Human Remains Found 15 Miles From Nancy Guthrie’s Home; Police Say No Link to Case

What Was Found

Pima County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue deputies responded Monday to reports of human remains in a remote desert area in southwest Tucson. Deputies located the remains in a desert area at the intersection of West Ajo Way and South La Cholla Boulevard. The site sits on a hillside covered in saguaro cacti, just off a busy four-lane highway on the edge of the city. Deputies were spotted at the location, accessed by a private road leading to a small cluster of homes with long driveways.
The bones appeared bleached white from prolonged sun exposure. Investigators said the remains appeared to have been at the location for an extended period.

No Connection to Guthrie Case, Police Say

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department posted a statement on X Monday afternoon. It said Search and Rescue deputies were at the scene and that there was no indication the remains were connected to the Nancy Guthrie investigation. A law enforcement source told TMZ that investigators on the ground were confident the bones did not belong to Guthrie. The department declined to answer questions about who found the remains or when they were discovered.
This is not the first time human remains have been found in the area during the Guthrie investigation. On February 7, deputies responded to a separate discovery near Irvington and San Joaquin. At the time, they said there was nothing criminal about that find. In May, a bone recovered near Guthrie’s own property turned out to be prehistoric. The Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner and the University of Arizona’s Anthropology Department both examined it and determined it was not part of any criminal matter.

The Case So Far

Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie, vanished from her home in Tucson’s Catalina Foothills neighborhood in the early hours of February 1, 2026. She left without her phone or daily medications. A doorbell camera captured a masked, armed man at her front door before she disappeared. Blood found on her porch later matched her DNA.
Investigators have said from the start they believe she was targeted and abducted. No suspects have been named. No arrests have been made. More than six months into the investigation, authorities still have no confirmed motive.
In July, the sheriff’s department released two ransom notes publicly. The first demanded $4 million in Bitcoin. The second claimed Guthrie had died from medical complications during captivity. Neither claim has been verified by authorities. The FBI set up a digital tip portal asking anyone with photos, videos, or dashcam footage from around the time of the abduction to come forward.
Savannah Guthrie and her family have offered a $1 million reward for information leading to Nancy’s safe return or credible information about her whereabouts.

Source: CNN, TMZ, NewsNation, IBTimes UK, Express Tribune, NBC Palm Springs