Search continues for Nancy Guthrie after anonymous ‘grave’ tip in Mexico – National
Volunteers in Mexico are searching for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of the child Today host Savannah Guthrie, who has been missing for more than 100 days.
A group working to find missing persons in Mexico, called Buscando Corazones Nogales, told El Imparcial that an anonymous caller suspected Guthrie’s remains could be found near a creek in Mariposa, west of Nogales near the Arizona border.
Ramona Guadalupe Ayala Ortiz, the head of Buscando Corazones Nogales, told the publication that they received an anonymous call “telling us that the remains of this woman are in the Mariposa area in a grave on the stream, and this time we came to check this stream that we failed to check in the first intervention.”
Ortiz said the group had investigated the area from April to May and found more than 25 unidentified graves containing the remains of at least 32 people in the area.
The head of Buscando Corazones Nogales said that the search for Guthrie has never happened but they will continue to search the area to find Guthrie.
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The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Thursday, “We are aware of reports regarding an anonymous tip related to the Nancy Guthrie investigation that was provided to a group in Mexico. At this time, we have not been contacted by Mexican authorities.”
“This investigation is ongoing and ongoing and we will continue to follow up on any credible information,” the Department added.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department also said Thursday it made arrests near Guthrie’s home.
“On June 11, 2026, just before 5:00 p.m., Pima County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD) deputies arrested 54-year-old Alexander Zabel Jr. in front of Nancy Guthrie’s home,” the department said in a press release.
“PCSD received numerous complaints about Mr. Zabel’s behavior. At the time of the incident, Mr. Zabel was live streaming outside the residence. Deputies made contact with him and, during the arrest, the PCSD sergeant was knocked to the ground,” police added.
Zabel was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Complex. He is charged with resisting arrest and public harassment, according to police.
Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will after blood was found near the front door of her home in the hills outside Tucson, Ariz., in February. The FBI later released surveillance videos showing a masked man on the porch that night.
Since their mother’s disappearance, Savannah and her siblings have shared several videos on social media and are offering a US$1-million reward for information leading to their mother’s recovery.
“Every hour and minute and second, and every long night, it’s been painful since then,” Savannah said in a video in February. “Worrying about him and fearing him and hurting him. Above all, just missing him.”
In April, Savannah returned Today show the anchor desk, appearing for the first time in more than two months since his mother disappeared.
She was surrounded by onlookers wearing yellow ribbons in honor of her missing 84-year-old mother and holding signs that read, “Welcome back, Savannah.”
Savannah pulled away from him Today show role in early February after her mother was reported missing.
The morning show host, who was Today from 2012, read the morning headlines and said, “We’re so glad you started our week with us and it’s good to be home.”
His manager, Craig Melvin, who was wearing a yellow tie, said, “It’s good that you’re back home.”
— via files from The Associated Press
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