A group of Mexican mothers, experienced in looking for missing people, asked to search the Arizona desert as part of the hunt for Nancy Guthrie, but were told not to by local law enforcement.
The Madres Buscadoras de Sonora, or the Searching Mothers of Sonora, arrived in Arizona with the hope of entering the state’s desert to assist the search for the 84-year-old mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie, who was last seen on January 31, CNN reported.
Per the outlet, they had hoped to begin their search on Tuesday, but, according to CNN, Pima County’s sheriff reportedly denied their application on the basis that the search was “best left to professionals.” However, the sheriff has told Newsweek that there is no such application process in place.
He told Newsweek, “There’s no permit required to search any area that is open to the public.”
“The only area they would be restricted would be that area owned by private property owners, and even then, that would not be the Sheriff who restricted such access. It would be the property owner,” he said.
He added that if community members “want to go out on their own, they certainly do not need my permission…nor do they need a permit.” He said that they “just need to be careful and mindful of the dangers associated with such work.”
“To encourage individuals to go into an environment as harsh as our desert is irresponsible and can take away resources dedicated to serving not just this investigation but our community as a whole,” he added. “Every year we lose someone who is ill-equipped and ill-prepared to take on the elements nature throws our way.”
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He also said the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has over 400 Search and Rescue volunteers and Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers who annually receive several weeks of training, and that “any member of the community is encouraged to not just receive training but to join our ranks…we’re always recruiting.”
Newsweek has contacted Madres Buscadoras de Sonora via email for comment.
The Context
Guthrie was last seen at her home by her family on January 31. Her relatives reported her as missing the following day, and Pima County Sheriff Nanos has since said investigators believe she was kidnapped or taken against her will.
Guthrie’s belongings were left behind, such as her wallet, phone, and medication, and blood was discovered on her front porch. Authorities have raised concerns about Guthrie’s health as she is without the medication she needs to take daily.
Law enforcement has yet to announce an arrest in the high-profile case. Gloves were found approximately 2 miles from Nancy’s home in a field near the side of the road, although when they were DNA tested against over 26 million people, there were no matches in the national DNA database CODIS.
Guthrie’s daughter, Savannah, has recently said the family is now offering a $1 million reward for the recovery of her mother, amid ongoing speculation about the footage shared by law enforcement of the suspect.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has also said that several hundred law enforcement personnel remain dedicated to Guthrie’s case, and despite false claims that her body had been found, there was no mention of a report of a body in recent updates from the department.
A Seattle resident in Tucson signs a banner supporting Nancy Guthrie in Tucson Arizona, on Friday, February 13, 2026. | AP/Ty ONeil
What To Know
Madres Buscadoras de Sonora was founded by Ceci Patricia Flores, a mother whose three sons separately went missing in 2015 and in 2019. They were believed to have been abducted by organized criminal groups in Mexico, and only one of them was returned to her.
She set up the group after their disappearance as a volunteer collective searching for people throughout the country, and many of its members are also mothers. Since it was set up, it has helped to locate more than 5,000 people across the country, CNN reported.
According to the report, the group said they were asked to assist the search by a friend of the Guthrie family. “We are here to assist in any way we can,” Flores told CNN. “We will do everything in our power to help this family. Nancy is a mother who deserves to be reunited with her family.”
However, their help has reportedly not been all that welcome by certain locals. One of the Madres, Lupita Tello, told the outlet that as they searched the creek near Guthrie’s home, neighbors “came out yelling at us and telling us to leave, that it was private property.”
Tello told CNN: “We want to explore the surrounding area, the exits, everything, even the main exits from the main streets,” but added that they hadn’t been able to do a “proper search because of the regulations.”
“I respect the laws and the rules, but I don’t know where we could search without running into problems with people, because people just don’t cooperate,” Tello said to the news outlet.
Pima County Sheriff’s Department appeared to refer to this incident in its post about private search parties seeking to help with the search. The department said in a post on X: “Private property laws apply and it is up to each individual property owner to grant permission for someone to search their property.”
Regardless of the hurdles they have encountered so far, the group is still assisting the search, as they said in a post on their Facebook page that on Wednesday, they would be in Nogales, Sonora, a city in Mexico, on a “field search” as part of the hunt for Guthrie.
They said, according to the translation of the post: “Let’s really hope she returns home soon, that all this visibility that is being given to her disappearance will result in positive results.”
However, Mexican authorities have said that FBI updates indicate there are “no leads to suggest that this woman could be in Mexico.”
What People Are Saying
Today show host Savannah Guthrie, daughter of Nancy, said in a video on Instagram: “It is day 24 since our mom was taken in the dark of night from her bed, and every hour and minute and second and every long night has been agony since then—of worrying about her and fearing for her, aching for her, and most of all, just missing her, just missing her. We know that millions of you have been praying, so many people have been praying of every faith and no faith at all, praying for her return, and we feel those prayers. Please keep praying without ceasing. We still believe. We still believe in a miracle. We still believe that she can come home—hope against hope, as my sister says: We are blowing on the embers of hope.
“We also know that she may be lost, she may already be gone. She may have already gone home to the Lord that she loves and is dancing in heaven with her mom and her dad, and with her beloved brother Pierce, and with our daddy. And if this is what is to be, then we will accept it. But we need to know where she is, we need her to come home. For that reason, we are offering a family reward of up to $1 million dollars for any information that leads us to her recovery.”
What Happens Next
Anyone with information is asked to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI, 520-351-4900, 88-CRIME or visit tips.fbi.gov. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the recovery of Nancy and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.
