it's been impounded, it's not been impounded, whether it's been seized. Yeah, and I've seen the same reports. Same thing. So when I emailed the sheriff's department last night, I wasn't just asking about if they had a suspect. I also was asking a slew of different questions about what they have

seized, what they've potentially towed or not towed, what evidence they had. And, and they had, have. And the same email that I got back was there was no concrete confirmation of that one way or another either. I know that that's being circulated to. We are actively asking those questions, but without that confirmation, that's not something that we're moving forward with at this time. Of course, we're hoping to learn more. And I think part of this problem with this kind of information being spread so quickly, there's so much interest in this, for obvious reasons, understandable reasons. And so much concern that people want information immediately. And there hasn't been a lot.

I mean, we haven't seen any surveillance footage. That's been a huge issue. The sheriff's department has remained pretty tight-lipped about this. You know, it took leaking of an alleged ransom note for the sheriff's department to then address that situation in and of itself. So I think people are desperate for any little piece of information and are latching on to what they can. And I get that. The sheriff is not making himself available today at all.

for interviews. So our next opportunity to ask him these questions in person is tomorrow morning. That's Thursday at 11 a.m. when he has his press conference. And that's not a guarantee that there's going to be new information, that he's going to confirm anything, that there's going to be any breaking news. It's just a scheduled press conference for him to address the media. So I think as far as more information goes, unless it's breaking news today, you know, Nancy has been found or anything like that. If it's something like that, the sheriff will come out and talk to us again and hold another press conference. If it's not that, it doesn't seem like we'll get in front of him face-to-face anybody until tomorrow morning. Okay, that is really helpful. And going back to the car being seized, they did not confirm it, but they did not deny it.

So they're not saying anything. There was no, yeah, they didn't address that at all. They basically just said, we have evidence. We were working on evidence. We've sent things at the DNA lab. kind of the same thing that they reiterated before. So no confirmation, no denial, but definitely not providing any sort of yes or no to me. But the clarity that we did receive the absolute confirmation is no suspect, no prime suspect, no person of interest even at this time. That is confirmed. That's confirmed by the sheriff's department. And whether or not behind the scenes they have an idea or they have a hunch or they're tracking down a lead as far as

the public side of the investigation. There is clearly nobody there charging right now because if they were, then they would name it, then we would see that. So yes, there is no person of interest or identified person of interest, no identified suspect at this time, according to the sheriff's department.

I know you have a busy day. You're doing great work out there. We're really relying on you, Brianna. One last question, this ransom letter, which now multiple media outlets have said they have received one. Anything you can share about, that. We reported on it here,

AID and True Crime. We shared that was unsubstantiated, substantiated. Anything you can share as far as confirming this anymore or what you've heard. Yes. Yeah. So I have some information on that that I can share. But we also are being very, very careful with how and what we share. So our sister station, KOLD, down in Tucson, is the news media station that received this alleged ransom note. Okay. They turned it over to the sheriff's department. And from there, and that's why they didn't report on it, because the sheriff's department asked them not to. It wasn't until TMZ received an alleged ransom note and went forward with it, that then

the sheriff's department had to address what had happened with the local news station. The sheriff's department confirmed to CBS News, and we are with CBS News. That is our network yesterday, that they forwarded that to the FBI. The FBI deemed it at least, substantial enough to put that in front of Savannah Guthrie, to let her know what was going on and what they were looking at. At this hour, they are still taking this alleged ransom note seriously. We have not gotten any confirmation of whether it's legit or not. That has not been confirmed, but it is being investigated.

And the sheriff's department has confirmed that. We know from what we can report that the ransom note that went to our sister station had a certain money number that they were demanding, a time frame or a deadline that they wanted it in, and details that reportedly only the abductor would know. That's what we know was in there, that we are able to publicly report. So obviously concerning,

but ransom notes are really difficult. You have a lot to trace back to. Where did this come from? What is the demand? what is the likelihood that this is legit or not? That can be hard to do with a ransom note, depending on how it came in and what that looks like. On top of that, it is now Wednesday.

