Nearly seven months into the search for Nancy Guthrie, a recent discovery in the Arizona desert is revealing a larger, quieter tragedy playing out around her case.
Human remains were found last week roughly 15 miles from Guthrie's Catalina Foothills home, near West Ajo Way and South La Cholla Boulevard. The Pima County Sheriff's Department said the remains showed "no indication" of any connection to Guthrie's disappearance and appeared to have been in the desert "for an extended period."
But the discovery has drawn attention to something far bigger than one case. Pima County's chief medical examiner, Dr. Greg Hess, told CNN his office handles more unidentified human remains than any county in the nation - a grim byproduct of the unforgiving Sonoran Desert, where extreme heat, monsoons, and wildlife accelerate decomposition, often leaving only partial skeletal remains. Most of the people found, Hess said, are believed to be migrants who died crossing the border.
Since Guthrie's disappearance became national news, Hess said his first question with every new set of remains that arrives is the same one his office now asks by default: could this be her?
It's a sobering reminder that behind the headlines, dozens of other families across Arizona are searching for their own missing loved ones - many without the national attention Guthrie's case has received.
Guthrie, 84, the mother of "Today" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing February 1 from her Tucson-area home.
No suspect has been named. Savannah has continued to lean publicly on her faith throughout the search, repeatedly thanking supporters on-air for their prayers - a request the Guthrie family has echoed at nearly every stage of the investigation, and one that now, in light of this story, extends to every family in Pima County still waiting for answers of their own.
Related Article: Nancy Guthrie Update: Retired FBI Agent Demands Search of Sonoran Desert
