Unfortunately, I feel the same.
Oh no! I think you are right. They are going to pay and no proof of life is needed.
2 Likes
I can’t imagine the heartbreak and frustration - but this seems like a terrible idea.
3 Likes
Maybe the hope is it can be traced somehow …that we are unaware of. They are asking for contact, at least the story I read.
I hope we find out why she was chosen. Was it random? Person in an expensive house.
I do believe they will solve this - I’m just not feeling good about survival.
A couple of things:
- the area of Tucson that Savannah Guthrie’s mom lives in is not densely populated. The homes are more spread out and a lot of the house placement is designed for privacy. So you won’t necessarily see or hear your next door neighbors if you’re in your backyard, for example. Lot sizes could easily be 0.5+ acre each.
- because of the distances between houses, one should not put too much hope in Ring camera footage. However, whatever footage has been handed over to law enforcement could be used to develop a timeline of events if any specific vehicles were seen on the footage going to or from the house.
- just because we’re not hearing much new information on the news doesn’t mean that things aren’t happening. Law enforcement is probably purposely keeping details out of the news for good reasons.
- Thank goodness for her mom’s church friend, for calling the family that very day to bring up the concern that she hadn’t been to church that morning.
- should other missing persons cases make national news? Of course. But they don’t. However, in the state of AZ, for example, they now have a Turquoise Alert which sends out statewide alerts when a Native American person under the age of 65 goes missing. There’s also a statewide Silver Alert system, too, for individuals age 65 and older…all of that shows up on the local news & on highway traffic alert road signs.
7 Likes
Interesting that they would have their 84 y.o. mom in such a large compound by herself in a relatively isolated area where neighbors can’t keep an eye on each other. I know they say her mental acuity was fine but because her mobility was compromised, it seems odd that they would give her 3,000 sq. ft. ++ (and what looks like a guest house and pool) to have to navigate around, alone. My DH’s aunt and uncle lived alone into their early 90’s, in the same neighborhood for 40+ years but the houses are close together and all their neighbors knew them and checked in on them regularly.
Thank goodness for the mom’s church friend, indeed.
I can’t imagine paying the ransom without proof of life. So much time has lapsed now, I am skeptical that Nancy is doing well, especially if she doesn’t have her meds.
Despite the almost round-the-clock coverage of this case, we still know so little. If the FBI is keeping info out of the news cycle, then perhaps the news should pause the coverage as well, until we know something new and concrete or begin a segment on other missing persons cases around the country.
There’s a lot of unwarranted, IMO, criticism about the mother living alone. None of us know anything - nurses, personal shoppers, family involvement etc on a day to day basis. My MIL lives alone at 87 and she has serious mobility issues. It was a huge process to get her drivers license taken from her, which was ridiculous. Should she be living alone? I don’t think so, but it’s her choice. It’s what she wants.
18 Likes
There was a whole news story about this exact thing when Gaby Petito went missing- she was young, white and all over social media and there were a couple POC missing at the same time that no one knew about because they got no air time.
8 Likes
Remember Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa?
I don’t think we can comment on what “they” let her do. First, it’s not our place and second, we don’t know what assistance was offered/provided
16 Likes
Unfortunately they don’t work like that. Did you see the outrage in certain outlets that the sheriff went to a basketball game “while she’s still missing” .. .(as if he doesn’t have a phone? As if he should be in his office 24/7? As if he’s the only person working the case? Why can’t he go to a basketball game??)
If they think it will get a click they’ll publish.
3 Likes
I don’t have a problem with her living alone at all and wasn’t criticizing that at all (hence the story of my husband’s aunt & uncle who lived alone into their 90’s) and believe I can state my opinion on what I’ve observed from all of this coverage (and the drone footage, which has been all over the news, of her home and surrounding land). Like I said, I find it interesting that she was living in such a large area, by herself, when mobility is an issue for her (as was confirmed in many news stories).
If it were a family member of my own, I would have the same opinion.
3 Likes
A friend of mine would tell well meaning people “She’s not a potted plant” when folks implied (or outright said) that her mom shouldn’t be living where she was. As if one can pick up an elderly parent, carry them onto a plane, and repot them in a “better” living situation.
