More than six months after 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her Tucson-area home, the investigation into her suspected kidnapping remains unresolved. Now, new reporting is raising serious questions about whether mistakes made during the crucial first hours may have hindered the search for the missing grandmother.

Nancy, the mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie, was last seen on Jan. 31, 2026, after returning home from an evening with family. Investigators later determined that she was likely taken from her residence. Despite an extensive search and involvement from federal authorities, no suspect has been publicly identified.

According to reporting based on interviews with current and former officials and personnel records, the initial handling of Nancy’s home may have created significant problems for investigators.

One major concern involved the crime scene itself. Authorities reportedly did not immediately secure the property as тιԍнтly as investigators would normally expect in a suspected kidnapping. Reporters, livestreamers and even delivery workers were able to approach the home’s porch, potentially exposing important evidence to contamination.

Investigators also reportedly underestimated the importance of dried blood discovered on Nancy’s porch. At first, there were questions about whether the blood was connected to her disappearance. Subsequent testing determined that the blood belonged to Nancy and that it was believed to be relevant to the case.

The criticism does not stop there.

A sergeant with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has alleged that the investigation was led by an inexperienced detective who had no previous homicide-investigation experience. Other concerns reportedly included communication problems, duplicated work and tension between local investigators and the FBI.

The department has faced criticism before over its handling of the case. Sheriff Chris Nanos has acknowledged that mistakes were made during the early stages, while maintaining that investigators have continued working on the case and that it has not gone cold.

Meanwhile, federal investigators have examined surveillance footage believed to show a masked individual near Nancy’s home around the time she disappeared. DNA evidence has also been collected, although some samples—including material recovered from a glove found near her home—have not produced a match in available databases.

The case has also been complicated by a series of purported ransom messages. Earlier this year, the FBI concluded that three messages connected to the disappearance were fake, casting further doubt on claims that Nancy was being held for ransom.

Despite the setbacks, authorities continue to investigate Nancy’s disappearance. Her family has maintained a public campaign for information and offered a $1 million reward for information that could help bring her home or resolve what happened to her.

Recent developments have provided little relief. Human remains discovered in a desert area roughly 15 miles from Nancy’s home were recently determined by authorities not to be connected to her disappearance.

For Nancy’s family, the uncertainty remains devastating. Months have pᴀssed without an answer about where she is or what happened to her.

And as scrutiny over the early investigation grows, one painful question continues to hang over the case: Could critical time and evidence have been lost during the first hours after Nancy vanished?

For now, that question remains unanswered. What is clear is that Nancy’s family is still waiting for the truth—and for the person responsible to be identified.

Source: New York Post