Nancy Guthrie and Your Security

Jules

Jules

SF VIP
With all the weaknesses in Nancy’s living situation, has it inspired you to change how you do things?

I’m not suggesting she was wrong, but these decisions have been disastrous for her. Have you re-evaluated your living situation?

She was 84, had medical conditions and didn’t wear a medical alert necklace. That alone could have been fatal, even without being attacked.

At 84, was it time to move. She’d lived there for 30 years.

She was in a rather isolated home without a good security system.

The following is from a tech newsletter last week.

I went to a free people-search site and typed in Nancy Guthrie's name.​
In seconds, I had her home address, a satellite photo of her house, the property value, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and three phone numbers, including her likely primary cell.​
Screenshot_2026-02-10_134803.png
Source: Familytreenow​
All of it. Free. No login required.​
Now think about that. If I can find this in 15 seconds, so can anyone else. A scammer. A stalker. Someone planning something far worse.​
 
I feel the longer this goes on and all the press may encourage a copycat if a real abduction.
she is 84 with health issues and I can only imagine the stress and such if being held, she may pass from all that.

Sadly, many others could perhaps really benefit from some news coverage. If they have all this time just for this ............perhaps we need less news programming.
 
We've always had an alarm on our house even while we were building it. Throughout the years, we've updated & added pieces to it to suite our needs. Our friend has a nice set up for his camera system (not Ring) on his buildings/property. We decided last fall to add that set up for our next alarm update which is on our to-do list.

I've given up watching the constant talking news heads on TV with their various thoughts & theories. @Jeni, I do believe we have way too much news to watch at any time of the day. They talk a lot without anything worth while to hear. What ever the authorities know, they are not going to release because they don't want to jeopardize the investigation.

She had a Ring camera, but didn't keep up the subscription to it. That is the same thing that happens with people who have home security alarms ... or just as bad, they have the subscription & don't use it.

Emergency alert necklaces I believe are a great investment, however, the person has to use it. I gave my Mom a emergency alert necklace which she refused to wear telling us that hanging it on her bedroom door was the perfect place for her to find it if she needed it :eek:. At least she did use the house alarm in the evening when she was in for the night.

My SIL had a necklace free of charge from the county senior center that had a GPS & would give her exact location where she was at if something happened, at home or away from it like in a parking lot. Again, she was another one who won't use it.

My friend & her sister installed a camera system throughout the inside the house with speakers so they could watch & talk to their Mom when she was home alone. The sister, who lived with their Mom, worked nights & they both were worried something would happen. It gave them both peace of mind & their Mom didn't feel lonely when she was their by herself because the girls would "pop-in" & check on her. Mrs. Guthrie's family could have done something like this, but then hindsight is always 20/20 :(.
 
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Not sure how she could possibly not be found on an internet search. The internet puts our information out there regardless. I think all that privacy policy crap they feed us is BS.

Otherwise there would be no way to look all that up. I've yet to see one that was totally free with that much info. Usually they make you pay for it.
 
MarciKS said:
Otherwise there would be no way to look all that up. I've yet to see one that was totally free with that much info. Usually they make you pay for it.
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I don’t know what site was used. She’s an expert. In a podcast a few days ago, she wouldn’t give the site because it wasn’t knowledge everyone needed.
 
No.

IMO most of the hype in today’s world about safety and security is designed to separate us from our money.

I do my best to use a bit of common sense, be aware of my surroundings and not draw any attention to myself.

I live in an apartment complex of over 200 units and more or less blend in with the herd, which in itself is a sort of protection.

I believe that my biggest risks are from an accidental fall or medical episode that would leave me dead in my apartment. That would be more unpleasant for the people that eventually find me than it would be for me.

“Que sera, sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see…”
 
Aunt Bea said:
No.

IMO most of the hype in today’s world about safety and security is designed to separate us from our money.

I do my best to use a bit of common sense, be aware of my surroundings and not draw any attention to myself.

I live in an apartment complex of over 200 units and more or less blend in with the herd, which in itself is a sort of protection.

I believe that my biggest risks are from an accidental fall or medical episode that would leave me dead in my apartment. That would be more unpleasant for the people that eventually find me than it would be for me.

“Que sera, sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see…”
Click to expand...
Same
 
I’ve never felt comfortable living in a home if I live alone, even when I was young. So if I’m single, I’m living in a condo or an apartment.

I live in a condo on the third floor that’s a secure building. While somebody could walk in behind someone else that lives here we have inside hallways so if somebody was breaking into someone’s condo, the neighbors would all hear it. We all know each other, and if there was a commotion in the hallway, people would come out. We have 75 condos in each building.

