TUCSON, Ariz. — Human remains were discovered in a desert area roughly 15 miles from the home of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of NBC "Today" show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, but authorities said Monday there is no indication the remains are connected to her disappearance, which has now stretched more than six months without an arrest.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department said in a statement posted to social media Monday afternoon that Search and Rescue deputies were responding to reports of human remains found in a desert area near West Ajo Way and South La Cholla Boulevard in southwest Tucson. "The remains appear to have been at the location for an extended period of time," the department said. "At this time, there is no indication they are connected to the Nancy Guthrie investigation." The department added that additional information would be released as it becomes available.

According to CNN, deputies were seen at the reported location Monday, on a hillside covered in saguaro cacti overlooking a busy four-lane highway in southwest Tucson. The residential area sits just outside the city limits, one turn off Ajo Way, leading to a handful of homes with long driveways. The sheriff's department declined to answer CNN's questions regarding who discovered the remains, when they were located, or the basis for officials' early determination that the find appeared unconnected to the Guthrie case.

Nancy Guthrie, 84, vanished from her home in Tucson's Catalina Foothills neighborhood sometime between the night of Jan. 31 and the early morning hours of Feb. 1. According to........

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