Questions were raised about Tommaso Cioni’s teaching history and credentials online amid the ongoing search for Nancy Guthrie. The 84-year-old was reported missing by her family on February 1 and authorities believe she was taken from her home near Tucson, Arizona the night before.
Reports indicated that Guthrie had had dinner with her daughter, Annie, that night and Cioni, Annie’s husband and Guthrie’s son-in-law, had then dropped her off home. This would make him one of the last people to see her before she was taken. Besides, Cioni and Annie reportedly live close to Guthrie’s Catalina Foothills house. Further, former News Nation journalist Ashleigh Banfield had reported that authorities were considering Cioni as a suspect. This has long been quashed and Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos issued a clarification that none of the Guthrie family members are suspects in the case.
However, speculations around Cioni and Annie have persisted, even as family insiders have expressed belief that an apology might be in order for subjecting them to such doubts. Now, amid reports of Annie and Cioni upping the security at their house, many have called the teacher’s workplace history into question.
Cioni is a long-time educator and teaches sixth-grade science and AP biology at Basis Oro Valley School. However, now many have sought to know his credentials, while others have questioned whether he took a leave of absence while teaching.
One person asked “where did Nancy Guthrie son in law achieve his teaching credentials”, while another questioned “Did Tommaso Cioni take a leave of absence from teaching?”.
However, these questions are only meant to cast further speculation on a person who authorities do not consider to be of interest to the case. Grok shut down speculations about a leave of absence, saying “No, there are no public reports, news updates, or statements indicating Tommaso Cioni has taken a leave of absence from teaching 6th-grade science and AP Biology at BASIS Oro Valley School in Tucson. Recent coverage (as of late Feb 2026) still refers to him in present tense as a teacher there with over 15 years at the school.”
However, the AI chatbot noted that Cioni’s teaching credentials were not a matter of accessible public records. The speculation about Cioni comes even as an independent investigative reporter claimed that a group wanted to add a supernatural element to the Guthrie case.
Nancy Guthrie: Group plans psychic communication
Jonathan Lee Riches, or JLR, an independent reporter covering the Guthrie story on the ground wrote on X that a group planned to do a ‘spirit box’.
“A group just informed be that they are coming to Nancy Guthrie’s home on Saturday night at 10pm to do a spirit box,” he wrote on X.
A spirit box is also known as a ghost box and is often used by paranormal investigators. It is a modified radio scanner which such individuals believe can be used to communicate with spirits by rapidly scanning through frequencies to create white noise and static.
Several people slammed the move, with many saying it made a mockery of the family’s grief. “Fantastic…Next on my bingo card: a psychic holding a seance next to the memorial in front of the house,” one person remarked.
Given the restrictions placed around Guthrie’s home it remains unknown if said group will be able to access the property and go ahead with their plan.
