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TUCSON, Ariz. — The discovery of prehistoric human remains just miles from the suspected abduction of Nancy Guthrie has unearthed a grim reality of Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, where an expert says a dozen or more bodies can surface in a given year, and “there’s just so much space” to conceal them.
Guthrie is the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, and as a result of her daughter’s high profile, the grim discovery quickly caught national attention.
Just as quickly, experts determined the remains had nothing to do with her case.
In an interview with Digital, James T. Watson, an anthropologist at the University of Arizona who responded to the scene where the remains were found, revealed that there was a skeleton unearthed at the scene, not just the single bone that initially went viral.
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A Tucson police officer stands guard near where a YouTuber discovered human remains in an ephemeral river while searching for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie. The remains were determined to belong to someone who died and was buried centuries ago and have no connection to her case. (Michael Ruiz/ Digital)
They belonged to someone believed to have been buried between several hundred and 1,000 years ago, he said.
“Whether it is a thousand years old or 50 years old, these are human remains,” Watson said, adding that he hopes additional discoveries are treated with dignity and respect if searches continue in the Guthrie case.
A Tucson police officer puts up police tape near where human remains were found in an ephemeral river while searching for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie. (Matt Symons for Digital)
A local YouTuber named AJ Wysopal came across an exposed bone while conducting an amateur search for Guthrie less than 5 miles from her home in the Catalina Foothills on May 7. Guthrie is believed to have been kidnapped out of her house in the early hours of Feb. 1.
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A sign reading “Nancy Guthrie Desparecida” was placed by Madres Buscadoras De Sonora about a mile from Nancy Guthrie’s residence in Tucson, Arizona, on Feb. 24, 2026. Law enforcement continues to search for Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of journalist Savannah Guthrie, who went missing on Feb. 1. Savannah Guthrie announced a $1 million reward for information leading to her mother’s location. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Authorities quickly determined that the remains were human — and also that they were significantly older and unconnected to Guthrie’s suspected abduction. They are called prehistoric because they belong to someone who died before there was written language in the area, Watson said.
There is also a known archaeological site nearby, and Watson said that ceramic artifacts uncovered at the scene are consistent with known examples there.
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Law enforcement and news broadcasters are stationed outside Nancy Guthrie’s residence in Tucson, Ariz., on Feb. 10, 2026, as searches continue for the 84-year-old mother of journalist Savannah Guthrie. Possible abductors set a ransom deadline of 5 p.m. on Feb. 9 for a $6 million payment after she went missing on Feb. 1. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
“All of that contextual evidence allowed me to be pretty sure that this individual was in fact Native American,” he said. “The ceramics really sort of drove home that point.”
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Tucson police respond to the site where human remains were found in an ephemeral river while searching for Nancy Guthrie. (Matt Symons for Digital)
The remains have since been transferred to the Tohono O’odham Nation, a Native American tribe with a large reservation just west of Tucson. No additional research or testing is expected, he said.
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People bring flowers to Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday, March 7, 2026. Guthrie has been missing since early February 2026. (Matthew Symons/ Digital)
Watson said that a combination of the Sonoran Desert’s harsh terrain and new developments on land that has been largely untouched for centuries often lead to similar discoveries as the search for Guthrie continues.
“The desert there is a pretty harsh environment and obviously it’s been settled for hundreds, thousands of years,” he told Digital.
Tucson police respond to the site where human remains were found in an ephemeral river while searching for Nancy Guthrie. (Matt Symons for Digital)
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And in addition to inadvertent archaeological discoveries, the region is also near the U.S.-Mexico border, where illegal immigrants have for years been attempting to cross illegally in those same harsh conditions.
On some occasions, he’s been called to the findings of their remains, he said.
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Savannah Guthrie poses with her mother Nancy Guthrie during a production break while hosting NBC’s “Today Show” live from Australia. (Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage)
“There are literally probably hundreds of bodies that are discovered every year out in the desert,” he told Digital.
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Like the recent find at River and Craycroft Roads, some are exposed by natural causes, including erosion caused by the region’s powerful ephemeral rivers, which are mostly dry but flood violently during heavy rainfall in the desert. Others have been unearthed by real estate development, Watson said.
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And there could be many different reasons why they came to rest where they are found.
Law enforcement personnel search near a roadway outside Nancy Guthrie’s neighborhood in Catalina Foothills outside Tucson, Ariz., on Feb. 11, 2026. (Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
“So there [are] a lot of places that an individual could get lost or pass away — or hide a body,” Watson said. “I think…as people start to poke into some of these crevices that don’t normally get poked into into across the desert, they’re likely to find more individuals.”
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The investigation into Guthrie’s disappearance is ongoing, and there is a combined reward of more than $1.2 million in play.
Her family is urging anyone with information to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI. Tips can be submitted anonymously to Tucson’s 88-Crime hotline at 520-882-7463.
