Scottsdale police have identified the woman whose body was pulled from an Arizona canal on March 28 as 28-year-old Passion Schurz, not Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC "Today" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie who has been missing since February 1. Authorities said the two cases are unrelated, putting to rest weeks of public speculation that had linked the grim discovery to the high-profile disappearance.
The clarification came in a press release from the Scottsdale Police Department, which detailed how investigators made their initial identification and what they still do not know. The announcement answered one question, whose body was found, while leaving another wide open: Where is Nancy Guthrie?
The body was discovered in a canal at Indian Bend and Hayden Roads in Scottsdale on March 28, 2026. Schurz had been reported from the Salt River-Pima-Maricopa Indian Community on March 22, roughly six days before the discovery.
Scottsdale police said the initial identification rested on specific tattoos, physical characteristics, and a clothing description. Dental records will be used to confirm the identification, the department said.
The Scottsdale Police Department stated in its release:
"The initial identification was made based on specific tattoos, her physical characteristics, and clothing description. Dental records will be used to confirm her identification as soon as possible. Passion's family has been notified of this tragic outcome, and Scottsdale PD's crisis counselors helped with the notification and are working to support the family along with Salt River Police Department resources."
The department also addressed the condition of the body, noting that investigators found no fractures, stab wounds, or gunshot wounds. The medical examiner is still working to determine an official cause of death, and the full report, including toxicology results, will not be ready for several more weeks.
When the initial discovery was announced at a Scottsdale police press conference, many people immediately raised questions about whether the body could be Nancy Guthrie's, Parade reported. That speculation gained traction as the Guthrie search stretched past a month with no arrest and no answers.
Authorities have now confirmed the Scottsdale canal case is entirely separate from the Guthrie disappearance in Pima County.
Scottsdale detectives, Salt River Police investigators, and the medical examiner are working together to determine how Schurz died and how her body ended up in the canal. The department's own language left little ambiguity about the status of the case.
The press release stated:
"We can confirm that there were no injuries related to fractures, stab wounds, or gunshot wounds. The medical examiner is still determining the official cause of death. We're being told the full report, including toxicology, won't be ready for several more weeks. The investigation is not complete. Scottsdale detectives are working with Salt River Police investigators and the medical examiner to thoroughly investigate this case and piece together how Passion died and ended up in the canal."
That language, "piece together how Passion died and ended up in the canal", signals that investigators have not settled on an explanation. The absence of visible trauma narrows certain possibilities but does not resolve the matter. Toxicology may hold the key, and that report is weeks away.
Passion Schurz was 28 years old. Her family has been notified. Crisis counselors from both the Scottsdale Police Department and the Salt River Police Department are supporting them.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen by family members on January 31, 2026, after spending the evening at the Tucson home of her older daughter, Annie Guthrie, and her son-in-law. The family reported her missing the following day, February 1.
Nearly two months later, her whereabouts remain unknown. No one has been arrested in connection with her disappearance.
The case has drawn intense national attention in part because of her daughter Savannah Guthrie's prominence as co-anchor of NBC's "Today" show. President Trump previously weighed in on the case, warning alleged kidnappers they could face the death penalty if the elderly woman was not returned alive.
The investigation has produced some leads. The FBI previously identified a glove found near the home that matched a suspect seen on surveillance video, a development that suggested investigators had a person of interest but had not gathered enough to make an arrest.
Meanwhile, the community around the Guthrie home has been on edge. One neighbor took steps to bolster home security as the investigation dragged on without resolution, a reminder that unsolved cases do not just haunt families but entire neighborhoods.
Experts who have followed the case have also raised concerns about the investigation's trajectory. One analyst warned that Nancy Guthrie's abductor might revisit the crime scene memorial, a behavioral pattern sometimes observed in cases involving predatory offenders.
The Scottsdale canal case and the Guthrie disappearance are now confirmed to be separate investigations. But both share a troubling common thread: families waiting for answers that law enforcement has not yet been able to provide.
For the Schurz family, the wait centers on how a 28-year-old woman ended up dead in a canal with no visible signs of fracture, stabbing, or gunshot injury. For the Guthrie family, the wait is even more agonizing, they do not know whether Nancy Guthrie is alive or dead, and nearly two months of investigation have produced no arrest.
The timeline underscores the urgency. Nancy Guthrie was last seen January 31. She was reported missing February 1. Passion Schurz was reported from the Salt River-Pima-Maricopa Indian Community on March 22. Her body was found March 28. Both cases remain open. Both demand resolution.
Scottsdale police deserve credit for moving to identify Schurz and for clearly stating that the case has no connection to the Guthrie disappearance. Public speculation, however understandable, can distort investigations and inflict needless pain on unrelated families. The department's transparency here was the right call.
But transparency about one case does not substitute for progress in another. Nancy Guthrie's family has waited since the first day of February. The public has a right to expect that every available resource is being brought to bear. An 84-year-old woman vanished from a family home in Tucson, and no one has been held accountable.
Two families now grieve in different ways. One knows the worst. The other still doesn't know anything at all, and that may be the cruelest outcome of them all.
