Search Continues for Missing 84-Year-Old Nancy Guthrie Amid False Claims

False Reports Surrounding Nancy Guthrie's Disappearance

Authorities have confirmed that rumors circulating online about the discovery of Nancy Guthrie’s body near her Arizona home are untrue. The search for the 84-year-old, who has been missing for over three weeks, is still ongoing. Recent social media posts claimed that her remains were found in a pond close to her residence in Catalina, located north of Tucson. These allegations seem to have originated from a YouTube Shorts video by the account @SeanPilant, which depicted law enforcement officers appearing to carry a body, with a caption stating that Guthrie had been located.

Similar misinformation has spread across various platforms, including TikTok, where some videos garnered significant attention. However, as of February 23, there has been no sign of Nancy Guthrie. For the past 24 days, investigators and volunteers have been actively searching the vicinity of her home without any significant developments, despite a reward of $100,000 being offered for information.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos reported on Sunday that DNA analysis is ongoing for a mixed sample collected near Guthrie’s residence, which has been sent to a lab in Florida. He warned that the results could take an extended period, ranging from weeks to potentially a year, due to the complexity of the forensic processes involved. The FBI’s CODIS system utilizes short tandem repeat (STR) DNA testing for matching individuals to criminal profiles, while single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) testing is used for genetic genealogy to trace familial connections.

Currently, Sheriff Nanos indicated that there are no suspects or persons of interest in the investigation, and no specific names are being pursued. Over the weekend, volunteers continued their efforts in the neighborhood, searching for any clues that might help locate Guthrie or identify a possible abductor.