And as far as I know, there has definitely been no public confirmation of any point that there is proof of life of Nancy Guthrie. Typically, when there is a rare ransom note request, you typically are demanding something in return for what you took. And right now we have no any indication that there is proof of life of Nancy, that she is somewhere, that somebody has her that's related to this note specifically. So there's a lot of investigating that still needs to go on with these alleged ransom notes

that went out to a couple of media outlets, but the sheriff's department's actively doing that. Hopefully tomorrow we will learn a little bit more about whether they believe they are legit or not. Thank you. Well, we'll be following you. Where can we find your reporting as you continue to cover this daily? Yeah. So I'm on Instagram at Brianna Whitney. I'm on YouTube at Brianna Whitney TV.

I'm on Twitter or X at Brianna Whitney and Facebook as well. Any of those social platforms I'm constantly posting also on TikTok at Brianna Whitney TV, trying to get out there as much as possible from all angles to investigative, also who Nancy was. I think that's kind of the big next step for reporting. We may not get a lot of new investigative details today, but there is a vigil being held for her this evening in Tucson, and I hope that we'll get to learn more from the community

who is very concerned about their loved one too. It's not just the Gothry family, but it's really the whole community of Tucson, which is a relatively small city, and she's been a pillar in this community for a long time. So hopefully we'll be able to get that more personal side of the story today, and then tomorrow hopefully learn a lot more about the investigation itself. Thank you so much, Brianna. We'll be following along. Thank you for all you're doing. We appreciate this time.

Thanks, Lauren. I appreciate it. Honestly, I am so grateful for Brianna's time today because I have had a lot of questions. There's been a lot of noise in the last 24 hours, but law enforcement is publicly asking all of us to simply slow down on the info sharing because when all this partial information moves faster than police can confirm everything. Our curiosity, you know, wants answers to. It can honestly lead to mudding the waters in a real-time investigation. It can also pile on a family that's already living a nightmare. And also this case involves a real family, real people, whether or not one of the family members is a public figure. These are real people living a nightmare. And an 84-year-old woman is missing a grandmother, a mother, and their family is asking for prayers to bring her home.

And a family member actually now officially has commented on the allegations of Nancy's family member being called a suspect. It's the husband of Nancy Guthrie's niece, Zach Lind. And he actually wrote, quote, imagine going through everything this family is going through and also having to contend with vile humans who post stuff like this. Unreal. Annie and Tommy are amazing people, dedicated parents who also love and care for Nancy on a daily basis. End quote. Before we continue with today's episode, I want to talk about Lily Bell. She's not just a hidden true crime. HR dog, as we call her. She's family now. We plan our days around her. Worry about her when something feels off. And honestly, we would do anything to keep her safe and healthy. A quick message from today's

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County Sheriff's Office released a statement today that the sharing of unverified accusations or false information is irresponsible and does not assist in the investigation. So when people hear that police have a suspect, I mean, you can assume that law enforcement no longer needs tips or that this case is on its way to being solved. At least there's a great lead, right? And I also think that that can cause people who may have relevant information to stay silent, thinking that their info is no longer needed by law enforcement, when in reality, investigators have been very clear. Public tips are critical in this case.

They are asking for public tips. So I personally want to slow way down and walk through this together, because even I needed time to breathe and process the information coming down each day. There is so much. And so I figured we can do this together, process what's been confirmed, what is evidence, what is speculation. And most importantly, though, we know that Nancy Guthrie is still missing. She is 84 years old. And she has a serious medical issue that needs daily medication. We don't know yet what that is. But her medical issues we now know include high blood pressure, cardiac issues, a pacemaker, limited mobility. And again, she takes this daily medication that investigators say are vital. We have not been told what that medication is. I've speculated it could be high blood pressure medication, but we don't know. No one knows.

It has been confirmed by police and family, though, that Nancy does not have cognitive issues. And police have emphasized that she is very mentally alert. She's vulnerable physically, but not mentally. And it's now been days since she was last seen and since she last had access to that medication she needs. And as Brianna just told us, it's been days since anyone has seen proof of life. So what we do know, though, let's talk about what we do know, timeline-wise. Nancy was last seen on Saturday night, January 31st, sometime between 930, 9.45 p.m. when her daughter, Annie Guthrie, and Annie's longtime partner, Tomaso Cioni, dropped her off at her home after a night out.

