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Savannah Guthrie recently shared a nostalgic childhood memory in her book “Mostly What God Does,” released in February 2024. She recounted a delightful family tradition where her cousin would orchestrate a playful “kidnapping” involving Guthrie and her sister, all with their mother Nancy Guthrie’s enthusiastic participation.
The tradition took place at their home in Tucson, Arizona, where Savannah and her sister would be spirited away by their cousin to Phoenix. During these escapades, their mother Nancy would be in on the fun, eagerly playing her part in the annual game.
In the book, Guthrie describes the summer ritual: “Every year, Cousin Teri would stage a ‘kidnapping’ of my sister and me. It began with Teri waking us in the early hours at our Tucson home, silencing us as we crept out to her old station wagon. As we sped northward, the sunrise painted the desert sky in vivid oranges and pinks.”
During the journey, somewhere between Phoenix and Tucson, Teri would stop at a pay phone, allowing Savannah and Annie to call home. “Mom! Cousin Teri kidnapped us to take us to her house!” they would exclaim. Their mother would play along, feigning surprise and lamenting how much she would miss them, before reassuring them she would soon come to pick them up.
An image showing Nancy Guthrie with her daughter Savannah Guthrie has been shared by NBC in light of the recent disappearance of the 84-year-old mother of the Today Show host. (Courtesy of NBC)
There is no indication that the passage has any connection to the ongoing investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance. Nancy Guthrie’s family members and their spouses have been cleared as suspects in the investigation into her disappearance, according to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos.Â
Investigators continue to search for Nancy Guthrie as she has been missing for over two weeks. Guthrie was forcibly taken from her Tucson, Arizona, home in the early morning hours of Feb. 1 and didn’t leave on her own, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos previously said.
Nanos told Fox News on Tuesday that DNA recovered from Nancy Guthrie’s home, as well as a glove that ws found near her house, wasn’t a match for records found in the FBI database known as the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
A growing vigil in the morning light under cloudy skies is seen at Nancy Guthrie’s home on February 13, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona. (Ty ONeil/AP Photo)
An FBI official told Fox News Digital that investigative genetic genealogy is underway as investigators try to identify a suspect. Investigative genetic genealogy, known as IGG, is a technique used by the FBI that “combines DNA analysis from crime scenes with searching publicly available commercial genealogy databases and old-fashioned genealogy research,” according to Retired FBI special agent Jason Pack told Fox News Digital.
A member of the Pima County sheriff’s office remains outside of Nancy Guthrie’s home, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (Ty ONeil/AP Photo)
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the FBI contacted Mexican authorities to investigate a “purchase” that was allegedly related to the Nancy Guthrie case. The official said that the “purchase” has “already been ruled out” by the FBI.
Investigators told both ABC News and NBC News that they don’t believe Nancy Guthrie was taken across the U.S. and Mexico border after she was abducted from her Tucson home.