Nancy Guthrie, mother of TODAY host, Savannah Guthrie is still missing, her neighbours in Tucson, Arizona are tying yellow ribbons to mailboxes, trees and cactuses as a powerful symbol of hope amid the ongoing search of the 84-year old who vanished from her home on Sunday, February 1, 2026.
Neighbors Tie Yellow Ribbons in Support
One of Nancy’s neighbors, Laura Gargano, told People that the idea started with another local resident. She also explained why yellow ribbons were chosen.
“Some of us put flowers at the front of Nancy’s house, while others who may not have wanted to go down to Nancy’s house, put ribbons on their mailboxes,” Gargano shares. “The yellow ribbon is a sentiment of hope and support after someone goes missing. I believe the use of the yellow ribbons goes back to hostage-taking in the 1970s”, she told People.
According to the National Museum of American Diplomacy, yellow ribbons became popular in 1979 when 52 U.S. diplomats were held hostage in Iran. The movement began with the wife of the highest ranking hostage and was inspired by the song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree.”
According to the People, at the end of Nancy’s driveway, one ribbon includes a Bible verse from Isaiah 43:2, which says, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.”
How Nancy’s disappearance is affecting the community
One neighbour, Nicolette Daily, also spoke to People about how the disappearance has affected the community.
“My husband’s going out of town next week. I’ve asked my mom to come stay because I’m scared to be alone,” Daily said. “This is all very very horrible, and there’s no neighborhood that’s safe. There’s a false [idea that], ‘I live in a nice neighborhood, and it’s safe.’ That’s not how it is. But you don’t think that someone is going to come to your house in the middle of the night and take you. That is horrific”, she said.
“It’s a horrific thing for her children to have to imagine what their mother experienced and to not even know where she’s at right now. I would not wish that on my worst enemy. This is terrible”, she added.
What we know so far about the case?
Nancy was reported missing on Sunday, February 1, after she was last seen at her home on the night of January 31. According to several media reports, officials believe a masked and hooded person seen on her doorbell camera kidnapped her in the early morning hours of February 1. The camera was disconnected at 1:47 AM local time, a person was detected at 2:12 AM and at 2:28 AM, Nancy’s pacemaker was disconnected from the app on her cellphone.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation Phoenix office described the suspect as “a male, approximately 5’9” – 5’10” tall, with an average build. In the video, he is wearing a black, 25-liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack.”
The reports of People says that a glove found about two miles from Nancy’s home did not match DNA collected at the property, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
“It did not trigger a match in the national CODIS database and did not match DNA found at the property,” the Pima Sheriff Police Department said on Tuesday, February 17.
“The DNA found at the property is being analyzed and further testing needs to be done as part of the investigation.”
“Investigators are currently looking into additional investigative genetic genealogy options for DNA evidence to check for matches. CODIS is one option of many databases that are available,” the Pima Sheriff added.
