A sign from Nancy Guthrie’s neighbors shows support for her outside her home in Catalina Foothills, Ariz., on Feb. 10, 2026. She was reported missing Feb. 1, 2026.
Federal investigators are reportedly expanding their search for the person responsible for the kidnapping of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie by circulating images of potential suspects to local businesses in southern Arizona. Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, vanished from her home overnight on January 31, sparking a high-profile investigation that has drawn national attention.
According to reports from CBS News, the FBI has gathered a collection of names and photographs of individuals who may resemble the suspect captured on surveillance footage outside Guthrie’s home on the night she disappeared. Sources claim agents have been visiting area businesses to determine whether anyone recognizes the individuals shown in the images. However, law enforcement officials have not publicly confirmed that this effort is underway.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos pushed back on the reports, calling claims that investigators have a list of possible suspects “false.” Nanos has been criticized for being slow to provide information to federal authorities, and the relationship between local investigators and the FBI has been described as strained. Despite his denial, a Tucson-area gun shop owner told CBS News that investigators did, in fact, bring him a packet containing driver’s license photos and images pulled from social media.
As the search for Nancy Guthrie stretched into its 10th day, law enforcement went door-to-door in her daughter Annie Guthrie’s neighborhood in Tucson on Feb. 10, 2026.
The gun shop co-owner, Philip Martin, told KOLD that an FBI agent showed him between 18 and 24 photos along with names, asking whether any of those individuals had purchased firearms from his store. Martin said he did not recognize anyone in the packet and found no relevant matches in his business records.
Additional unconfirmed reporting from NewsNation suggests that the FBI has also reached out to Mexican authorities as part of the investigation, potentially indicating concerns that Guthrie may have been moved across the border. Officials have not verified this information.
The kidnapping case has also been complicated by ransom demands. Media outlets, though not the Guthrie family directly, received two ransom notes requesting millions of dollars in Bitcoin in exchange for Guthrie’s release. Savannah Guthrie and her siblings have publicly appealed to the kidnappers in multiple videos, urging them to provide proof that their mother is still alive. It remains unclear whether investigators or the family have received any confirmed proof of life.
A Pima County Sheriff’s deputy retrieves the mail from the Guthrie mailbox outside Nancy Guthrie’s home in Catalina Foothills, on Feb. 11, 2026.
Meanwhile, forensic efforts continue. A glove recovered during the investigation — believed to resemble the gloves worn by the suspect seen in the doorbell camera footage — was tested for DNA. After Pima County authorities shared their DNA analysis with the FBI, the sample reportedly did not match anyone in existing databases. Investigators are now said to be turning to genetic genealogy, a method that uses DNA to identify relatives and narrow down suspects.
Sheriff Nanos also stated that the surveillance footage appears to show the suspect wearing a ring, which investigators hope could provide another identifying clue. Additionally, officials are searching databases connected to Walmart in an attempt to trace purchases of an Ozark Trail Hiker Pack similar to the one the suspect was carrying. Nanos incorrectly suggested Walmart is the only seller of the backpack, though it is also available through other resellers such as eBay.
Authorities are also attempting to locate Guthrie by tracking signals connected to her pacemaker, a detail that underscores the urgency of finding her quickly.
In an update meant to address speculation, Nanos said this week that Guthrie’s immediate family, including her children and their spouses, have been cleared as suspects. As the investigation continues, the public remains focused on whether the FBI’s growing list of leads will finally bring answers in the troubling disappearance.