Sheriff Chris Nanos has repeatedly said that there were no red flags with that drop off. Nothing about Nancy's demeanor raised concerns and nothing about the interaction stood out. Authorities have also said from the beginning that the family has been cooperating fully. Annie and Tomaso have been together for years. I saw a Facebook post from Nancy that said, happy 14 years to the couple. that was in September of 2020. So we all know I don't do math, but nearly 20 years, close to 20 years. They've been together. They do share a young son who is nearly 13 years old. That's based on social media posts that I have seen. And last year, Annie and Tomaso purchased a $650,000 home about 10 minutes

away from Nancy's house. And by all accounts, this is a close family that spends time together regularly. And then the next morning, Sunday, February 1st, Nancy didn't show up to church around 11 a.m. Her usual time to go. And this was unusual for her. She is a churchgoer. And so church members reached out to the family when she didn't arrive. We don't know who that is. I'm assuming it's Annie Guthrie. But church members reached out to family and then a family member went to Nancy's home to check on her. They could not find her called 911 and then that call. The dispatcher was told that Nancy, has high blood pressure, a pacemaker, and those cardiac issues we now know about. Nancy, a white female, 84 years of age, 5C. Middianville, probably blue,

after 22 hundred hours, positive yesterday. Nancy has high blood pressure, pacemaker, and cardiac issues. And that's when this investigation officially began. And then almost immediately, investigators said one thing was certain. Nancy did not just walk away from her. home. Her home is in a rural area, the Catalina Foothills outside of Tucson. Beautiful. It's not a gated community, though. It's also very dark at night with no streetlights. Stars light up this neighborhood. It's desert scenery. The properties are large or spread out. And because of that, even when neighbors

do have cameras, many of them can't see the road. Nancy herself had multiple cameras on her property, but it's now being reported by many that those cameras may have been deliberately smashed. So Sheriff Nanos has said investigators are working with the camera companies to obtain any available cloud storage connected to those cameras, because even if a camera smashed, there can be cloud storage, right? Doesn't mean the footage is gone. But police have acknowledged, they are frustrated by how long it has been taking to obtain this cloud storage from the Nest company specifically. And the NEST cameras located out front of the home, again, were reportedly smashed and investigators are waiting on Nests corporate executives to yield any cloud data

back to the Sheriff's department that they may hopefully have. It is possible that information, though, has been turned over by now. We don't know. And law enforcement maybe just hasn't publicly confirmed this yet. We'll have to wait and see. There was also reportedly forced entry into the home. law enforcement has stated that and some outlets have stated that the back door was found wide open, although that has not been confirmed by investigators either. So we don't know. Blood was also said to have been found inside and outside the home as well. And after the house was processed and it was officially turned back over to the family after 6 p.m. Yesterday. So reporters were actually able to see the blood still on the front steps leading up to the front door.

reporter Brian Enton showed footage of blood spatter outside the front door. It hadn't been cleaned because it had just stopped being an act of crime scene. Also knew one of my photographers was able to walk up to the house behind me. And keep in mind, this is no longer a crime scene. I mean, the sheriff made clear that it is no longer a crime scene that they released it yesterday. And there hasn't really been anyone out here. There was a woman who came earlier today. I don't know if it was a family member.

But anyway, several different people, including one of my photographers, went up to knock on the door just to see if anyone was home, because obviously that's like what we do, and it's no longer a crime scene. And you could see up at the door, this video, you could see that there was blood down near the doormat and just on the ground near the entryway into the house, which is pretty disturbing. There had been reports that there was blood found at the house, and it's pretty clear that this is blood right outside the front door. Where the blood came from, what this means, we don't know. Also, the ring camera is missing from next to the front door. You can see where there is a plate where there appears that there was a ring camera, but the ring camera is now gone.

