Desert nightmare deepens — Nancy Guthrie urgently hunted as border moms sound alarm with chilling search clues From sun-scorched trails to abandoned water jugs half-buried in sand, seasoned volunteer mothers who once combed the U.S. border for their missing sons say the desert leaves quiet signals—disturbed brush, scraps of fabric, footprints swallowed at dawn. Now they’re channeling years of heartbreak into one promise: “We’ll find her.” As hope battles heat and time, every grain of sand feels like it’s guarding a secret.

A GROUP of mothers dedicated to finding missing loved ones in Mexico has joined the effort to locate Nancy Guthrie as the investigation into her disappearance nears week four.

As the kidnapping of Guthrie, 84, enters a dire fourth week, investigators continue to comb through the desert terrain in Tucson, Arizona, for any leads that could crack open the case that has captivated the country.

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Guthrie was believed to have been abducted from her home in the Catalina Foothills, north of Tucson, during the early hours of February 1, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said.

Investigators said a trail of blood found outside her front door belonged to the mother of the Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, who, since the start of her family’s ordeal has pleaded for the public’s help.

But the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie has confounded the authorities as they face pressure from the news media and sharp criticism for their handling of the case.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department along with the FBI have conducted multiple searches at Guthrie’s home and that of her daughter, Annie, less than 10 miles away.

Investigators are awaiting results from DNA found at Guthrie’s home as well as a pair of black gloves uncovered about two miles from her Catalina Foothills home.

They are also attempting to identify a masked intruder caught on a doorbell camera outside Guthrie’s front door on the night she disappeared.

However, law enforcement efforts have yielded no promising leads, and Guthrie remains missing.

Now, a non-profit organization made up of mothers whose family members have disappeared in Mexico has joined the ground effort in Tucson.

Lupita Tello, a volunteer for Madres Buscadoras de Sonora (Searching Mothers), was combing through the dense desert terrain near Guthrie’s home on Thursday.

Tello, whose son went missing in the Mexican state of Sonora five years ago, told The U.S. Sun that she and other group members have successfully located missing people, both alive and deceased.

“What I can tell you is that the Searching Mothers collective in Sonora has made many, many discoveries, both of living and deceased people,” she said.

“We have found quite a lot. The same pain, the same struggle that we have, has allowed us to learn, to know the terrain, to know the land.

“To look when there may be a person under the earth, because the earth is usually seen as sunk when they have dug it to make a well and then they close it again. The earth is compressed and a small sink is made.”

SUCCESS ACROSS THE BORDER

The Searching Mothers group, which boasts over a million followers on Facebook, has made dozens of grim discoveries across Sonora since its inception in 2019.

“We already know, even the air sometimes starts to smell differently when there is a missing person,” Tello added.

“When there is a person buried, we dig some rods and we take them out where we have suspicions.

“We take the smell of that rod to know if there is something under the earth, and that way, if it gives us a clue, then that’s where we dig.”

There is no indication that Guthrie is dead; In fact, her family and Pima County Sheriff Nanos still believe the 84-year-old mother is alive but being held captive.

Tello said the group will also try old-school search efforts like handing out flyers with Guthrie’s information, but emphasized targeting the homeless population around Tucson – a strategy they’ve had success with in Mexico.

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“First, I want to do a search of life because it appears to me that this lady was taken out [of her home] because it seems that in the videos there was a person who takes her out,” Tello said, referring to the chilling doorbell camera footage.

“If they took her out, maybe they left her in another part of the city, they left her somewhere, she may be confused in her mind.

“And homeless people sometimes, when they look at people like that, they support them and invite them to the places where they live, in the streets, under the trees.

“But those people are sometimes afraid to let us know. So being able to approach them as civilians, to be able to show them a photo of [Guthrie], to be able to tell them what we are looking for and what the conditions are.

“Offer to make some food, some cakes, something to get closer to those people because you are going to give them something.”

Tello continued, “That is what we have had very good results in Mexico. We do life searches, and we have found many people with life.

“But that is what we do there and we would do the same here.”

Ceci Flores Armenta, the director of Madres Buscadoras de Sonora, told The U.S. Sun the organization got involved after a reporter in Arizona reached out to them and sought their ground search expertise.

Armenta, who has been searching for her missing son in the Mexican state of Sinaloa for a decade, said that since the group arrived in Tucson on Thursday the organization has been trying to get in contact with the Guthrie family to learn more about their mother’s disappearance.

Armenta said the members who are unable to enter the United States will prioritize their efforts on Sonora, the border city in Mexico neighboring Tucson.

“Here in Sonora, we are checking the border. In fact, our social media has a lot of impact,” she added.

“A lot of people have already wanted to talk to us to spread the word.

“We’re hoping that whoever has her is empathetic and sensitive and takes into account her age.

“We always say that we do not look for culprits, that there is always an anonymous call. So, we trust that this anonymous call reaches our hands, so we can deliver it to the authorities, and that they find Mrs. Nancy.

“So, we’re pleading on social media for help in the search for Nancy and we’re available to do whatever work has to be done at the border to help. We will do it without a problem.”

Volunteers were not required to obtain a permit to help but were asked by authorities in Pima County to give investigators space.

“We appreciate their concern and we all want to find Nancy, but this work is best left to professionals,” the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said on Saturday.

The department added that it had volunteer opportunities for those who wanted to get involved.

Pima County Sheriff Nanos has repeatedly stated that there is no evidence to suggest Guthrie was taken over the border into Mexico.

The Sonora state senator reiterated the statement by Tucson investigators, saying there is no evidence that Guthrie is in Mexico.

However, officials in Sonora acknowledged having had conversations with US federal authorities, but to date, they had not received any formal request for collaboration from the FBI.

“To date, this institution has not received any formal request for collaboration, assistance, or exchange of information from U.S. authorities or Mexican federal agencies in relation to said case,” the state senator’s office of Sonora said.

Omar Garcia Harfuch, Mexico’s Secretary of Security, confirmed on Friday that the FBI has no active investigation in Sonora related to Guthrie’s disappearance.