NEWSNancy Guthrie Investigation: Backpack Found Near Her Home Doesn't Match Bag Suspect Carried in Doorbell Footage, Sheriff Confirms
Nancy Guthrie has been missing for more than 20 days.
Feb. 23 2026, Published 10:51 a.m. ET
A group of local volunteers looking for Savannah Guthrie's missing mom, Nancy Guthrie, discovered a backpack on a road not far from Nancy's Tucson, Ariz., home — however, Sheriff Chris Nanos confirmed the bag is not the same one their suspect was seen with.
The sheriff shared the update on the Monday, February 23, episode of Today.
The Suspect's Backpack Is Sold at Walmart
Nancy Guthrie was reported missing on February 1.
As OK! reported, Nancy, 84, was last seen on the night of January 31. In the early morning hours of February 1, a masked and armed man was caught disabling Nancy's doorbell.
The suspect was also seen wearing a backpack, which authorities revealed is sold only at Walmart.
"We’re working with our Walmart managers all across the state to try to find out how many sales were there of that backpack in the last 20, 30 days, the last 60 days," the sheriff said last week. "And can we do something with that? Can we break it — maybe we’ll find a credit card or a bank card. Maybe we’ll find a video of the guy walking in."
A backpack found not far from Nancy Guthrie's home did not match the one the suspect carried in doorbell footage.
"We know he had a gun. We know he had a holster that had some pretty unique characteristics. We can’t quite identify it yet, but that’s being worked on," he shared. "So naturally, we go to our gun shops everywhere and say: ‘Have you seen this guy? Can you help us identify this weapon? Can you help us identify this holster?'"
- Nancy Guthrie Investigators Believe Masked Suspect Purchased Items From Walmart as They Review Surveillance Footage at Local Stores
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- Sheriff in Nancy Guthrie Case Believes She Is Victim of 'Targeted Kidnapping,' Declares Abductors 'Knew Who They Were After'
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Authorities haven't been able to identify the masked armed man who disabled Nancy Guthrie's doorbell camera the day she went missing.
Authorities explained they're still sorting out the DNA found inside Nancy's home.
"Our lab tells us there’s challenges with it," the sheriff told NBC News. "The technology is moving so fast and it’s such a frenzy that they think some of this stuff will resolve itself just in a matter of weeks, months or maybe a year."
On February 18, it was revealed that authorities expanded their search to Mexico and contacted authorities there, but so far, no new leads have popped up, and Nancy wasn't seen in Border Control footage.
Is Nancy Guthrie Still Alive?
Nancy Guthrie's three children said they would pay the alleged kidnapper's ransom free.
Savannah and her siblings have pleaded with her kidnappers via social media to let her go, and they even agreed to pay the ransom fee if they received proof Nancy was alive. However, no deal was ever made.
It's unclear what kind of state Nancy is in, as drops of her blood were found outside her home. In addition, it was revealed she has a pacemaker and takes daily medication.
'This Is a Targeted Kidnapping'
Authorities are still trying to identify DNA found inside Nancy Guthrie's home.
The sheriff is confident that Nancy's disappearance wasn't a burglary gone wrong.
"I believe that was a kidnapping, targeted kidnapping," he stated in another interview. "I believe whoever did that knew what they were up to, knew who they were after. This is somebody who's disappeared from the face of the earth, and now we have a camera that says here's the person who did this."