And we asked the, or not we, I asked the sheriff about that. At the press conference, I said, you know, there's a missing ring camera, and he confirmed that and said it is something that we're looking into. So did the perpetrator take the ring camera, or was the ring camera removed before all of us and has nothing to do with what happened. That's a possibility. But the sheriff said that they are aware that the ring camera is missing and they are looking into it, which is another interesting element to this whole thing. But what caught many people's attention is that the visible blood trail at the front door, so it doesn't continue out onto the stones toward the driveway. And because of that, some people have suggested, speculated that Nancy maybe didn't walk out

of the home at all, but maybe she was carried out. But when Sheriff Nanos was directly asked whether Nancy was carried over the threshold of the front door, he was careful in his response. And he said, this is what he said, quote, I did not say the front door. That was it. Cautious wording tells us investigators are still working through multiple possibilities and they are not locking themselves into a single narrative of what happened, nor should we. And I did some research on how Apple watches and pacemakers work together. And this is what I've essentially learned. I've learned that Apple watches can have apps installed on them that monitor pacemakers

and store data so that when patients go in for an office visit, doctors can actually see how they are functioning. And the Apple watches themselves have no impact on whether or not the pacemaker is working. It is also not real-time monitoring. The data can sometimes take a bit to transfer. So if someone has a cardiac event, it's not like the doctor will 100% get notified that second. It could take even 24 hours for a doctor to be notified of that. And if the patient is taken away from or moves away from that Bluetooth device that monitors the pacemaker,

then it no longer monitors it. And no alerts can be sent to the doctors, which is what seems to have happened. Nancy's case. Before I switched to Wealthfront, my APY was probably 0.1. Once I switched chiching, with a Wealthfront cash account, earn up to 4.2% APY on your cash. I can trust Wellfront is taking care of me. Make your money earn more. Get started at Wealthfront.com. Clients were paid $1,000 for their testimonials, creating a conflict of interest. Howcomes vary. 3.3% base API as of January 30th, 2026, is representative variable and earned on funds swept to program banks. 0.65% new client boost for three months on up to $150,000. Direct deposit $1,000 a

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Direct deposit $1,000 a month and fund an investing account for a 0.25% increase. Cash account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC member FINRA SIPC, not a bank. And even though Nancy was last seen around 9.45 p.m., investigators believe the actual kidnapping, and that's what they're saying in abduction, a kidnapping, it likely occurred later overnight, closer to two in the morning. And this timing aligns with what the sheriff has said publicly, which is that this appears to be a targeted incident, not random, and that there is no known threat, though, to the general public. So now we need to talk about the ransom letters that I brought up with Brianna, because this is where a lot of attention has been focused. Sheriff Nanos has confirmed the existence of two alleged ransom notes.

One, we discussed here on Tuesday, hidden true crime, and that was sent to TMZ, and then another was sent to a local Tucson TV news station. The Arizona outlet 13 News said it received an email Monday night that appeared to be a ransom note, forwarded it directly to the sheriff's office. Sheriff Nanos later told CBS news that the station agreed not to report on it. And then TMZ reported that the note they received included specific details about Nancy's home, what she was wearing that night and demanded large sums of Bitcoin. Sheriff Nanos has said the family was aware of the letter before TMZ reported on it and isn't sure how or why TMZ obtained it. He also said investigators were trying to contain that information to preserve the integrity of the investigation.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos says the FBI is now analyzing an apparent ransom note. Is there anything in that note that seems credible at this moment that you're giving weight to? The entire note. So you're not dismissing this note at that point? He says he shared the note with the Guthrie family the same night he received it. Of the thousands of tips that you get, you don't show everything to know. Because some of them just don't have any. This rose.

This is this rose to a level. Sure it does. It's more threatening. You guys asked, was there any threats? This was pretty threatening. According to Nannos, the note contained details about what the 84-year-old was wearing the night of the crime, but would not confirm its authenticity. It was initially sent to a local news station who forwarded it to authorities and agreed not to report on it. But yesterday, TMZ was also sent a copy. TMZ comes out with this note that you have known about that the Guthrie's have now seen, and it sounds like it could compromise this case to some degree. It could. I hope not. So Brianna Whitney essentially told us the same info at the beginning of this episode, but had even more to say, let's take a listen again, because she says that the ransom letter

was actually put in front of Nancy's daughter, today's show host Savannah Guthrie, and that it is still being taken seriously. The Sheriff's Department confirmed to CBS News, and we are with CBS News. That is our network yesterday, that they forwarded that to the FBI. The FBI deemed it at least substantial enough to put that in front of Savannah Guthrie, to let her know what was going on and what they were looking at. At this hour, they are still taking this alleged ransom note seriously. We have not gotten any confirmation of whether it's legit or not.

