TUCSON, Ariz. — As the mystery surrounding 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance nears the six-month point, a Catalina Foothills neighbor says she recently saw FBI personnel back in the area, searching through the desert brush behind Guthrie’s home, she told News Outlet.
A spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said task force investigators had not recently returned to the neighborhood. Still, the neighbor said the people she saw appeared familiar from earlier law enforcement activity tied to the missing person investigation. The FBI did not immediately answer a request for comment.
The neighbor, who lives only a few houses away, said she watched as they moved through and searched the surrounding desert vegetation.
Authorities have said Guthrie, the mother of “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, is believed to have been forcibly taken from her home during the early morning hours of Feb. 1.
Savannah Guthrie with her mother, Nancy Guthrie, on Thursday, June 15, 2023. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
Bob Krygier, a retired Pima County Sheriff’s Department lieutenant and former SWAT commander, said investigators could have several reasons for revisiting the scene, including fresh tips or the possibility that weather may have moved or exposed potential evidence.
“A couple of possibilities come to mind,” Krygier told News Outlet. “One is that they received new leads or credible tips and are searching for something specific, or focusing on a particular area connected to that information, because I’m sure those areas were searched before.”
A Pima County sheriff’s official stands outside Nancy Guthrie’s home on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. (Ty ONeil/AP Photo)
It could also be that, six months into the investigation, authorities are putting a fresh set of eyes on the case, he said.
And heavy rains may also have altered the landscape, potentially exposing or moving evidence investigators hadn’t previously seen, he said.
“About a month ago, monsoon season started here in Tucson and a lot of water has come down — a lot of water at once, and it pushes things,” he said. “So it’s moved the environment. Rocks have been pushed away.”
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos gives an update on the investigation after the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of U.S. journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie, who went missing from her in Tucson, Arizona, on Feb. 5, 2026. (Rebecca Noble/Reuters)
Depending on the area, floodwaters can rise from just a few inches to as much as 12 feet, Krygier said, with enough force to sweep away vehicles, trees, rocks and even people.
“I’m not sure if they found him yet, but there was a report of a man in the wash floating down, being pushed downstream by the water — and the Santa Cruz is what that feeds into, which is, you’re looking at 20, 30 feet deep when it’s at its peak and 50, 60 feet across,” he said. “All that water, it’s rushing fast, and it’s taken not only the people, but it’s taken cars, it’s taken trees, branches, rocks, all of this stuff, and basically turned into a big blender.”
A general view of a wash near the home of Nancy Guthrie in Tucson, Ariz., on May 5, 2026. (Matthew Symons for News Outlet)
Authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told News Outlet last week that investigators are still following up on active leads, reviewing “tens of thousands” of videos and do not consider the case cold.
On Friday, his office also released a pair of purported ransom notes in the case, in the hope that someone in the public can help identify the sender’s “unique linguistic style.”
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI. Tipsters can remain anonymous by calling 520-88-CRIME.
The combined sum of rewards in the case is over $1.2 million and remains unclaimed.
