A HAUNTING new twist has emerged in the search for missing Nancy Guthrie after two anonymous tips claimed the 84-year-old may be buried in a clandestine grave just across the US-Mexico border.

Volunteer searchers in northern Mexico have now carried out two separate searches in the same remote area after receiving reports that the mother of Today host Savannah Guthrie was allegedly buried near Nogales, Sonora.

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Anonymous tips suggest Nancy Guthrie, 84, may be buried across the US-Mexico borderCredit: Reuters
 

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Volunteer searchers in Mexico have conducted searches in May (pictured) and this week in a remote area near Nogales, SonoraCredit: Ramona Guadalupe Ayala Ortiz
 

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Despite extensive efforts in areas notorious for clandestine graves, no trace of Nancy has been foundCredit: Ramona Guadalupe Ayala Ortiz
 

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Ramona Guadalupe Ayala Ortiz said her search collective received a tip on Nancy’s potential whereabouts on May 16Credit: Ramona Guadalupe Ayala Ortiz
But despite combing the rugged terrain, no trace of Nancy has yet been found.

Ramona Guadalupe Ayala Ortiz, leader of the Buscando Corazones Nogales search collective, revealed the group first received an anonymous tip on May 16 and launched an immediate search.

And second tip led volunteers back to the same location this week.

Ayala Ortiz told The U.S. Sun: “The first search for her was on May 16th.”

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Asked whether the latest operation stemmed from a fresh lead, she added: “Yesterday we carried out the search to look for her. It was yesterday.”

The searches focused on the Mariposa area, a stretch of land just minutes from the US border that has become notorious for the discovery of clandestine graves.

According to Ayala Ortiz, the anonymous messages contained little information beyond a chilling claim that Nancy had been buried there.

She said: “Anonymous tips are brief, you know? When it reached us, it said: ‘The lady from the other side is buried in a clandestine grave over by El Mariposo.’ Just like that.”

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The volunteer group has already been searching the wider area for months while looking for other missing people.

Ayala Ortiz said her team uncovered graves there on April 25, but stressed the information they received about Nancy pointed to a different section of the region.

She explained: “The information I have is that she is not in that specific area where I found the clandestine cemetery; it’s another place. That is, it’s in El Mariposo, but you enter through other hills and other creeks.”

The location sits extremely close to the international border.

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Nancy vanished from her Catalina Foothills home in Tucson, Arizona, during the early hours of February 1Credit: Getty
 

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Officials visit Nancy Guthrie’s residence on February 25, 2026 in Tucson, ArizonaCredit: Getty
“It’s very close to the border, just kilometers away,” Ayala Ortiz said.

“For example, if you come from the other side, you cross and immediately that whole area is Mariposo.

“But practically, it is minutes away from the border line.”

The latest searches come after reports that Buscando Corazones Nogales received an anonymous call claiming Nancy’s remains were buried in the area, prompting a major operation involving volunteers and officials from the Sonora State Commission for the Search of Missing Persons.

Search teams pushed deeper into the region than previous operations, including areas where the group had earlier discovered around 25 unmarked graves.

Despite the alarming claims, no evidence linked to Nancy has been found.

“No, we haven’t found her,” Ayala Ortiz said.

“We are going to plan another search.”

She revealed discussions are already underway with Sonora state authorities to organise a further operation.

“In fact, last night the vice-prosecutor asked me when I was going to request help,” she said.

“So, I am in talks with Dante Talavera from the State Commission for the Search of Missing Persons of the State of Sonora to see what day we are going to be able to carry out the search again.”

Ayala Ortiz admitted she knew little about Nancy’s disappearance before the anonymous tip arrived, despite the case attracting huge attention in the United States.

“To be honest with you, I hadn’t paid attention to it until the anonymous tip reached me,” she said.

“I tried to investigate, but I didn’t obtain more than what was coming out on Facebook.”

She added that one of the few details she was given was that Nancy had a pacemaker, which searchers were told could help identify her if remains were discovered.

Nancy vanished from her Catalina Foothills home in Tucson, Arizona, during the early hours of February 1.

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Investigators believe she was abducted from the property, located more than 70 miles north of the Mexican border city of Nogales.

More than four months later, no arrests have been made and authorities have publicly announced no major breakthroughs in the case.

SOURCE: THE SUN

https://www.the-sun.com/news/16491045/nancy-guthrie-update-search-grave-found-mexico-tips/