that has not been confirmed, but it is being investigated. And the sheriff's department has confirmed that. Out of thousands of tips that have come in, the sheriff said that this rose to the top because it is threatening and not because they necessarily think it's legitimate. They don't know if it's legitimate. And that's interesting because one outside law enforcement source cited by former News Nation host Ashley Banfield has weighed in on the case and said that they don't put a lot of stock in the ransom notes. but Brianna Whitney, whose station received one of them, says it is being taken seriously. At this hour, they are still taking this alleged ransom note seriously. The Sheriff's Department released a statement saying they are aware of reports circulating about the ransom notes

and that they are taking all tips and leads seriously. So confirming, again, what Brianna has told us here at Hidden True Crime, They said anything that comes in goes directly to detectives who are coordinating with the FBI, and they encouraged anyone with information to share it. Yesterday, there was also a noticeable increase in law enforcement activity near Nancy's home. Reporters, including Brian Enten, observed a sheriff's helicopter flying very low over the house and the surrounding area. People on the ground could see individuals leaning out of the helicopter, looking down. The helicopter stayed in the area for over an hour, and also,

hovered across the street, according to Brian. Brian Nenton also observed a search and rescue truck in the area. At first glance, it might look like a routine show of presence, but then it started to seem like they were actively searching for something, and that would suggest investigators may have received a new tip, or they were asked to recheck a specific area. The land around the home, again, it's rough desert terrain with cacti and wildlife, and investigators have acknowledged how challenging an environment like this is, especially at night. And now we need to talk about the reporting that has sparked the most discussion over the last day because this is where public conversation is really intensified and why I reached out

to Brianna, honestly, since she is reporting in Tucson and is in touch with the sheriff's office and the FBI. Former News Nation host Ashley Banfield reported yesterday that Annie Guthrie's vehicle was towed and placed into evidence. Annie Guthrie again, Savannah's older sister. And Ashley also stated that she has what she described as, this is a quote, impeccable law enforcement source. And this impeccable law enforcement source told Ashley Banfield that Annie's partner,

Tomaso Sione, was a prime suspect. My law enforcement source told me that police have now towed and impounded. the vehicle belonging to Nancy Guthrie's daughter, Annie Guthrie. This is important because you've heard that the last point of contact with Nancy Guthrie was when she was dropped off by her daughter at 945-ish at night on Saturday night. So Annie Guthrie and possibly her husband as well, Thomas O. Cioni, were the last people to see her at 9.45 at night, Saturday night. Sunday morning 11 a.m., church members reached up to the family, hey, your mom wasn't in church, not normal, she's always there, what's up, family member goes over, calls, family member or members,

goes to the house, calls 911, and the investigation begins. But they have towed Annie Guthrie's car. And there is some connection to Annie Guthrie's car and Nancy Guthrie's son-in-law. that would be Annie's husband, Thomas O. Cioni, age 50, from Tucson, Arizona, married to Annie P. Guthrie, Savannah's sister. And my law enforcement source tells me that Thomas Oceone is the prime suspect in this case. Again, law enforcement source tells me that Nancy Guthrie's son-in-law, married to Annie Guthrie, Savannah's sister, is maybe, maybe a prime suspect in this case. Banfield's source also suggested some reasons why a suspect could benefit from an 84-year-old woman being kidnapped.

They said that kidnapping someone with limited mobility would be a lot of work for very little payoff unless a person responsible believed they had something significant to gain from this kidnapping, such as insurance benefits, inheritance, or relief from a financial obligation. And, you know, this makes sense, but it would also be speculation of a motive, so and not any confirmed motive. The source also claimed this would likely be someone familiar with the home, the premises, or Nancy herself, and someone who knew where the cameras were located in order to smash those nest cameras that were smashed. And that, you know, my, my source said there's a lot of familiarity. This, this, this kidnapper had a lot of

familiarity with this home, with the two different nest cams that were smashed. And, you know, that they said an 84-year-old woman with limited mobility is not an easy person to kidnap. There has to be a benefit in some way. So this report spread like wildfire, and as it often does, and it led a lot of us to talking and a lot of online speculation. However, it now appears that Bannfield source may not be as credible as originally thought shortly after those claims circulated, the Pima County Sheriff's Department released a statement saying that at this point, investigators have not identified a suspect. And not only not identified a suspect, they have not identified a person of interest. And Brianna Whitney has told us the same.