Someone who is competent and mentally aware of her own limitations is part of the dialogue. My friend did– quite literally- everything. Hired an eldercare counselor and a social worker; brought a OT to the house to help the mom see all the issues- some fixable (more rails, no throw rugs, moved the microwave), PT three times a week; CNA for bathing and dressing (even though her mom was perfectly capable of doing this on her own, but it was pitched as “for safety”
etc.
At some point you need to accept whatever stipulations an elderly person has on their own living situation. If there’s no dementia, and no family member exerting undue influence, the family figures out workarounds. Hard to tell someone who is competent “You need to move because your house is too big and too isolated because if you get kidnapped we won’t be able to find you”.
14 Likes
And they get the clicks because people are clicking it to get info. The media is not our values and moral police (overall) - each human is and decides what they click or don’t click on. Or watch on television news. It’s not just social , this story is mainstream, all medias. Not interested, don’t view.
It started as a news story of a celebrity with a loved one missing. As most notable celebrity would get covered. “Her mother is missing”. Attention and interest in it grew as the story grew and the public wanted to know. Jist herr on cc people want to know and talk about it.
Not directed at just @SJ2727 but the public overall. Media makes the news diet but does not make you consume it. Your eyes and ears and fingers do.
5 Likes
Sure, which is why I don’t click on a headline like that but of course many do. Especially at the main news outlet where i saw the headline on Google news, where manufactured outrage seems common and carries nothing substantive about the actual story.
1 Like
SOME homes in that area can be in the realm of ‘large compound,’ but the vast majority of them are not. Like, if you talked to most Tucson residents and said that living in the Catalina Foothills area was akin to living in a large compound, they’d probably find that to be a little amusing.
(disclaimer: our family lived for several years in the Tucson area)
2 Likes
I can’t agree more. My IL’s lived alone at 95/96 and refused a live in. They weren’t children, they had a say. My FIL (who had a pacemaker) passed in his home at 96 (with his children there), MIL finally agreed to assisted living since she was prone to falls, passed a year later before her 96th birthday. My mom passed in her 70’s from an aggressive cancer (otherwise the healthiest person I knew), there is no way I can picture her in a home or full time care at only 84.
5 Likes
Millions of Americans in the sandwich generation (like Savannah Guthrie) will relate to the dilemma of having an older, infirm parent who still wants independence, AND having your own life, spouse, kids, career to manage. It’s so very difficult to make everyone happy and to feel like you are doing right by everyone. Aging parents can also get ornery about their living circumstances, and at a certain point their happiness and quality of life may be prioritized over their safety or supervision. It’s a reality that many of us find ourselves in. I can only imagine the feeling of guilt if this kidnapping ends up being connected to Savannah’s career. So gut-wrenching.
10 Likes
If we didn’t care about this news then they won’t report it. For our own individual reasons, good or bad, we want to know about it.
My mom lived on a 2 acre 5000 square ft home by herself after my father died. I to,d my siblings that it wasn’t sustainable. They told me that my mom should be the one to decide. What actually made my mom move was her house was broken into when she was out one night. They never caught the burglar, but we suspected it was an inside job. It was very likely her cleaning lady who knew her schedule and where everything was.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this is also an inside job. With all the workers around the house taking care of her, one of them probably did it.
8 Likes
Again - I have no issue with elderly folks who want to live in a non-assisted living facility by themselves or with an equally elderly spouse.
Fair enough. But based on the drone footage, it still seems (to me) to be an awfully large space for an elderly woman with known mobility issues, to be living alone.
Kidnapping had not entered the realm of my concern in this situation but rather an elderly person’s (with known mobility issues) ability to get around a large living space and yard and the lack of neighbors close enough who would notice if something odd happened or if they hadn’t seen their elderly neighbor in a while. That’s it. Most of us aren’t considering the “kidnapping factor” when discussing living options with our elderly family members.
1 Like
I’m not going to comment on whether or not the mother should be living alone.
She was at her daughter’s house the day before and was reported missing the next morning. She obviously had people checking up on her. So it seems to me a nonissue on decisions that are up to the mother and her family only.
My thinking is what the heck is going on when first Craig Melvin and now Hoda have canceled their plans to go to the Olympics. Seems to me that someone is very concerned about the safety of their talent. Very strange imo
7 Likes