A disturbing new development has surfaced in the search for missing Nancy Guthrie after two anonymous tips suggested the 84-year-old may be buried in a clandestine grave in northern Mexico, just across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Volunteer search teams operating in Sonora, Mexico, have conducted two separate searches in the same remote region near Nogales after receiving the reports, which allegedly claimed Guthrie was buried in an area outside the border city of Nogales, Sonora.
Despite repeated efforts across rugged terrain known for hidden or unmarked graves, searchers have not found any trace of her.
The volunteer group leading the search, Buscando Corazones Nogales, said it first received an anonymous tip on May 16 and immediately began investigating the area. A second tip later prompted another search this week, again focusing on the same general zone.
Group leader Ramona Guadalupe Ayala Ortiz said the reports pointed to a specific rural area known as Mariposa, located only minutes from the U.S. border.
According to Ayala Ortiz, the anonymous messages were brief but explicit in their claim.
“They said, ‘The lady from the other side is buried in a clandestine grave over by El Mariposo,’” she told The U.S. Sun.
The search zone, she explained, has already been the focus of multiple volunteer operations in recent months, including efforts to locate other missing persons. In April, the group reported discovering multiple unmarked graves in the broader region, though they stressed the new tips pointed to a different section of terrain involving surrounding hills and creek areas.
“It’s very close to the border, just kilometers away,” Ayala Ortiz said, noting that the area lies within minutes of the international line separating the United States and Mexico.
Searchers from the collective, working alongside officials from the Sonora State Commission for the Search of Missing Persons, expanded their efforts beyond previous zones in response to the latest tip. The operation included areas where approximately 25 unmarked graves had previously been identified during earlier searches.
Despite the increased scope and intensity of the investigation, no evidence linked to Guthrie has been found.
“No, we haven’t found her,” Ayala Ortiz said. “But we are going to plan another search.”
She added that coordination is already underway with state authorities to determine the next phase of operations, including discussions with Sonoran officials responsible for missing persons cases.
“The vice-prosecutor asked me last night when I was going to request help,” she said, noting that additional planning is in progress with Dante Talavera from the state commission.
Ayala Ortiz also said she had little prior knowledge of Guthrie’s disappearance before receiving the anonymous tip, despite the case drawing significant 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, adding that most of her initial research came from social media posts.
One detail included in the tip, she noted, was that Guthrie reportedly has a pacemaker, a feature searchers were told could help in identification if remains are ever recovered.
Guthrie was reported missing after disappearing from her home in the Catalina Foothills area of Tucson, Arizona, during the early hours of February 1. Investigators believe she may have been abducted from the residence, which is located more than 70 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Authorities have since confirmed that doorbell camera footage captured a masked individual entering the home on the night she vanished, though no suspect has been identified publicly.
The case remains under active investigation by the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. Officials say forensic analysis and laboratory testing have slowed progress, while acknowledging public frustration over the lack of breakthroughs.
Sheriff Chris Nanos has previously stated that investigators are carefully reviewing all available evidence, including DNA analysis, as the case continues to develop.
Authorities have also pushed back against online speculation, stressing that family members have been fully cleared and are not considered suspects.
Despite extensive searches and ongoing investigations in both the United States and Mexico, the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie remains unresolved, with officials continuing to urge anyone with information to come forward.