The Sheriff's Office said detectives continue to speak with anyone who may have had contact with Nancy and that they are working closely with the Guthrie family. They then went for and stated that sharing unverified accusations or false information does not assist the investigation. The statement concluded by saying no suspect or person of interest has been identified at this time. The clarity that we did receive the absolute confirmation is no suspect, no prime suspect, no person of interest even at this time. That is confirmed. That's confirmed by the sheriff's department. Investigators also said they are combing through hundreds of leads and continue to ask the public for help in finding Nancy.

And this is an important clarification. Families are almost always examined first in cases like this. Ashley Banfield actually said the same on her report, especially when they were the last known people to see a missing loved one. That does not, though, imply guilt. Towing vehicles, analyzing cell phone data, using geo-fencing and collecting DNA and fingerprints, is standard investigative tools. And they're often used not just to like make sure or claim that someone is a suspect.

They're actually often used to eliminate people as suspects rather than implicate them. Authorities are still awaiting test results on other evidence, including DNA samples and fingerprints. We can't speed that up. Sheriff Nanos has said that the lab will report back what they find. And so far, nothing has pointed to a specific purpose. person responsible. And I think it's also worth noting that Savannah Guthrie, the today show host, has reportedly been staying with her siblings near their mother's home and receiving regular updates from investigators. And so it doesn't seem likely to me that Savannah would be seen

closely with her family during this ordeal as she believed her sister or brother-in-law were involved in her mother's disappearance. But to clarify, that's just my speculation. I don't know. A bit about Tomaso Sione, since he is now in the news and being discussed. He is 50 years old and originally from Italy. According to public bios, he has lived in Tucson since 2006. He is a teacher who has worked at Basis Oro Valley School since 2007. He teaches sixth grade science and AP biology. God bless teachers.

Former students have actually commented publicly describing him as kind, inspirational, dedicated. He is also a musician and writer. So he's an artist. He played electric bass and vocals in a band called Early Black, and they released an album titled Life, Love, Love, Murder. And the album, it does explore raw, dark, and introspective themes common in alternative rock, grappling with loss or grief. And the band was known for balancing poeticly lyrics and heavy distorted riffs and the word murder in the title, I mean, it caught my eye too, right? Murder is in the title. But it's long been understood as metaphorical referring to emotional devastation rather than the literal violence. Some people, some of us have taken that creative

work and framed it into a more sinister light, but artistic expression is not evidence. Creative themes do not equal criminal behavior. Law enforcement has also confirmed that DNA has been collected from the home and that some of it does belong to Nancy. That makes sense, though. This is her house. However, investigators have not confirmed whether the blood seen outside the home belongs to Nancy. We don't know that yet. And earlier today, TMZ's Charles Laboudier spoke on Fox News about the ransom note they received. And so what he said is that there was a significant an amount of information they chose not to make public. So they didn't make everything public. And they did that in order to protect the integrity of the investigation. That was really good to hear

from him today. He also explained that if the note is legitimate, it does offer some hope because it would suggest that Nancy is alive. He said that there could be a path towards a positive outcome if law enforcement are able to identify and locate the person who sent this ransom letter. The Boudier also asked about the report that Annie Guthrie's vehicle had been impounded. And he said, police told TMZ earlier this morning, that they don't know where that claim came from and that the vehicle has in fact not been impounded. Well, Brianna Whitney, told us they haven't confirmed or denied that the car was impounded. So that's interesting.

We'll have to wait and see. According to Labudier, law enforcement was a. Again, quick to clarify that they do not currently have a suspect and are denying the report about Annie's partner. Take a listen to his interview. What are you hearing elsewise about this investigation? Could there be a possible suspect or somebody possibly involved in this? Because we know there have been some report circulating that Savannah's brother-in-law's name has come up. But of course, so much information is just swirling around all this.

