Police ID Body Found In Canal Within Nancy Guthrie Search Radius
Authorities in Phoenix have identified the battered body of a woman found near a canal last week, and investigators say it is not Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie who vanished in Tucson five weeks ago.
The remains were discovered Friday more than 100 miles from Tucson, where Nancy Guthrie is believed to have been kidnapped from her home in the early morning hours of Feb. 1.
The woman was identified as Alex Fleming, 42, according to KTAR. Police said her body showed signs of trauma and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Phoenix homicide detectives are investigating.
The discovery briefly sparked speculation that the victim could be connected to the Nancy Guthrie case, given the intense public attention surrounding the Tucson kidnapping. But the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, which is leading the search for Nancy Guthrie, said it had not been alerted to any connection between the cases.
Nancy Guthrie has not been seen or heard from since the night she disappeared. No suspects have been identified 37 days later, despite a flood of tips and ongoing FBI assistance.
Investigators recovered doorbell footage showing a masked man on Guthrie’s front porch. Authorities have also collected evidence from the home, including traces of blood. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said it could take up to “a year” to analyze all of the evidence, particularly items containing DNA.
The slow pace and limited public updates have frustrated Guthrie’s loved ones, who have offered a $1 million cash reward for information leading to her safe return or recovery.
Investigators have also been looking into a damaged utility box near Guthrie’s home as part of the case. Several people were briefly detained during the investigation and released within hours. Those individuals have said they had nothing to do with the disappearance.
A series of purported ransom notes demanding millions for Guthrie’s return also surfaced earlier in the case, but each deadline passed without proof of life.
The sheriff’s office has said the investigation remains active, with roughly 300 to 400 personnel assigned, the same staffing level as when the case began. Nanos said last week investigators “are definitely closer” to finding Guthrie.
Nancy Guthrie latest updates: Damaged utility box under investigation for possible link to internet outage when she disappeared
A reported internet outage disrupted nearby home surveillance cameras around the time Savannah Guthrie’s mother was taken.
Savannah Guthrie at Rockefeller Plaza on March 5, 2026 and Savannah Guthrie and Nancy Guthrie on the “Today” show set in 2015.
(Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a damaged utility box around the corner from Nancy Guthrie’s home as the desperate search for Today cohost Savannah Guthrie’s mother continues in its second month.
Investigators believe it could be connected to a reported internet outage that occurred around the time she disappeared in the early morning hours of Feb. 1, which disrupted nearby home surveillance cameras.
Savannah Guthrie reunited with her coworkers at the Today studio in New York City last Thursday. She thanked her colleagues for their support, shared hugs with her coanchors and expressed her interest in returning to the show when the time was right.
“I think her coming here, just being able to be with us and for us to be able to hug her, I think it’s a step,” Today host Sheinelle Jones told the audience. “I don’t know what’s ahead of us, but all I know is it is a step.”
Though there have been no significant breakthroughs in the search for Nancy Guthrie in recent weeks, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told Today last Tuesday that he believes investigators are “definitely closer” to solving the case. “We’ve got a lot of intel, a lot of leads, but now it’s time to just go to work,” he said.
The family of Nancy Guthrie, 84, is offering $1 million for information leading to her “recovery.”
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Pima County Sheriff’s Department tip line at 520-351-4900 or the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Live109 updates
Kate Murphy
Investigators looking at possible connection between damaged utility box and reported internet outage
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed to NBC that it is investigating a damaged utility box located around the corner from Nancy Guthrie’s house. It could be connected to an internet outage reported around the time she disappeared in the early morning hours on Feb. 1, potentially disrupting the availability of video evidence from nearby home surveillance cameras.
Jack Brewster
Investigators looking into possible internet disruption near Nancy Guthrie’s home
Federal investigators are examining whether internet service disruptions in Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson, Ariz., neighborhood the night she vanished could be tied to the abduction.
Guthrie’s neighbors told NewsNation their home security camera footage from that night is missing or marked “not available,” and authorities have reportedly asked residents about unusual connectivity problems around Feb. 1.
Mike Bebernes
Savannah Guthrie visits ‘Today’ studio, tells coworkers she plans to return to the show
Savannah Guthrie visits the “Today” show on March 5.
(Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Savannah Guthrie met with her colleagues in New York City on Thursday morning for a tearful reunion as the search for her mother continues into its second month. Photos from the studio show Guthrie wiping away tears, hugging her coworkers and receiving a kiss on the cheek from her Today cohost Hoda Kotb.
Guthrie hasn’t appeared on the show since Jan. 30, two days before her mother, Nancy Guthrie, was reported missing.
After the visit, host Jenna Bush Hager told the Today audience that Guthrie said she planned to return to the show but doesn’t have a timeline for when that might happen.
“She said that she has the intention to return to the show. Even though it feels like the hardest thing to do, it’s also her home and where she feels so loved,” Bush Hager said. “I don’t know when she is actually returning to the show, but she was here and that felt so good to get to hug her.”
