Skeletal remains found near Nancy Guthrie’s Arizona home are up to 1,000 years old, expert says

TUCSON, ARIZONA: Questions surrounding skeletal remains discovered near the home of Nancy Guthrie took an unexpected turn this month after experts determined the bones were not part of any recent case but instead belonged to an ancient Native American burial site.

The remains were found earlier in May near the Catalina Foothills, roughly five miles from the home of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of 'Today' show host Savannah Guthrie.

What initially sparked curiosity because of its location has now become an archaeological discovery after experts concluded the remains could be as much as 1,000 years old.

James T Watson says artifacts helped identify ancient origins of remains

According to anthropologist James T. Watson of the University of Arizona, evidence recovered alongside the skeleton strongly suggests the individual lived centuries before recorded written history existed in the region.

The finding has effectively ruled out any connection to modern missing persons investigations and shifted attention toward the area's deep Indigenous history.

The discovery gained attention after amateur investigator and livestreamer AJ Wysopal located the burial site near the Catalina Foothills earlier this month.

However, authorities quickly determined the remains were far older than Nancy Guthrie and had no apparent connection to any contemporary case. 

Watson said the artifacts found alongside the skeleton played a crucial role in understanding who the individual likely was.

“All of that contextual evidence allowed me to be pretty sure that this individual was, in fact, Native American,” Watson told FOX.

“The ceramics really sort of drove home that point,” he added.

According to Watson, pottery fragments and other items recovered from the site matched materials commonly associated with ancient Native American settlements in Arizona's Sonoran Desert.

Because the remains predate any recorded written language in the area, they are considered prehistoric.

The age estimate places the burial centuries before modern documentation of the region ever existed.

Ancient burial materials turned over to Tohono O’odham Nation

Following the assessment of the site, all materials recovered from the burial area were delivered to the Tohono O’odham Nation, a Native American tribe located west of Tucson.

Watson indicated that no further scientific testing or research is expected.

The transfer effectively closes the investigation into the remains while placing responsibility for the burial materials with the tribal community connected to the region.

The decision also means the remains are unlikely to become the subject of additional public examination or forensic analysis.

Instead, the discovery now stands primarily as evidence of long-established Native American communities that once lived throughout the Sonoran Desert.

Expert says desert discoveries happen more often than many realize

While the discovery drew attention because of its proximity to Nancy Guthrie's home, Watson said similar findings occur regularly throughout Arizona.

“There are literally probably hundreds of bodies that are discovered every year out in the desert,” he said.

The anthropologist explained that both natural conditions and human activity contribute to such discoveries.

Real estate development frequently disturbs land that may have remained untouched for centuries.

At the same time, Arizona's rugged desert landscape contains countless remote locations where remains can go unnoticed for long periods.

Watson noted that the reasons behind discoveries vary widely.

“So there [are] a lot of places that an individual could get lost or pass away — or hide a body,” he said.

As more areas become accessible through development and exploration, additional discoveries may continue to emerge.

“I think…as people start to poke into some of these crevices that don’t normally get poked into across the desert, they’re likely to find more individuals,” Watson added.