Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of TODAY show host Savannah Guthrie, remains to be found after her family reported her missing on February 1. Authorities believe Guthrie was taken from her Catalina Foothills home near Tucson, Arizona, the night before.
It has been nearly three months since, and neither the Pima County Sheriff’s Office – who are lead on the case – nor the FBI have offered up any suspects, or given a clue about Guthrie’s whereabouts. Amid this, Jonathan Lee Riches, a self-styled investigator, who had been covering the Guthrie case from on-ground in Arizona, reported that flyers for the missing octogenarian had been put up in Sasabe, a hamlet in Arizona.
“Nancy Guthrie flyer placed at a little store in Sasabe Arizona. Population 4 people, but a border town & port of entry into Mexico here,” JLR wrote. The pictures showed Guthrie’s flyers at the storefront of the Sasabe Store.
Notably, Sasabe has a reputation for being Arizona’s smallest town. At one time, it reportedly had a population of 11 people. As per a 2020 census, Sasabe’s population is a meagre 51 people. Several people noted it was a good idea.
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“Boots on the ground in a tiny border town, respect for getting the flyer out there where it might actually be seen by someone with info,” one person said in the comments. Another added “Great job! Glad someone is doing something!.” Yet another said “Exactly what I was speaking of…perps need stuff…they go where there is no cameras if they can.”
Why were Nancy Guthrie flyers put up in Sasabe?
JLR explained that despite the low population, the Guthrie flyers were put up in Sasabe as it was a border town and a port of entry into Mexico.
There was speculation that Guthrie might have been taken to Mexico, but authorities had found nothing concrete to back the theory. However, a recent ransom letter sent to TMZ claims that Guthrie was taken to Sonora, Mexico by the kidnappers. There have been multiple notes which have provided conflicting accounts of her condition. While one claimed the 84-year-old was alive and had been kidnapped, the other claimed that she was dead.
Notably, authorities continue to work on the assumption that Guthrie is alive. However, at the start of the investigation, officials had noted that time was extremely vital in the case since Guthrie had left her medicines behind at home and they believed she would not remain physically well in their absence for too long. As per reports, Guthrie had a heart condition, high blood pressure, and uses a pacemaker.
