A desperate new search has been launched in Mexico after a shocking anonymous tip claimed Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother may be buried in an unmarked grave just south of the U.S. border.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, vanished from her Tucson, Arizona, home on February 1 in a mysterious abduction that has haunted her family for months. Now, the case has taken a heartbreaking turn after searchers were told her remains may be hidden in a dry riverbed near Nogales, close to the Arizona border.
Ramona Guadalupe Ayala Ortiz, who leads the Mexican search collective Buscando Corazones, said her group received a call on June 10 claiming Nancy’s body was buried in the Mariposa area, west of Nogales.
The grim tip sent volunteers back into an area already known for horror. According to Ayala Ortiz, search groups have previously found more than 25 bodies buried in unmarked graves nearby.
“We received an anonymous call telling us that the woman’s remains were located in the Mariposa area in a grave above a stream,” Ayala Ortiz told Mexican outlet El Imparcial.
She said crews returned to search a section of the stream they had not been able to fully examine during an earlier operation.
So far, Nancy has not been found.
The searchers had already combed parts of the area before, including nearby streams and dry washes. But Ayala Ortiz said multiple anonymous tips have continued to point them back to the same region.
Despite the painful uncertainty, she vowed the volunteers would keep looking.
Nancy’s disappearance remains one of the most disturbing missing-person cases in Arizona.
Authorities have said she was kidnapped from her home in the middle of the night, but many details remain a mystery. The biggest clue surfaced days later when investigators recovered a chilling doorbell camera video from Nancy’s Nest system.
The footage reportedly showed a masked man at her front door with a handgun holstered in his belt within the hour she disappeared.
Investigators released still images and video of the suspect, hoping someone would recognize his clothing, walk, or movements. But despite the wide attention, no major break has been announced.
Savannah and her two siblings later offered a $1 million reward for information leading to their mother’s recovery. Still, the family has been left without answers.
The heartbreaking Mexico search comes just days after Savannah opened up about the emotional toll of her mother’s disappearance during a June 8 appearance on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle.
The longtime Today anchor broke down as she described trying to function through the grief.
“I cry every morning on the way to work, and I cry every morning on the way home,” Savannah said.
She added that she is grateful to be surrounded by supportive friends and co-workers during such an unbearable time.
“Like so many people out there, you can hold all of these things together,” Savannah said. “I try to tell my kids that, too. We can hold our sadness, and we can hold our joy. And if you don’t believe it, just watch me. I’m gonna show you.”
For now, the Guthrie family remains trapped in agony, hoping for answers while fearing the worst.
And with search crews now digging through a grim stretch of northern Mexico known for hidden graves, the case has entered its darkest chapter yet.