Eerie video retraces exact route Nancy Guthrie likely took as she was driven home from dinner with family to be abducted
Were it not for the looming Santa Catalina Mountains, Nancy Guthrie’s last known journey would be a scene strikingly familiar to most Americans.
After spending the evening of January 31 playing Mahjong and having dinner with her daughter Annie, 56, missing Nancy, 84, was driven home by her Italian son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni.
At night, the drive would have been mostly in pitch darkness: Tucson’s Catalina Foothills suburb is sprawling and semi-rural with few streetlights to illuminate the way.
But in daylight, the scene at Annie’s home – where the journey began – is one of large homes set back off the road with sandy gardens punctuated by Saguaro cacti and prickly pears.
The start of the drive, re-traced by the Daily Mail, winds for half a mile down a quiet suburban street, before reaching a Circle K gas station and a Salvation Army thrift store at the bottom of the road, as well as a Mexican restaurant named Amelia’s.
The route then turns onto the town’s main highway – Oracle Road, also known as Historic US Highway 80.
Nancy’s drive would have taken only around 11 minutes with no traffic, and the journey snakes through several major intersections fitted with surveillance cameras.
Investigators say they have been scouring traffic cameras and license plate readers from the night Nancy vanished, hoping to detect any signs of her abduction.
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The Daily Mail can reveal the likely final drive home Nancy Guthrie took on the evening of Saturday, January 31, through the remote suburb of Tucson, Arizona where she lived
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The drive would have taken only around 11 minutes with no traffic, and the route passes through several major intersections fitted with surveillance cameras and license plate readers- which investigators say they have been scouring to pick up any signs of her abduction
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Savannah Guthrie is seen with her mother Nancy. Nancy was reported missing in Tucson, Arizona, at noon on Sunday by her family. She hasn’t been seen since the night of January 31
Nancy’s home – where her daughter Savannah was raised – is typical of the area: a single-story adobe property nestled into a thicket of towering saguaros.
Cioni told police that he dropped Nancy at her home in Tucson, Arizona shortly after 9:30pm, and said he made sure she got inside safely before leaving.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said Annie and her husband told investigators they didn’t notice any ‘red flags’ in Nancy’s behavior that night – and believes she was abducted from her home during a violent break-in.
Images from outside Nancy’s home showed a trail of blood leading from her front door entry to her driveway, and it appeared her Ring doorbell camera had been removed.
Pima County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged a ransom note sent to TMZ and KOLD on Tuesday afternoon, three days after the 84-year-old was snatched from the $1 million home where she lived alone.
Authorities have not verified the legitimacy of the notes, but have said they are looking at ‘every lead’ in the ongoing investigation.
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Nancy Guthrie was last seen by her son-in-law Tommaso Cioni, who dropped her off at home after they spent the evening having dinner with her daughter Annie
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Pictured: An aerial view of Nancy Guthrie’s house in Tucson, Arizona
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Investigators said Nancy’s $1 million home in Tucson, Arizona (pictured) showed signs of forced entry, and forensic teams found blood inside the property
TMZ reported that the note, which it also said it could not verify as being sent by the abductors, demanded millions in Bitcoin for the release of Nancy, with a deadline for it to be paid ‘or else.’
The outlet said that the note demanded the Bitcoin be sent to a specific cryptocurrency address, which it has verified as a real Bitcoin address, along with chilling details of what Nancy was wearing at the time of her abduction.
Officials previously said they have no reason to believe Nancy may have been targeted because of her daughter, but they have not ruled out any lines of inquiry.
On Wednesday, Arizona TV news anchor Mary Coleman revealed new details of the possible ransom note, saying that she believes it ‘might not be a hoax.’
Coleman said the Nancy Guthrie ransom letter that was sent to the KOLD newsroom contained a ‘lot of it is information that only someone who was holding her for ransom would know.’
‘Some very sensitive information and things that people who weren’t there when she was taken captive wouldn’t know,’ Coleman told CNN.
She added, ‘It also included a dollar amount, a deadline, and, again, other specifics that only Guthrie’s abductor might know, so that definitely raised some red flags.’
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Blood was spotted on the walkway of Nancy’s $1million Tucson, Arizona home
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Officials previously said they have no reason to believe Nancy may have been targeted because of her daughter, but have also not ruled out any inquiries. Savannah Guthrie earns a reported $8 million salary at NBC, and has a net worth estimated at around $40 million
It remains unclear if any of those specific details were true as neither investigators nor the Guthrie family have commented on the details.
Savannah Guthrie referenced the note in an emotional video plea for her mother’s return on Wednesday night, but said the family would require proof her mother was still alive before considering its demands.
Coleman also revealed the note was sent to the station via email, and that her team immediately sent it to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
‘We immediately sent that information over to the sheriff’s department, and they’re, of course, looking into the legitimacy of it,’ she said.
‘One of the detectives did get back to us and asked us for some more information so that they can start searching for an IP address and things of that nature to try and figure out who or what people are responsible here.’
