Nancy Guthrie case takes dark turn as anonymous tip says she’s buried in unmarked grave near US/Mexico border, digging begins

Over four months ago, Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood of Tuscon, Arizona. Evidence suggests she was abducted from her home but investigators are no closer to figuring out what happened to her.

As the days passed, suspicions grew that this case wasn’t going to have a happy ending. Guthrie is described as a “vulnerable” woman who’s reliant on daily medication. Now a group working to locate missing people in Mexico claims to have been sent an anonymous tip that Guthrie is buried in an unmarked grave near the US/Mexico border.

The group, Buscando Corazones Nogales, is headed by Ramona Guadalupe Ayala Ortiz, and The New York Post reports her as saying they received the tip on Wednesday. Ortiz said:

“We received an anonymous call telling us that the woman’s remains were in the Mariposa area — in a grave over a stream.”

This reportedly led them to an area northwest of Nogales, where the group had unearthed 25 unmarked graves earlier this year. The search began, with the Sonora State Commission for the Search of Missing Person and local authorities providing security. They surveyed the area and began digging in what they considered likely spots, but, sadly, found nothing.

Update in Nancy Guthrie case:

Federal law enforcement source tells me a tip was provided claiming Nancy Guthrie was in a shallow grave in Mexico. The location was a wash near the Nogales border known for dumped bodies. The location was checked and Nancy was not found.

— Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) June 11, 2026

This doesn’t mean the search is over. The team is continuing search operations in the hopes of finding any sign of Guthrie (or any other missing person for that matter).

“We will make an arrest”

In the meantime, investigative progress has been slow. No suspect has been officially identified, there are only a few small pieces of forensic evidence, and (at least as far as the public is aware) there are no firm leads.

Frustration is building with both the Pima County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI for the lack of progress, but the PCSO’s Sheriff Nanos remains outwardly confident, saying a month ago that “I believe, at some point in time, we will make an arrest on this case… There’s way too much work to be done… We have good evidence in front of us.”

Sheriff Nanos also emphasized that the forensic situation is moving “at a snail’s pace” as they have to separate all the different DNA found in the Guthrie home, which isn’t as easy a task as CSI might have you believe. And, even if they get a DNA sample, that doesn’t necessarily mean they can just run it through a computer and match it with an individual.

Nanos concluded by repeating that the Pima County Sheriff’s Detectives want to hear from anyone with a potential lead, with the reward for useful information currently at more than $1.2 million. You can contact them at 520-359-4900. You can also call 1-800-CALL- FBI.