Human Bones Near Nancy Guthrie's Tucson Home Are Prehistoric, University Scholar Reveals

The discovery of human remains near a missing 84-year-old woman's residence triggered a major law enforcement response. Police arrived on 7 May after YouTuber AJ Wysopal found skeletal remains in the Arizona desert.

Medical examiners determined the burial site is unrelated to Nancy Guthrie's disappearance. Investigators confirmed the remains were prehistoric and referred the site to archaeologists.

University Scholar Uncovers Ancient Native American Burial Site

Wysopal located the bones roughly five miles from the property of the missing woman. She is the mother of journalist Savannah Guthrie.

Authorities immediately secured the perimeter. Tucson police told Fox News Digital: 'The bone found near Craycroft and River was determined to be human. This will be a prehistoric anthropological investigation. The University of Arizona's Anthropology Department and the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner assisted. This is not a criminal investigation.'

Anthropologist James T Watson confirmed the scale of the discovery. Investigators unearthed a fully intact skeleton rather than scattered fragments.

How Ceramic Artefacts Helped Identify the Historic Tucson Remains

Watson said the individual was buried centuries ago, with estimates suggesting the grave could be up to 1,000 years old. 'Whether it is a thousand years old or 50 years old, these are human remains,' he noted.

Watson explained that ceramic artefacts recovered near the grave were instrumental in identifying the origin of the skeleton. Because the individual lived before the advent of written language, the discovery falls under prehistoric classification.

'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.'

The recovered skeleton has been formally transferred to the Tohono O'odham Nation, ensuring the remains are handled with appropriate cultural respect.

Search for Missing 84-Year-Old Continues Despite Unrelated Discovery

While the archaeological find captured public attention, the search for the missing Tucson resident remains active. Guthrie vanished shortly after being dropped off at her property on the evening of 31 January. She was reported missing after failing to attend church. Police later obtained footage of a masked individual approaching her front entrance.

Sheriff Remains Confident as Reward Reaches £790,000 for Missing Woman

In a social media post, Savannah Guthrie wrote: 'mother [sic], daughter, sister, Nonie — we miss you with every breath. We will never stop looking for you. We will never be at peace until we find you. We need help. Someone knows something that can make the difference. Call 1800CALLFBI. You can be anonymous and the reward remains available. Please keep praying. Bring her home.'

Her family is offering over $1 million (£790,000) for her safe recovery. Sheriff Chris Nanos said his department was advancing the investigation. 'Right now, I think our focus is on the tips, the leads and the evidence we have in front of us,' he said. 'Digitally — the camera footages as well as biological, the DNA and those types of things.'

'I know we have DNA that is unknown who the contributor or depositor is, but I think they're getting closer to finding out who that was,' Nanos told People. 'When the labs tell us, 'Hey, there's nothing else we can do,' well, then maybe we've got a problem... we've got a cold case... but right now, the labs aren't telling us that.'

Authorities are urging the public to contact the FBI with any relevant information; a reward of over $1 million (£790,000) remains available.