kayla day: Search for Nancy Guthrie widens as FBI notifies Mexican authorities and reward tops $200,000
Investigators intensified their search for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie after notifying Mexican authorities of her disappearance and seeing reward offers rise above $200, 000. Authorities continue to investigate a string of early-morning events that culminated in the senior woman's apparent abduction from her Tucson-area home on Feb. 1, with law enforcement urging anyone with information to come forward.
FBI outreach and cross-border inquiries
Federal investigators have reached out to Mexican counterparts to make them aware of the case and to explore the possibility that Guthrie could have been taken across the border. Officials say there is no evidence at this stage that she has crossed into Mexico, but the proximity of the home to the international border has made cooperation with foreign authorities a standard investigative step.
Investigators have also been passed electronic communications that claim to demand ransom in cryptocurrency; those messages have been forwarded to the FBI for review. Law enforcement emphasizes that such leads must be vetted carefully and that unverified messages can divert resources from verifiable tips.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said the motive remains unclear and investigators are still assessing whether the event was an abduction or a burglary that went wrong. He noted there is currently no conclusive evidence proving whether Guthrie is alive or deceased.
Search efforts, timeline and rewards
Authorities reconstructed a critical early-morning timeline and released several key times in Eastern Time to help the public cross-check their own records. At 3: 47 a. m. ET on Feb. 1, Guthrie’s doorbell camera disconnected. By 4: 12 a. m. ET, the camera’s software had detected a person on the property, though no usable video was captured from that detection. Later that day at 1: 56 p. m. ET relatives visited her home and discovered she was missing; the family placed a 911 call at 2: 03 p. m. ET.
Investigators have released surveillance stills showing a masked, armed individual tampering with a security camera outside the residence. A glove found at the scene produced DNA that has been processed through federal databases but has not returned a match to date.
Reward money for information that leads to Guthrie or her captor now tops $200, 000. An anonymous $100, 000 donation increased a local community reward program to $102, 500, which is being offered in addition to a separate federal reward of $100, 000. Authorities hope the combined incentive will prompt new leads.
Leads, evidence and next steps
Sheriff Nanos said investigators have received a very large volume of tips — numbering in the tens of thousands — and are working through them. Two men who were briefly detained in the investigation have been cleared as suspects, and family members remain ruled out.
Officials continue forensic work on physical evidence recovered near the home, including the glove and any other items tied to the surveillance images. Investigators are urging anyone who was near the Guthrie residence in late January or early February, or who noticed unusual activity in the neighborhood, to contact local law enforcement immediately.
The family has made multiple public appeals for information, and investigators stress that even small details can be critical in missing-persons cases. The ongoing cross-border outreach means that authorities on both sides of the frontier may be notified of potential sightings or leads, and the investigation remains active as search teams follow up on tips and examine new evidence.