Yeah, the police this morning denied that report that came out last night, claiming that one of Savannah's family members was a prime suspect. The police said, we do not have a suspect, prime or otherwise. They said we do not have person of interest at this point. And they continue to track down all the evidence they can and they're waiting for some forensic results. Part of that report that came out last night was that said that the family members car had been impounded.

The police told us this morning that they don't know where that information is coming from and they have not impounded that vehicle. So it just seems like there's a lot of stuff being discussed out there. Some of it may be legitimate and other things just aren't. And the police were quick to tell us this morning that that particular report, They do not have a suspect, so they're denying that report. So regardless, even with all the articles coming out and statements from police, saying that the car wasn't impounded and that Annie's husband isn't a suspect,

Ashley Banfield did go on Megan Kelly today at Megan Kelly's show on this is Wednesday today. And she seemed to kind of double down on some of the information from her source. Although, although she did change her tune to what her story. told her, which is that he may be a prime suspect, not that he is a prime suspect, which she did use interchangeably in her first report. Ashley Banfield, who hosts her own podcast called Drop Dead Serious, is breaking exclusives on this case like nobody's business. And yesterday, she had quite a doozy. I'm going to bring her on. She's going to explain what she learned, but she reported exclusively that they actually do have a potential suspect in the case. And the identity is rather

shocking. I'm going to bring her in now. Ashley Banfield, thank you so much for joining us. So tell us what you say very reliable law enforcement source told you about a possible suspect in the case. Sure. So after almost four decades in this business, I've collected a few friends at the FBI and in local law enforcement all over the country. And the source that I have is impeccable. And he said that not only were the cameras smashed, plural, plural cameras smashed, so that the suspect likely knew about the locations of them, but that the car belonging to the sister of Savannah Guthrie, Annie Guthrie, was towed and pounded and taken into evidence. And that, and this is the wording. It's very important. The wording is very important. He said,

they now believe the son-in-law may be the prime suspect. Those are the words. Son-in-law may be the prime suspect at this point. And so while she backs up her source, it sounds as if she's correcting what she originally stated or that she misquoted her impeccable source. Meanwhile, Nancy Guthrie remains missing and without her critical medication. Brianna points out, there has been no proof of life in days, which is true. But Sheriff Nanos has said publicly that he believes Nancy is alive. And maybe it's his gut feeling.

Maybe it's something he knows. But in an interview with NBC this morning, he said, quote, we have nothing else to go on but the belief that she is here. She's present. She's alive. And we want to save her. We have nothing else to go on but the belief that she is here. She's present.

She's alive. And we want to save her. From the sheriff himself, more than 100 investigators are working this case. The FBI is involved. And they have asked anyone with information to call 1-800, call FBI. Tips are still coming in. Investigators are asking for those tips. There are no suspects in this case.

Investigators have emphasized that those leads are critical, that they're valuable. And then there is Savannah Guthrie. This was supposed to be a huge professional year for her. She was set to cover the 2026 Winter Olympics. Winter Olympics only happen every four years. It's one of the biggest assignments a journalist can receive. Preparing to report on the Olympics takes an enormous amount of research coordination. But instead of traveling to cover the Olympics,

Savannah has stepped away to be with her family while they search for their mother. NBC has confirmed she will not be traveling for those Olympics. And it's said that its thoughts are with the family during this difficult time. So this is where we are. Nancy Guthrie is still missing. Investigators believe she was taken against her will. They are still gathering evidence. They are asking for our patients.

They are still testing DNA. It's something that they can't move any faster, as frustrating as it is for all of us here. And they're still tracing data and still following leads. And despite a lot of discussion, law enforcement, has said clearly no suspects have been identified as of today, Wednesday, and not even a person of interest. This is one of those moments where I think it's helping to slow down, process all of this together that really mattered to me today. Not because discussion itself is a bad

thing. It's not. We're all seeking answers and trying to learn more. But I do think that drawing from conclusions too quickly can have unintended consequences in this investigation. Right now, I think the best thing all of us can do is share verified information carefully. Explain that speculation is speculation and allow and trust investigators to follow the evidence. Let's hope they can bring Nancy home. At my bank, I was literally getting pennies using wealthfronts. Chiching. Meet Angela, a wealthfront cash account client since 2023. I lost my job, not having something else lined up yet. I was pregnant with my second.

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