In this image provided by NBCUniversal, Savannah Guthrie, right, her mom Nancy speak, Wednesday, April 17, 2019, in New York. (Nathan Congleton/NBCUniversal via AP)
2026-02-07T05:06:53Z
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — It’s been a week since “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie ‘s mother disappeared from her home in Arizona in what authorities say was a kidnapping.
Investigators have been examining ransom notes and looking for evidence but have not named a suspect. On Friday, officers returned to 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie ‘s home near Tucson and to the surrounding neighborhood to continue their search.
Here’s what to know about the case:
The disappearance
Family members told officials they last saw Guthrie at 9:48 p.m. on Jan. 31 when they dropped her off at home after they ate dinner and played games together. The next day, family learned she didn’t attend church. They reported her missing after they went to check on her.
Guthrie has a pacemaker and needs daily medication. Her family and authorities are worried her health could be deteriorating by the day.
Collecting evidence
Authorities think Guthrie was taken against her will from her home in an upscale neighborhood that sits on hilly, desert terrain. DNA tests showed blood on Guthrie’s front porch matched hers, the county sheriff has said.
Investigators found her doorbell camera was disconnected early Sunday and that software data recorded movement at the home minutes later. But investigators haven’t been able to recover the footage because Guthrie didn’t have an active subscription to the service.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told The Associated Press in an interview that investigators have not given up on trying to access those images.
“I wish technology was as easy as we believe it is, that here’s a picture, here’s your bad guy. But it’s not,” Nanos told the AP on Friday. “There are pieces of information that come to us from these tech groups that say ‘This is what we have and we can’t get anymore.’”
The president of the Catalina Foothills Association, a neighborhood group, thanked residents in a letter for being willing to speak with law enforcement, share camera images and allow their properties to be searched.
Ransom notes
At least three media organizations reported receiving purported ransom notes, which they handed over to investigators. Authorities made an arrest after one ransom note turned out to be fake, the sheriff said.
It’s unclear if all of the notes were identical. Heith Janke, the FBI chief in Phoenix, said details included a demand for money with a Thursday evening deadline and a second deadline for Monday if the first one wasn’t met. At least one note mentioned a floodlight at Guthrie’s home and an Apple watch, Janke said.
Investigators said they are taking the notes seriously.
On Friday, KOLD-TV in Tucson said it received a new message, via email, tied to the Guthrie case. The station said it couldn’t disclose its contents. The FBI said it was aware of a new message and was reviewing its authenticity.
Family appeals
Concern about Guthrie’s condition is growing because authorities say she needs daily medicine that’s vital to her health. She has a pacemaker, high blood pressure and heart issues, according to sheriff’s dispatcher audio on broadcastify.com.
Guthrie’s children recorded two separate video messages to their mother’s abductor and posted them publicly on social media.
Savannah Guthrie filmed a sometimes emotional message on Wednesday asking the kidnapper for proof their mother was alive. She noted that technology today allows for the easy manipulation of voices and images and the family needed to know “without a doubt” that she is alive and in the abductor’s hands.
Police have not said that they have received any deepfake images of Nancy Guthrie.
Savannah Guthrie described her mother as a “kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light” and said she was funny, spunky and clever.
“Talk to her and you’ll see,” she said.
She spoke some words directly to her mom, saying she and her siblings wouldn’t rest until they’re all together again.
Trump’s involvement
The FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information about Guthrie’s whereabouts.
The White House said President Donald Trump called and spoke with Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday. He posted on social media that he was directing federal authorities to help where they can.
On Friday night, he told reporters flying with him to his Florida estate on Air Force One that the investigation was going “very well” and investigators had some strong clues.
Famous kidnappings
The kidnapping is the latest abduction to attract the American public’s attention.
Other notorious kidnappings in U.S. history have included the son of singer Frank Sinatra, the granddaughter of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst and the 9-year-old girl for whom the AMBER Alert was named.
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