Terrified Arizona residents are rushing to build panic rooms after the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie — who has still not been found nearly a month after she was snatched from her Tucson home.
Kevin Hand, who specializes in break-in-resistant “safe rooms” at Sportsman Steel Safes in the Grand Canyon State, told the Daily Mail his business has been flooded with calls to quickly install thick steel doors and secret hiding rooms in people’s homes.
“There has been a huge spike in calls and business since the Guthrie case,” Hand told the paper, noting that many people are scared they could be ripped from their beds, never to be seen again.
Wealthy Arizona residents have considered building panic rooms in their homes after Nancy Guthrie went missing.Creative Homes Project
“There has been a huge spike in calls and business since the Guthrie case,” Kevin Hand, who specializes in break-in-resistant “safe rooms” at Sportsman Steel Safes, said.Creative Homes Project
Sportsman Steel Safes installed heavy-duty doors and safe rooms for wealthy clients in Texas and California for decades — but now middle-class families in Arizona have emerged as his newest customers, with consultations already booked for weeks, he said.
The abduction of Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show star Savannah Guthrie, has “people thinking, ‘What would we do if someone broke in tonight?’” Hand said.
“People don’t want this to happen to them or their families, and they’re realizing maybe it can,” he added.
Hand, whose clients include government officials, said Arizonans are opting to rip up their homes and retro-fit the rooms with 800-1,000 pound steel doors, often hidden in plain sight, like inside of a walk-in closet.
Nancy Guthrie hasn’t been seen since Jan. 31, 2026.Courtesy NBC Universal
“We make them look just like a regular door. It just looks ordinary; someone wouldn’t know it’s a panic room from the outside,” he said.
But behind the doors, locked by a keypad, is a room lined with thick concrete walls, reinforced with anti-fire and bullet-proof material, making it “impossible” for intruders to get in. The rooms can also be used to lock away valuables and firearms.
“If you’re a relatively high-profile person, there’s simple precautions you can take to make your home kidnap-proof, and now everyone is wanting the same,” Hand said.
Panic room builder Steve Humble, who owns Creative Home Engineering in Arizona, told the Mail his secret doors cost $1,000, with costs running up to $8,500 for reinforced panels.
Surveillance images of a suspect wanted in connection with Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.FBI
The process — from measurements to final installation — takes about 90 days, Humble said.
“It’s a small price to pay to save your family’s life during an armed attack,” he said.
Nancy Guthrie is believed to have been kidnapped from her home during the early morning hours of Feb. 1. Despite a massive investigation assisted by the FBI, Guthrie remains missing, and no suspects have been identified nearly a month after her abduction.