I also have a ring camera so I know who’s at the door before I answer it. I also have two dogs and although they’re small if somebody was trying to break in, they would both be barking. Their hearing is really good.
 
Aunt Bea said:
No.

IMO most of the hype in today’s world about safety and security is designed to separate us from our money.

I do my best to use a bit of common sense, be aware of my surroundings and not draw any attention to myself.

I live in an apartment complex of over 200 units and more or less blend in with the herd, which in itself is a sort of protection.

I believe that my biggest risks are from an accidental fall or medical episode that would leave me dead in my apartment. That would be more unpleasant for the people that eventually find me than it would be for me.

“Que sera, sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see…”
Click to expand...

I am so in there with everything you say Aunt Bea! ….everything
 
No. I have not. I was raised very rural and still choose to live very rural.

I was taught to be self-sufficient. I had a gun in my hand when I was 14. With the first words to me being “never point one unless you plan on using it.”

I still own guns. I still have guard dogs; see avatar. If I am in the house, I was also taught to let the noise come to me — never be so stupid as to go after it. Then only let there be one side of the story to tell —mine.

There have been a handful of times, since I have lived here, that I have had to carry a gun to the barn to do chores, thanks to some wayward a-s-s the police were chasing, that ran up from the state highway through the cow pastures.

I do have a security camera that focuses on the barn and the workshop. It was pricey as I don’t have WiFi up here, so had to go a different route.

That said, when I have to be in town shopping, I do my best to be ”present”. No gun, but mace works just as well in a public place.

The bottom line is nobody, especially the elderly can walk around in la la land, doing the bobbing dog head, thinking their world is safe. It is not safe and the longer things go, the less safe it gets.

It really tisses me off that I am now vulnerable thanks to age and arthritis. I wore a No Fear T-shirt my entire life —- those words are still on that t-shirt but they are very very faded————-
 
MarciKS said:
Not sure how she could possibly not be found on an internet search. The internet puts our information out there regardless. I think all that privacy policy crap they feed us is BS.

Otherwise there would be no way to look all that up. I've yet to see one that was totally free with that much info. Usually they make you pay for it.
Click to expand...
And even if you do pay for it, it is always wrong. They have me living in the same place I had 20 yrs ago. I do genelogy and would never trust one of those sights.
 
I try to be security conscious, including keeping a low profile when out (inexpensive purse). Wearing flashy jewelry is well in my past. Shopping is during daylight hours only and in busy areas.

The house has had a monitored security system with a very loud alarm since the 80s. It's set every night and also when leaving the house, even if it's just to walk around the block. There's a tall, locked gate six feet from my front door, other doors have heavy metal dead-bolt security screens. Everything is kept locked. Interior and exterior cameras with 30 day subscriptions for the footage.

I don't have a life alert type pendant, but have recently been toying with the idea of a smart watch that I can use for calls or texts in an emergency.

All that said, I probably wouldn't be comfortable living alone in this big house if something happened to my husband. I can be a bit of a fraidy cat when things go bump in the night.
 
The ever increasing technology all around us is both beneficial and at times frightening. I have a complete medical profile on my phone and as well as a medical ID that I wear. I make it a practice to check the feed of on our doorbell camera, but we have another less obvious camera with a memory card in a less conspicuous spot. Some of these things are due to my interest in gadgets.

I gaining a new appreciation for the benefit my family can have simply by knowing how to access the electronic footprint around me.
 
Abductions of elders are extremely rare. Common sense measures for home security can vary with the homeowner, specific neighborhood, community, and region. There may be people in your community who can advise about what makes sense... meaning people who have no motivation to sell you something. The local police in my region have a liaison officer, and advice is part of his job.

I kind of guess the Guthrie case probably has to do with the public distinction of Nancy's daughter, Savannah, a journalist and TV figure. Part of the nastiness of the times is that there's been something of a trend toward targeting politicians, journalists, and others whose views, slant, or style is disliked by some disgruntled individual.
 
I'm sure I'm safe from kidnapping for ransom... Know stealing from our garage is another story. We have a collection of articles that can become deadly should the need arise, and have no issues at all to employ then if the need comes to bare.
 
After 30 years in the same home, assuming there had been no previous burglaries or incidents, I imagine Mrs Guthrie felt safe in her home and, if she ever did feel concerned, she likely thought the presence of the camera would deter an intruder. I think that is likely how a lot of people feel.

I don't think there is much more we can do as regards security and we also have a very vigilant WhatsApp group.
 
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