Neighbors ‘shocked’ and ‘scared’ after Nancy Guthrie abduction in Catalina Foothills

As cyclists, dog walkers, delivery drivers and a school bus went through a Catalina Foothills neighborhood on Tuesday afternoon, the day seemed like any other.

But for community members and the neighbors of Nancy Guthrie, who law enforcement believes was abducted from her home near North Campbell Avenue and East Skyline Drive this weekend, almost everything has changed for the neighborhood they call home.

Neighbors say they’re “shocked,” “scared” and “anxious” since police and searchers swarmed into the neighborhood to search for Guthrie, 84, who was reported missing on Sunday afternoon. Guthrie is the mother of Savannah Guthrie, a host on NBC’s “Today Show.”

“We just can’t believe this is our quiet little neighborhood, and, you know, everyone’s out walking their dogs and just taking walks, but .... things have changed,” said Beth Dunshee, a neighbor.

Dunshee and her husband, Curt, were both at home the night of the disappearance. They say they didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary until the next day, when members of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department came knocking on their door. 

“They said she (Guthrie) was missing and they asked if we had any camera (footage), which we don’t and they told us a little bit about what happened and we were shocked,” Beth Dunshee said.

Upon hearing about her neighbor's disappearance, Beth Dunshee knew something was very wrong. 

Beth Dunshee says she talked to Guthrie a few times over the years, as they would run into each other while walking through the neighborhood, but she hasn’t seen her in a few years, since Guthrie’s mobility issues prevented her from going on long walks.

“I knew that she could not walk well,” she said. “I was like, ‘She could not have gone far. She would never have gone walking away at midnight.’ ”

The Dunshees say they don’t have a home camera system, but with Guthrie’s abduction so close to home, they plan on getting one soon.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said he does not believe the public is in any danger.

However, Nanos’ statement isn’t a comfort to those who live in the area.

“They do not know yet,” Curt Dunshee said. “And therefore, you can’t make an assessment of whether we’re at risk because we don’t really know what happened.”

George Fantry, who lives up the road, has lived in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood for nearly 10 years. Throughout his time in there, he says he’s never seen anything happen to this extent.

He describes the neighborhood as a place that has the feel of being able to leave your doors unlocked. 

Fantry says he was shocked when heard about the abduction.

“You get anxious about it happening in your neighborhood,” Fantry said. “How could this happen in your neighborhood? I know most people would say this would be a very safe and quiet neighborhood. It’s the way we view it. … That’s a bit scary that could happen around the corner from where you live.”

Over the last couple of days, Fantry says he’s felt “terrible” and like he couldn’t “do anything about it for anyone.”

On Monday, the 67-year-old, who completes daily walks around the neighborhood, went on a 5-mile walk around the area to see if he noticed anything out of the ordinary.

“I figured I could at least look,” he said. “I have two eyes and two legs and I like to walk, so I figured, ‘Well, I’m gonna go out there and walk around and look in the washes and see if I notice anything different because I’m out here every day.’”

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Despite feeling anxious about the abduction, Fantry says he still feels safe in the neighborhood. Right now, he’s feeling more concerned for Guthrie and her family, including daughter Savannah.

Neighbor Deborah Perry was on her afternoon run Tuesday as she passed the Guthrie house. 

As reporters asked her to chat, it was the first time she had learned of the seriousness of the situation.

“I just learned about the severity of this,” she said. “I understand that it’s considered an abduction and that there are some findings that warrant that. That’s much more disturbing to me than thinking that she got lost or something.”

Perry, who has lived in the neighborhood for 10 years, says the Guthrie abduction doesn’t make her feel any different about feeling safe in the area.

“Most of us who walk have dogs or whatever and we walk all around here,” she said of the neighborhood. “Most of us say hello to one another. It’s not very trafficked here. People drive by and they usually wave.”

Although Perry doesn’t know Guthrie, she says she’s sympathetic about the situation.

Perry was just one of a handful of neighbors who were on a late afternoon walk on Tuesday. While some were walking throughout the neighborhood as a part of their daily routine, others were curious about the Guthrie house.

Laurel Brantley was out walking her dog as she made it to the edge of the area where local and national media were stationed on Tuesday.

Brantley decided to walk around the neighborhood to gauge the proximity between her house and the Guthrie house, which turned out to be less than half a mile.

As she made her way toward the area, the PCSD helicopter could be seen and heard circling the Guthrie house. They made several laps around the house and the surrounding area for 30 minutes. 

The helicopter was how Brantley discovered that Guthrie was missing a couple of days ago. The helicopter was flying so close and low to her house that the windows began rattling, she says. The noise prompted her to look up what was going on. 

She saw the missing person report and immediately felt scared, she said.

“I feel nervous about it because someone could do it to anyone,” Brantley said, adding, “I feel like we need all the security systems now.”

Brantley has lived in the neighborhood for a couple of years and says her neighbors are “super kind people” who have given her a “peace of mind about living in this neighborhood.”

But knowing how close this incident is to her home, Brantley no longer feels comfortable walking by herself at night.

Uncertainty now lingers in what once felt like a quiet and safe area for residents.

As law enforcement searches for answers as to what happened to Guthrie, her neighbors continue to grapple with feeling fearful, all while trying to maintain hope that their neighbor will safely return.

“I understand that she’s related to Savannah, but that’s kind of beside the point in my mind,” Brantley said.

“It’s someone’s mom and grandma.”