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Nancy Guthrie disappearance fuels rise of ‘mom detectives’ swapping tips and losing sleep
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In the search for missing mother Nancy Guthrie, law enforcement isn’t the only force chasing answers.
Across Facebook groups, Instagram threads and neighborhood camera apps, a growing network of self-described “mom detectives” has mobilized — dissecting timelines, swapping Ring footage and organizing shared online files in an effort to piece together what happened.
“I’m crazy about Nancy Guthrie… I’m not even trying to hide it anymore,” Melinda Long, a health and fitness coach, content creator and mother of three, wrote on Instagram, describing “wake-up-at-2am, what-is-the-truth kind of obsessed” deep dives into a case she says has pieces that “don’t quite add up.” She then asked her followers: “Anyone else completely locked into this right now?”
The response was immediate.
Within minutes, Long said, women flooded the comments echoing the same sentiment — anxious, invested and unable to look away.
“I’m waking up in the middle of the night, and I’m putting on Fox News, and I am not a girl who watches TV at night,” Long told Fox News Digital. “A lot of women are writing, ‘Same, same girl, same.’ You just said exactly what I’m feeling but afraid to say out loud.”
Long has no personal connection to the Guthrie family. Yet the case feels intensely personal.
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An undated photo of Nancy Guthrie and Savannah Guthrie was provided by NBC in response to the disappearance of the 84-year-old mother of the “Today” show host. (Courtesy of NBC)
“Why do I feel so personal about it?” she said. “Savannah is like America’s sweetheart, right? So her mom feels like your mom. It feels like it could be my mom. I have a 75-year-old mom. I think a lot of moms feel that connection to it.”
She said recent true-crime documentaries have also shaped her perspective. After watching a Netflix series on Elizabeth Smart’s abduction, Long said she was reminded that early assumptions in missing persons cases can be wrong.
“We all thought she was dead. We just thought she was gone,” Long said. “And she wasn’t.”
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That memory, she explained, reinforces hope, even when details appear limited.
“There has to be more,” she said. “There has to be more information that we don’t know.”
Long says her online community includes “regular moms,” professionals and followers from as far away as the United Kingdom and Austria — underscoring how social media has erased geographic boundaries in modern crime cases.
“Social media really crosses that border of being just a U.S. news thing,” she said.
A digital routine
The intensity Long describes is not isolated.
On a Facebook page called “True Crime Mama,” one recent post asked followers: “Curious where everyone stands… Do you think she will be found or do you think she will never be found?”
In another group, a user named Lori Sparks wrote that she had been following the case “from the beginning,” adding that she was monitoring updates on “2 separate laptops that way I don’t miss anything,” along with hashtags calling for justice and Nancy’s safe return.
On Instagram, Michele McNaughton posted a reel of herself scrolling on her phone with text overlay that read: “The one new step I never skip in my morning routine: checking social media to see if they found Nancy Guthrie yet.” In the caption, she asked: “Why in the world is this taking so long to solve?”
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“I really do hope they find this woman. This whole thing just feels Mickey Mouse and botched. It’s sad,” McNaughton told Fox News Digital. “None of it makes sense.”
McNaughton added that she was “hooked on the story from the start.”
“I felt this could be my neighbor or mom who’s gone missing,” she said. “And I’m pretty sure we all thought the cops would’ve had it wrapped up in no time.”
But as the case unfolded, she said her confidence began to fade.
“As the days dragged on and the story got weirder, I started to think they were bumbling this case,” she said, describing what she viewed as a series of confusing developments — including mentions of ransom notes, talk of payment, suspects being detained and later released. “It’s a rollercoaster ride.”
The reaction in her comment section reflected similar frustration.
“The Moms of the World would’ve solved this by Tuesday,” one follower wrote.
“And the way this is going,” she added, “I’m starting to wonder if we could have.”
For some women, checking for developments has become part of their morning routine — alongside coffee, workouts and school drop-offs.
At the heart of the online engagement, Long insists, is concern not cruelty.
“I want them to know that everybody’s concern is genuine and real,” she said, referring to Guthrie’s family. “Any concerns are only because everybody wants her to be found. There are a lot of prayers and a lot of good intentions.”
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A sign of solidarity from neighbors at Nancy Guthrie’s home Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Caitlin O’Hara)
A growing trend
The phenomenon extends beyond the Guthrie case.
In recent years, mothers and online communities have mobilized around high-profile investigations including the 2022 University of Idaho murders and the disappearance of Gabby Petito — cases that unfolded in real time across TikTok, Reddit and Facebook, with civilians analyzing bodycam footage, social media posts and digital timelines.
Petito’s case in particular demonstrated the power of online attention to amplify a missing persons investigation nationally, but it also highlighted the risks of speculation spreading rapidly across platforms.
Now, digital tools that once served primarily for social connection, like neighborhood camera apps, shared drives and group chats, are being repurposed into informal investigative hubs.
What once might have been passive consumption of true crime has, for some, evolved into active participation.
When moms solve cold cases
The idea of mothers stepping into investigative roles is not entirely new.
In his new book, “The Carpool Detectives: A True Story of Four Moms, Two Bodies and One Mysterious Cold Case,” author Chuck Hogan details how a group of suburban mothers helped revive a 15-year-old double homicide that had long eluded investigators.
As first reported by the New York Post, the case centered on a 2005 incident involving a suburban businessman and his wife whose bodies were discovered near their wrecked SUV in a Los Angeles County canyon after they vanished without a trace. The family business had collapsed, millions of dollars were unaccounted for, and leads had dried up.
The effort was spearheaded by Marissa Pianko, who learned about the case while taking a broadcast journalism class at UCLA in 2020. What began as an academic exercise evolved into a years-long civilian push to reexamine evidence and press for renewed attention.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the group for comment.
