Nancy Guthrie Update Today: Doorbell Camera, DNA, and Ransom

More than four months after 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie was taken from her Tucson home in the early hours of February 1, 2026, the latest update on the Nancy Guthrie case is that she remains missing, no one has been charged, and the combined reward for information leading to her recovery exceeds $1.2 million. Investigators with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI say they are still actively working the case, with a masked figure captured on doorbell camera footage as their central lead and unmatched DNA as their most promising forensic evidence.¹

Guthrie, the mother of NBC “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie, was last confirmed at home at 9:50 p.m. on January 31, 2026, when surveillance showed her garage door closing after her son-in-law dropped her off from dinner. Her doorbell camera was disconnected at 1:47 a.m. Motion was detected at 2:12 a.m., but no video saved because the household lacked a recording subscription. Her pacemaker app lost its connection to her phone at 2:28 a.m. Family found her gone late the next morning. Her wallet, phone, car, and daily medication were all still inside the house.²³ Deputies later confirmed signs of forced entry and blood on the front porch that DNA testing matched to Guthrie.

The Masked Suspect on the Doorbell Camera

The single most important piece of evidence released publicly is doorbell footage recovered from backend systems after the camera itself was disconnected. On February 10, 2026, FBI Director Kash Patel released images and video of a masked, armed individual walking up to Guthrie’s front door, using a gloved fist and flowers picked from her garden to try to block the camera before entering the archway of the home.⁴

Two days later, the FBI’s Operational Technology Division published a description based on the footage. The suspect, known publicly as “Porch Guy,” is estimated to be male, between 5-foot-9 and 5-foot-10, with an average build, and was carrying a black 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack.⁵

In late June 2026, former FBI Special Agent Maureen O’Connell said publicly she was “75 percent” confident that investigators were “closing in” on the person in the footage, and that authorities had been deliberately building their case to make it hold up at trial.⁶ No arrest has followed that statement.

What the DNA Evidence Shows

Forensic teams recovered a pair of gloves about two miles from the home that appeared to match those worn by the figure on camera. The DNA on them belonged to an unknown male and produced no match in the national CODIS database. DNA collected from inside the house that did not belong to Guthrie or people in close contact with her also returned no CODIS hits. The glove DNA and the DNA from inside the home do not match each other, which has raised the question of whether more than one unknown person was at the scene.⁷⁸

Investigators have turned to investigative genetic genealogy to try to identify contributors through familial matches. One separate set of gloves recovered during a March search was traced through that method to a local restaurant worker with no connection to the case.⁹ In May, Sheriff Chris Nanos said the DNA separation work was moving at a “snail’s pace” to preserve the integrity of evidence for eventual prosecution.¹

The Bitcoin Ransom Demands

Ransom notes began surfacing within days of the disappearance. Local station KOLD-TV reported receiving an email with a deadline and a payment demand, and investigators took the messages seriously because the first two contained non-public details about Guthrie’s home, including a damaged floodlight and her Apple Watch.¹⁰⁹ The demand totaled $4 million in cryptocurrency.¹¹

A later email from the same IP address claimed Guthrie was dead and made no further payment demand. Law enforcement placed $152 in the ransom Bitcoin wallet as bait, but five months on those funds remained untouched. A retired FBI agent called it “a mousetrap that didn’t spring,” suggesting the sender recognized the tracking effort.¹⁰

On June 26, 2026, TMZ reported receiving a new demand letter from someone it authenticated as the same person who had contacted the outlet before, based on a matching alias and Bitcoin address. The sender claimed to possess a phone in a “secure location” containing a video of one of the alleged kidnappers with Guthrie “on the day that was probably her last,” along with photos, names, and addresses of two people allegedly involved. The sender asked for one Bitcoin in exchange for the password. TMZ asked for a screengrab of Guthrie to verify the claim and forwarded the email to the FBI. Both the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment.¹²

Separately, a man was arrested on February 5 for making a fraudulent ransom demand unconnected to the actual abduction.⁹

The Family Has Been Cleared

Savannah Guthrie’s brother-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, drew heavy public attention because he was the last person to see Nancy Guthrie before she vanished; he had driven her home from dinner the night of January 31. Cioni is an Italian-born sixth-grade science teacher at Basis Oro Valley School in Tucson.¹³ Investigators searched the home he shares with Nancy’s daughter Annie Guthrie at least twice, once for roughly two and a half hours, photographing rooms and using forensic equipment.¹⁴

