A new development has emerged in the disappearance case of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, after an anonymous tip led a Mexican volunteer search group to investigate a possible burial site just south of the U.S.-Mexico border near Nogales, Mexico. Ramona Guadalupe Ayala Ortiz, who leads the Buscando Corazones collective, said the group received a call claiming the 84-year-old woman’s body could be buried in a dry riverbed in the Mariposa area, west of Nogales and close to the Arizona border. Buscando Corazones, whose name translates to “Searching for Hearts,” works with other volunteer teams to search for missing persons, unmarked graves and human remains in remote border regions.
Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her Tucson, Arizona, home on February 1 and has not been seen or heard from since. According to Ayala Ortiz, the group launched a search on June 10 after receiving the tip. She said the location referenced in the call was near an area where dozens of bodies had been discovered in recent months. Searchers combed the area, including nearby streams, though they had previously searched part of the region during an earlier operation. Despite multiple anonymous tips, the group has not yet located any remains linked to Guthrie.
Ayala Ortiz said the collective had received information that Guthrie’s remains may be in a grave above a stream and that the latest search focused on a waterway they had not been able to check during their first sweep. She also said that from April through May, search teams working in the area found more than 32 bodies in 25 unmarked graves nearby. The group has said it will continue searching until the area is fully covered and any credible evidence is either confirmed or ruled out.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department, which is handling the investigation in Arizona, said on June 11 that it was aware of reports about the anonymous tip made to a group in Mexico. Officials said they had not yet been contacted by Mexican authorities, but emphasized that the case remains active and ongoing. The department said investigators will continue following up on credible information as it becomes available, while declining further comment.
The case has drawn renewed attention after Savannah Guthrie recently spoke publicly about the emotional toll of her mother’s disappearance. During a June 8 segment on NBC’s “Today,” she said she cries on her way to and from work and described trying to balance grief with family life. She said she hopes to teach her children that sadness and joy can exist at the same time. The latest search development adds another chapter to a case that has remained unresolved for more than four months, as both investigators and volunteer search teams continue looking for answers.