The story has fueled discussion about whether organized civilian involvement can sometimes surface overlooked details or whether it risks complicating official investigations.
For Long, the constant scrolling and late-night updates aren’t about playing detective — they’re about hope.
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“There has to be more,” she said. “There has to be more information that we don’t know.”
Watching public appearances by family members has only deepened her emotional investment.
“She looks like hell,” Long said candidly. “And I’m thinking, I would look like hell too. I can’t even imagine if I’m getting up in the middle of the night and not sleeping…imagine the sickness and horror that she feels.”
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That identification, daughter to mother, mother to mother, may help explain why so many women are gathering in digital spaces to follow cases so closely.
Until there are clearer answers, she and thousands of other mothers say they’ll keep watching, refreshing feeds, sharing posts and waiting for the update they’re hoping to see.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
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Loved ones are searching for a 34-year-old Southern California woman who has been missing for over a week.
Amy Lynn Edmonds, 34, was reported missing on June 28, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
Edmonds, who is considered at-risk, was last seen walking away from Coast Plaza Hospital in Norwalk.
She is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 140 pounds. She has brown eyes and brown hair. She was last seen wearing a blue jacket and was carrying a black backpack.
It’s unclear where she may have been heading when she disappeared.
Authorities said Edmonds has mental health and medical issues that require medication. Neither hospital staff nor loved ones have heard from her since and they are concerned for her well-being.
Anyone who may know Edmond’s whereabouts or has information on the case can call LASD’s Missing Persons Detail at 323-890-5500.
Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.
Police are still waiting for video from Waymo before deciding whether two teenagers accused of drinking alcohol and firing an Orbeez gun from inside one of the company’s self-driving vehicles could face additional charges, a San Mateo police spokesperson told KTLA.
The incident unfolded around 2:10 p.m. Monday when a Waymo representative contacted the San Mateo Police Department to report suspicious behavior inside one of the company’s autonomous vehicles.
“The Waymo rep who contacted us told us they saw what they described as a firearm in the vehicle, described it black in color, and at some point believed that the passengers were firing it outside of the vehicle,” Community Relations Officer Janine Luna said. “Even at one point saying they believed they saw a recoil.”
The representative also reported that the passengers appeared to be intoxicated and had an open bottle of alcohol inside the vehicle, Luna said.
Believing they were responding to reports of a firearm being fired from a moving vehicle, officers coordinated with Waymo to conduct what police described as a high-risk traffic stop.
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San Mateo police officers recover an Orbeez gun after detaining two teenagers following a high-risk stop of a Waymo vehicle in San Mateo. July 2026. (San Mateo Police Department) -
San Mateo police officers recover an Orbeez gun after detaining two teenagers following a high-risk stop of a Waymo vehicle in San Mateo. July 2026. (San Mateo Police Department)
Luna said Waymo remotely disabled the vehicle in a location where officers could safely respond. The company then informed the passengers that the vehicle was experiencing mechanical problems while officers made their way to the scene.
Although the vehicle was disabled, its doors remained unlocked and the passengers could have exited if they wanted to, Luna said. Instead, they stayed inside until officers arrived, cleared the vehicle and detained the occupants.
Investigators later determined the suspected firearm was an Orbeez gun, a motorized toy that fires water-filled gel pellets.
While Orbeez guns are legal to possess, Luna said the one recovered by officers had been partially painted black, making it appear more like a real firearm.
“We’ve been seeing that a lot, where people are taking BB guns, water guns, toy guns, completely painting them over, and then in a lot of cases they actually do really look like real guns,” she said.
Police said no injuries or property damage have been reported, and no victims have come forward.
The two passengers, both 15 years old, were released to their parents and were not arrested, Luna said.
Authorities have already forwarded the underage drinking allegation to the juvenile district attorney for review. However, investigators are still waiting to receive Waymo video before deciding whether to recommend any additional charges.
“We’re still waiting to receive that video to determine what, if anything, they’ll be charged with,” Luna said. “Obviously it’s a water gun or toy gun. It’s not illegal to carry, but depending on shooting from a moving vehicle, there’s some of that that can come into play.”
Luna said this was the first time the San Mateo Police Department had handled an incident in which Waymo contacted officers in real time to report suspicious activity inside one of its vehicles.
The incident comes just weeks after another high-profile Waymo incident in Southern California. In late June, several teens were seen hanging out of the windows of a self-driving Waymo as it traveled through Santa Monica traffic. Waymo later told KTLA those riders’ accounts had been suspended for violating the company’s user agreement.
Luna also urged parents to keep an eye on their children during summer break and reminded the public not to alter the appearance of toy guns to make them resemble real firearms.
“We want to give our kids freedom to have fun and enjoy their time off from school,” Luna said. “But because they’re not in school, just keep an eye on them. Make sure you know where they’re at. Make sure you know who they’re hanging out with.”
Iman Palm and Aaron Tolentino contributed to this report.
An investigation is underway after a bicyclist was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Long Beach.
On July 6, Long Beach police responded to a crash near Cowles Street and Santa Fe Avenue just after 2:30 a.m.
Officers found the victim, a man in his 50s, lying unresponsive on the roadway. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver who struck him fled the area before officers arrived.
A preliminary investigation indicated the bicyclist was riding westbound on Cowles Street when he was struck by an unknown vehicle that turned onto Cowles from Santa Fe Avenue.
The victim’s name is being withheld pending positive identification by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
No further details, including a suspect or vehicle description, were released.
Anyone who witnessed the crash or has information on the incident is urged to call the Long Beach Police Department’s Collision Investigation Detail at 562-570-7355.
Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.
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