On February 16, Sheriff Nanos formally cleared all Guthrie family members and their spouses, Cioni included, of any involvement. He called the family “cooperative and gracious” and said suggestions they were suspects were “not only wrong” but “cruel.”¹⁵ When former NewsNation journalist Ashleigh Banfield called Cioni a “prime suspect” on air, the Sheriff’s Department explicitly rejected the characterization.¹⁶

Leads That Did Not Pan Out

Two men detained early in the case were released without being linked to the crime. A deliveryman identified as “Carlos” was stopped in Rio Rico, Arizona, on February 10 after a tip, and released the next morning; his mother-in-law said he had been at her home the night of the disappearance with a broken van.¹⁷ Luke Daley, a 37-year-old convicted felon who lived about two miles from Guthrie’s home, was detained on February 13 along with his 77-year-old mother after SWAT executed search warrants; both were released the same night without charges, and Daley’s attorney said his client had “no link whatsoever” to the case.¹⁸

In May 2026, a Mexican volunteer search group called Buscando Corazones Nogales received an anonymous tip that a body matching Guthrie’s description was buried in a shallow grave about 70 miles from her home, near Nogales, Mexico. The group’s searches uncovered 25 unmarked graves in the area, none connected to Guthrie. Sheriff Nanos said his department and the FBI learned of the searches through media reports and were trying to establish direct contact with Mexican authorities.¹⁹

The Family’s Public Statements

Savannah Guthrie, Annie Guthrie, and their brother Camron released their first video plea on February 4, asking for proof their mother was alive. Three days later, after receiving what they described as a ransom message, they posted a second video addressing the apparent captor and saying they were willing to pay for her safe return.⁹ On February 24, the family announced its own reward of up to $1 million, on top of the FBI’s $100,000 and a $100,000 anonymous donation to Tucson’s 88-CRIME tip line.²⁰ In that same video, Savannah Guthrie acknowledged her mother “may be dead” but said the family still hoped.²¹

In late March, Savannah Guthrie gave her first extended interview to former “Today” colleague Hoda Kotb, describing the experience as “agony” and “unbearable” and saying she woke every night imagining her mother’s terror. She said she believed the abduction was ransom-motivated and that two of the ransom notes were likely genuine.²²²³ She returned to the “Today” show on April 6, 2026.²⁰

Where the Investigation Stands

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department is leading the case with the FBI, with support from the Arizona Department of Public Safety and forensic labs across the country. Sheriff Nanos has said the case is not cold and that there is “too much work to be done.” Authorities have received tens of thousands of tips and continue processing physical, digital, and biological evidence, while withholding key details to protect a future prosecution.¹ Anyone with information can contact the FBI or 88-CRIME, Tucson’s local tip line. The combined reward exceeding $1.2 million remains in effect.²¹

1
KOLD News 13. Pima County Sheriff Nanos Gives Update on Nancy Guthrie Investigation
2
PBS NewsHour. A Timeline of the Disappearance of and Search for Nancy Guthrie
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Arizona Department of Public Safety. SAFE Alert for Nancy Guthrie
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KRCR TV. Nancy Guthrie Missing – FBI Release Surveillance Photo
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KSBW. FBI Increases Reward, Releases Suspect Description in Nancy Guthrie Case
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New York Post. Former FBI Agent Claims Investigators Closing In on Porch Guy in Nancy Guthrie Case
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People. Gloves in Nancy Guthrie Case Produce No DNA Match in CODIS
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Fox News. Nancy Guthrie Disappearance Arizona Live Updates
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CBS News. Timeline of Nancy Guthrie Disappearance as Search Intensifies
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Yahoo News. Why Nancy Guthrie Bitcoin Ransom
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NewsNation. FBI Bitcoin Crypto Nancy Guthrie Kidnapper
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New York Post. New Nancy Guthrie Note Sent to TMZ Claims Footage
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Arizona Republic. Who Are Annie Guthrie and Tommaso Cioni
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ABC News 4. Investigators Conduct Second Search of Annie Guthrie’s Arizona Home
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The New York Times. Nancy Guthrie Case Updates
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AOL. Dominic Evans Defends Himself Amid Scrutiny
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NewsNation. Nancy Guthrie Man Detained – Mother-in-Law Says Innocent
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AZ Family. Luke Daley and His Mother Give First Interview After Detainment in Guthrie Case
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NewsNation. Mexican Group Searches for Nancy Guthrie
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CNN. Timeline of Nancy Guthrie Search
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The New York Times. Nancy Guthrie Case Updates
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ABC News. Nancy Guthrie Abduction Timeline
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The New York Times. Nancy Guthrie Case Updates