The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie has taken an even more disturbing turn, as new evidence surfaces that deepens fears she was the victim of a violent crime.
Four days after the 84-year-old vanished from her Tucson home, authorities say the case is now firmly being treated as a criminal investigation. Roughly 100 sheriff’s detectives are working around the clock, yet answers remain painfully elusive for her family — including her daughter, Savannah Guthrie.
“We do believe Nancy was taken from her home against her will,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said during a press conference Tuesday, confirming investigators no longer believe she left voluntarily.
What has unsettled both authorities and the public are the mounting signs of violence discovered at Nancy Guthrie’s Catalina Foothills residence. Police have acknowledged finding evidence that raised immediate alarm, though they have stopped short of sharing specifics. According to multiple law-enforcement sources cited by national outlets, blood was discovered inside the home, along with indications of forced entry. Her phone and other personal items — belongings she would not normally leave behind — were reportedly still inside.
Now, chilling new video has emerged that appears to show blood outside the home as well.
Footage captured by NewsNation senior national correspondent Brian Entin shows dark red drops and splatter across the front porch of the Tucson house. Sources told The New York Post that the blood trail aligns with what investigators described as a chaotic scene. Even after authorities completed their forensic work and returned the property to the family, visible blood reportedly remained outside the front door.
Investigators have not confirmed whose blood it is.
The unsettling footage surfaced just hours after an unverified ransom message was reportedly sent to TMZ, demanding millions of dollars in Bitcoin for Nancy Guthrie’s safe return. Law enforcement has acknowledged that possible ransom notes are circulating but has not confirmed whether any are authentic or connected to the case.
Another troubling detail: a Ring doorbell camera that had been installed near the front entrance was found missing. Sheriff Nanos confirmed investigators are examining whether the device was deliberately removed by whoever may have taken Nancy.
Nancy Guthrie lived alone in the ranch-style home and was last seen Saturday night after family members dropped her off. When she failed to appear at church the following morning, concern quickly turned into alarm. Authorities now believe she may have been forcibly taken in the middle of the night.
Investigators say Nancy’s pacemaker stopped syncing with its monitoring devices around 2 a.m., a detail that may help narrow the timeline of her disappearance. Officials have warned that without her daily medications, her life could be in immediate danger.
As the search intensifies, Savannah Guthrie has stepped away from her duties on the Today show and withdrew from covering the Winter Olympics in Italy to remain with her family. In a brief public statement and a later Instagram post reading “Please Pray,” she thanked supporters for the outpouring of concern.
“We believe in prayer. We believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope. We believe in goodness. We believe in humanity. Above all, we believe in Him,” Savannah wrote.
She added, “Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant. Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment.”
Her message ended with a verse from Isaiah and a plea shared by many across the country: bring her home.
As investigators pursue every lead — from forensic evidence to surveillance footage — the case remains one of the most troubling missing-person investigations in recent memory, with a family and a nation waiting anxiously for answers.