Mike Bebernes
DNA from gloves traced back to individual who is not considered a suspect
DNA analysis of genetic material pulled from a pair of black gloves found two miles from Nancy Guthrie’s home led back to a local restaurant worker who is not connected to the case, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said on Wednesday.
In mid-February, the sheriff’s department said that DNA from the gloves did not match any entries in the FBI’s national genetic database.
The department told local media that it found a total of 16 pairs of gloves in the area around Guthrie’s house, most of which were later traced back to members of search teams.
Kate Murphy
Pima County sheriff says investigators are ‘definitely closer’ in the case
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos believes that investigators are “definitely closer” to identifying a suspect or suspects in the case of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, he told NBC in an interview that aired on the Today show on Tuesday.
Nanos said that a dedicated team from his department’s homicide unit is working with the FBI and investigating the case under the presumption that Nancy Guthrie is still alive. He said they’re continuing to pursue thousands of leads.
“I think the investigators are definitely closer,” Nanos said.
During the interview, Nanos was asked about a neighbor’s doorbell camera video, obtained by Fox News Digital. The video shows a car speeding past the neighbor’s house, about 2.5 miles away from Nancy Guthrie’s home, at 2:36 a.m. on Feb. 1, just hours before she was reported missing.
“Look, what I would tell you is this: We’re aware of it, and we’re looking into it, just like any other piece of evidence,” the sheriff said, adding that authorities have not been able to identify the car yet.
“We’re looking at that vehicle as well as hundreds of thousands of other vehicles that were out driving that time of day,” he said.
When asked about the mixed DNA found at Nancy Guthrie’s home, Nanos suggested that it might be a mixture of DNA from several people. Experts say it can be difficult to extract the DNA profile from one person in these mixtures.
Kate Murphy
Man detained last month by authorities speaks out: ‘I have nothing to do with this case’
On Feb. 13, Luke Daley was detained for several hours by Pima County sheriff’s deputies and was questioned by the FBI in connection with Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance. For the first time since being detained and cleared, Daley is speaking out in an interview with Briana Whitney, a true crime correspondent for Arizona’s Family, saying he had nothing to do with Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.
“It’s not me,” Daley said, referring to the masked person in the FBI-released doorbell camera video. “I don’t see the resemblance of it looking like me.”
He said he doesn’t know who is involved in Guthrie’s disappearance, and if he did, he would “happily” tell the authorities.
Daley said that on the night he was detained, he was driving home in his Range Rover when two sheriff’s cars pulled him over and told him to get out of the vehicle, before cuffing him and detaining him for about four to five hours. When he asked what he was being detained for, they didn’t tell him.
Daley said he just learned that Nancy Guthrie lived nearby and has never met her. He said he knew who she was only because his mom was following the case. Authorities towed his Range Rover for a search, which he ultimately got back. They also took his cellphone for a search, which he still hasn’t gotten back. In the meantime, a SWAT raid was being conducted at his home.
“The worst part was my mom not being there,” Daley said, adding that she has health issues. “I’m thinking the worst.” Without a cellphone, he couldn’t get in touch with her but discovered the next day that she had gone to a neighbor’s house.
Daley has called the ordeal a “nightmare” and feels like he can’t go out in public. He said he just wants Nancy Guthrie to return home safely and for his name to be cleared.
Kate Murphy
Savannah Guthrie and family visit memorial outside Nancy Guthrie’s home
Savannah Guthrie visited a memorial outside of her mother’s home in Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, marking one month since Nancy Guthrie disappeared. Savannah was joined by her sister Annie and her brother-in-law, Tommaso Cioni. The three were seen hugging one another as they added flowers to a growing tribute near Nancy Guthrie’s mailbox.
Dylan Stableford
Timeline of key developments in the search for Nancy Guthrie
An aerial view of Nancy Guthrie’s home on Feb. 25.
(Joe Raedle via Getty Images)
It’s been nearly a month since Nancy Guthrie was reported missing from her home near Tucson, Ariz. Police believe that Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show cohost Savannah Guthrie, was abducted.
Jan. 31
Nancy Guthrie is last seen around 9:45 p.m. when she is dropped off by her family at her home in the Catalina Foothills north of Tucson, Ariz., after having dinner with her daughter, Annie Guthrie, who lives nearby.
Feb. 1
Nancy Guthrie’s pacemaker stops syncing with her Apple devices at 2:28 a.m., according to police. She is reported missing around noon after she did not show up at a friend’s house to watch an online church service.
Feb. 2
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos says police believe Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped and didn’t leave her home on her own.
Feb. 4
Nancy Guthrie’s adult children post an Instagram video addressing a possible ransom video, saying that the family is ready to talk but needs proof that their mother is alive.
Feb. 10
The FBI releases video and images of what it said was an “armed individual” appearing to tamper with a doorbell camera at Nancy Guthrie’s home in the early morning hours of Feb. 1.
Authorities detain and later release a delivery driver after carrying out a “court-authorized search” of his Rio Rico, Ariz., home. He tells reporters: “I hope they get the suspect, because I’m not it.”
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