A woman has been arrested near Nancy Guthrie's home in Tucson, Arizona, more than four months after the 84-year-old mother of Today star Savannah Guthrie went missing. The 40-year-old woman was arrested on June 15 in relation to a kidnapping that allegedly occurred in May, around seven miles from Nancy's Catalina Foothills abode, and she is being held on a $250,000 bond.
The woman is facing kidnapping and aggravated assault charges, and reportedly went on the run before being apprehended on Monday. A spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff's Department confirmed that the case was not related to the investigation surrounding Nancy's disappearance.
Nancy went missing from her home on February 1 in the early hours of the morning, after spending time with her daughter, Annie Guthrie, and her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, the previous night. There have been few breakthroughs in the case, apart from the release of doorbell camera footage in February that showed a masked man approaching her door and attempting to dismantle the camera.
© Getty ImagesA massive search effort is currently underway, including in Mexico, which borders Nancy's home state of Arizona. Retired FBI Supervising Special Agent Steve Moore suggested on NewsNation that investigators could expand their search to include the nearby Tohono O'odham Nation Reservation, as it shares a border with Mexico.
"It's massive. It's right there between Tucson and Mexico. When I drove to Mexico, you drive through it. And it borders Mexico. Do you think that that should be part of the investigation when it comes to Nancy Guthrie?" asked journalist Brian Entin.
"You could go miles without seeing any kind of residents, but at the same time, if anybody does see you and doesn't recognize you, you're going to stand out, especially if there's two or three of you – or, a vehicle is going to be a big deal," said Steve.
© Getty ImagesHe added that the FBI had a "delicate" relationship with tribal police, and that authorities did not usually patrol the area as they do not have federal enforcement powers there. Steve did not suggest any connection between the reservation and Nancy's disappearance.
Learn more about the Nancy Guthrie case below...
This comes after the organization Buscando Corazones in Mexico revealed that they had received an anonymous tip to search for Nancy's "grave" in the area known as Mariposa, near the border of Arizona. According to Mexican publication El Imparcial, the group, which works to search for missing persons in the country, was told to look in the area where 25 unmarked graves were previously located.
"We received an anonymous call telling us that the woman's remains were in the Mariposa area – in a grave over a stream," said group leader Ramona Guadalupe Ayala Ortiz. They did not find any remains during their search, but vowed to continue looking for the missing grandmother.
© InstagramPima County released a statement explaining that they were aware of the anonymous tip, but had not been contacted by the Mexican authorities at that time.
© WireImageInvestigators have reportedly received thousands of tips since Nancy's disappearance, and the Guthrie family have posted a $1 million reward for information leading to the discovery of her whereabouts.
Savannah returned to host the Today show in April after spending two months in Tucson assisting authorities, and has continued to share her pleas for information regarding her mother's kidnapping.
