FBI Warning: Public Urged to Stop Sending Theories to Nancy Guthrie Missing Line

In the case of Nancy Guthrie, the FBI has issued a blunt, almost desperate plea to the public: in 2026, when everyone has a theory and a platform, stop narrating and start proving.

Nancy Guthrie has been missing since Feb. 1, and authorities believe the 84-year-old was taken from her home near Tucson, Arizona. On the case's 24th day, her family announced a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to her recovery, while the FBI's own $100,000 reward remains active.

Then came the FBI's not so gentle reminder that a tip line is not a guest book.

The Tip Line Warning

In a post from the FBI Phoenix office, the bureau acknowledged the Guthrie family's new reward and noted that its $100,000 offer remained in place. It also urged anyone with 'firsthand knowledge of Nancy's whereabouts or any information about where she may be located' to contact the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI, while cautioning that high call volumes could cause delays.

The warning, tucked into the same message, became the headline. 'To help keep the tip line available for actionable investigative law enforcement leads, please submit only serious and detailed, fact-based information — no well-wishes or case theories,' the FBI wrote, adding that the line is not for 'personal messages to the Guthrie family.'

It is hard not to hear exhaustion in that wording. The bureau is not saying do not care. It is saying do not clog the pipes with vibes.​

For readers outside the US, this reflects the unglamorous side of a major investigation. A tip line is triage: someone must listen, log, route and verify, and a flood of armchair theories can bury the one call that truly matters.

The New Reward Pressure

Savannah Guthrie, the Today co-host and Nancy Guthrie's daughter, has publicly attached her family's name to the seven figure offer. In a video statement reported by Global News, she said, 'We need her to come home,' before announcing 'a family reward of up to $1 million for any information that leads us to her recovery,' and urging anyone who knows something to come forward.

In the same reporting, her Instagram caption directed people to 1-800-CALL-FBI and noted the family reward would be paid only for recovery of Nancy Guthrie, consistent with FBI criteria.​

ABC7 News also reported Savannah Guthrie announcing the $1 million reward and said the combined reward between family and law enforcement stood at $1.2 million. ABC News, via Good Morning America, reported the family was prepared to fund the reward from the start but waited because they were initially advised against it, and it also reported the family would donate $500,000 to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

That delay is now being framed as a point of friction. A report summarized by Yahoo, citing the New York Post, said Savannah Guthrie wanted to offer a $1 million reward on Feb. 1 but Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos discouraged it, reportedly worried it would trigger an even bigger wave of bogus tips. If true, that is not a petty disagreement. It is a genuine debate about how modern cases get derailed, by too little attention at first and too much noise later.

Right now, the FBI is trying to turn the volume down without turning public help off. It is an awkward ask, but it is also the most rational one anyone has made in this case lately.