Internets sleuths, psychics, influencers trying to solve Nancy Guthrie kidnapping. Some fear they are doing harm

Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapping is the subject of a wide-ranging investigation involving local and federal agents.

But there is a second shadow investigation on podcasts and social media platforms.

Psychics are dealing with the incident. Livestreamers are camped outside Guthrie’s home in the Tucson area, waiting for any more details to share.

Online true crime fanatics have parsed information about the case, filling in limited details with rumors, insinuations, and sometimes outright conspiracies. On social media, people are sharing videos comparing the limited facial detail in images of the masked suspect standing at Guthrie’s door the morning he disappeared with photos of the 84-year-old’s relatives or people loosely connected to the family.

This has become a common and increasingly controversial aspect of high-profile crime investigations: armies of amateur detectives descending on a community and creating friction with the police.

In the Nancy Guthrie case, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos felt compelled to issue a statement over a weekend clearing her family as suspects to quell widespread speculation.

“The family has been nothing but cooperative and kind, and has been victimized in this case,” he said. “To suggest otherwise is not only wrong but also cruel.”

He later told NBC News that he took the unusual action: “Because sometimes we forget that we are human, that we are hurting, and that kindness matters. It is the duty of every officer to stand up and be a voice for our victims. I will not sit silently while others attack innocents.”

News that Guthrie had been kidnapped 18 days earlier caused increased public interest as the case remained unsolved. The FBI has received more than 18,000 tips from the public since the investigation began, and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has been inundated with nearly 50,000 calls; This was more than double what was received at this point last year.

But experts say theories that arise from intense public interest could create serious problems for investigators and waste time and resources that should be devoted to solving the case and finding Guthrie.

“All the speculation doesn’t work. Detectives and police public relations staff have to spend a lot of time trying to fix it. Then they flood the tip lines and it gets in front of the real investigators,” said Paul Vernon, a retired Los Angeles police captain who supervises homicide detectives and crime analysis for the LAPD.

Last year, the high-profile case of 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro in Riverside County attracted the attention of people from across the country, with some setting up shop outside the family’s home for livestream. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco called them “keyboard warriors” and accused some of spreading misinformation.

Hannah Kobayashi, a 30-year-old Maui woman, disappeared after arriving at Los Angeles International Airport in 2024. The case attracted worldwide attention, with some armchair detectives claiming she was the victim of a global sex trade. But police insisted she went to Mexico voluntarily and was not kidnapped. His family urged people to quash speculation and he was eventually found safe and unharmed.

Online detective work is nothing new, but it has gained attention in recent years. A decade ago, author Michelle McNamara helped revive interest in a serial killer who stalked parts of California in the 1970s and 1980s. He later wrote a book about his efforts. The “Golden State Killer” was captured in 2018 and was posthumously praised for raising awareness of the case.

Those involved in the Guthrie case say they are trying to help solve a confusing case.

Dana Bowling, host of the Daily Dose of Dana podcast, discussed the Guthrie case in several episodes, examining details publicly released by police, reporting from various outlets, and adding context from past high-profile cases. During the live episode on February 4, a viewer said discussing people as suspects in the case could ruin someone’s life.

Bowling responded to the comment by saying it was a “very important” point, but did not commit to digressing.

“It’s such an interesting, sad, scary story that of course we’re going to talk about it,” he said.

Public relations specialist Molly Dare Hillenbrand, owner of Molly Dare Media, said she discussed the incident on Instagram, including with Bowling and other creators, in the hope that someone would advance the investigation and come up with a theory that could find Guthrie.

“For a long time, the media has been deployed to assist with these types of cases,” he said. “In some cases, it really helps researchers when people see things they haven’t seen or notice some kind of pattern.”

Hillenbrand said he tries to approach discussions with curiosity rather than accusatory attitude, especially when dubious theories emerge.

“I think what really surprised the public is that from day one, it didn’t follow the normal investigative pattern that we normally see in missing person or kidnapping cases. There are a lot of inconsistencies that I think we as a public have noticed, and that’s why we’re asking questions. I think it’s okay to ask questions,” he said. “First, we want to find Nancy and bring her home.”

Guthrie was discovered missing on February 1 after he failed to show up at a friend’s house to watch a church service.

“Unfortunately, this is big enough and widespread enough in terms of attention that people will exploit it without much thought about how it will impact those in the middle,” said Karen North, a professor of digital social media and psychology at USC.

On Sunday, Savannah Guthrie filmed a video sitting outside, her eyes red-rimmed, pleading with the kidnappers to give her mother back.

Breaks came in the case and it fits and starts.

Investigators found no match for DNA obtained from a glove found about 2 miles from Guthrie’s home. Video footage from the Guthrie’s Nest camera taken the morning of his disappearance is key to solving the case, authorities said.

Some on social media noted the delays in finding Guthrie, playfully saying they would “find Nancy Guthrie… because no one else has done it.”

Others have used their large followings to support suspects or theories of the case that are not based on evidence.

For weeks, thousands of people across the country watched footage from live broadcasters positioned outside Guthrie’s home and the home of one of his daughters, waiting for any breaking developments in the case.

Last week, a Domino’s driver walked up to the front door of Guthrie’s home after a viewer ordered a meal to be delivered to a livestreamer set up outside the facility. The delivery driver passed deputies on duty at the scene, sparking outcry about potential contamination and lax security at the scene.

The sheriff’s department responded with a post to X: “We can’t believe we have to say this, but crime scene media: Please do not order food delivery to the crime scene address. This is interfering with an active investigation.”

When police obtained leads (searching homes and questioning individuals before releasing them), livestreamers and some media outlets were quick to share the information with the public. In some cases the clue leads nowhere. But in other cases it can fall prey to more conspiracies.

“Speculation doesn’t solve cases. Evidence solves cases,” Vernon said.

On Friday night, while detectives were executing a search warrant for a home in Tucson, reports came in that someone in a vehicle stopped by police nearby had shot himself to death in connection with the incident.

It was a shocking incident that eventually turned out to be untrue.

The 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savanna Guthrie is considered, in many ways, America’s mother and grandmother. He lives alone in Tucson, not far from his daughter Annie and son-in-law, has heart problems and mobility issues but is still lucid.

He belongs to a book club, plays Mahjong with his friends, and enjoys spending time with his family, even if he only chats over dinner. Photos of Savanna Guthrie standing next to a smiling Savanna Guthrie on the set of the TV series “Today” and celebrating Christmas with her grandchildren in matching pajamas were widely shared.

“This is a reminder that these are real people who experienced an unimaginable tragedy,” North said. “We have to remember that there are real people with real feelings who are part of this.”