Human remains found in a Tucson wash are not those of Nancy Guthrie, a federal source told Fox News reporter Matt Finn. The remains were discovered early Thursday, August 13, near Interstate 10 and Silverlake Road, and were mostly bones. Tucson police said the remains had been there for an extended period. The Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner took custody of them to work out the person’s identity and cause of death. Finn shared the federal source’s confirmation after a local report triggered questions about whether the remains could be linked to Guthrie.
Where were the human remains found in Tucson?
The Tucson Police Department said officers received a report about the remains early Thursday. They were found in a wash off South Santa Cruz Lane, near Interstate 10 and Silverlake Road.
According to KOLD/13 News, the remains were mostly bones and appeared to have been at the location for an extended period. Police said the case is being handled as an unknown death. The Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner recovered the remains and will determine their identity and cause of death.
The remains were therefore not treated as someone who had recently been carried into the area by flooding. No identity had been publicly released when the local reports appeared.
What did Matt Finn told about the remains in Tucson?
The Tucson discovery got a lot of attention because of the ongoing search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie.
{{/usCountry}}The Tucson discovery got a lot of attention because of the ongoing search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie.
{{/usCountry}}KOLD News anchor Mary Coleman first reported the discovery on X, writing: “HUMAN REMAINS FOUND: Tucson Police tell us decomposed human remains were found in the wash near Silverlake and Santa Cruz Lane today. The remains had been there for an extended period of time and were mostly bones.
Pima County’s Office of the Medical Examiner recovered the remains and will work to determine an identity and cause of death.”
Matt Finn later quoted the post and wrote: “Federal source tells me this is not Nancy Guthrie.”
The confirmation means the remains found Thursday are being handled separately from the Guthrie investigation. Officials have not publicly identified the person whose remains were found.
What is the latest in the Nancy Guthrie investigation?
Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her Catalina Foothills home on the night of January 31. She was reported missing on February 1. Investigators believe she was taken from her home.
The FBI says an armed person appeared to tamper with her doorbell camera around the time she disappeared. Blood found at her home was also confirmed to be Guthrie’s.
The case is still being investigated as a kidnapping for ransom. Two ransom notes were released in late July, including one demanding millions of dollars in bitcoin and another claiming Guthrie had died. The FBI has said some ransom communications were extortion attempts, while other demands were still being examined.
The FBI is offering up to $100,000 for information that helps locate Guthrie or leads to an arrest and conviction.