Savannah Guthrie's 84-year-old mother, Nancy, has been missing from her home in Arizona since Feb. 1 — and the TODAY show host has released a new plea for information leading to her mom's safe return.
On Feb. 10, the FBI released photos of a masked person at Nancy's home the night of her disappearance, but so far, no arrests have been made. This is a developing situation, but read on for details about the latest message from Savannah, then catch up on the full timeline about what happened, what law enforcement has said, and what we know about unauthenticated ransom notes.
Savannah Guthrie offers $1 million reward
On the morning of Feb. 24, as the search for Nancy entered day 25, Savannah posted on Instagram that she would offer up to $1 million for her mother's recovery.
"Every hour and minute and second and every long night has been agony," Savannah said in the tear-filled video. She thanked everyone who's been praying for her mother's return. "We still believe in a miracle. We still believe that she can come home."
Savannah acknowledged in the video that Nancy "may already be gone." "But we need to know where she is," she continued. "For that reason, we are offering a family reward of up to $1 million for any information that leads us to her recovery." The caption of the Instagram post directs to the FBI's webpage for the kidnapping.
"Somebody out there knows something," the TODAY show co-host said. "We are begging you to please come forward."
She also pointed out that "there are millions of families" who've suffered from the disappearance or abduction of a loved one. For that reason, she announced that the Guthrie family is donating $500,000 to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "We are hoping the attention that has been given to our mom and our family will be extended to all the families like ours."
This came weeks after the TODAY co-anchor addressed the reported ransom notes in a public message to her mother's kidnapper. In a short video posted to Instagram, Savannah — flanked by her brother Camron Guthrie and sister Annie Guthrie — said: "We received your message and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us, so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay."
"We, too, have heard the reports about a ransom letter in the media. As a family, we are doing everything that we can. We are ready to talk. However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated. We need to know, without a doubt, that she is alive and that you have her," Guthrie said. "We want to hear from you, and we are ready to listen. Please, reach out to us."
What happened to Nancy Guthrie?
According to CNN, Nancy was last seen by her daughter and son-in-law on Saturday night, Jan. 31, around 9:30 p.m. local time near her home in the Catalina Foothills, about 14 miles outside of Tucson. On Sunday, Feb. 1, a friend from church noticed Nancy hadn't been at the service, so she called one of Nancy's children, according to PEOPLE. At about 12 p.m. on Sunday, a family member reported her missing.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said that Nancy "did not leave on her own" and police believe she "was taken out of the home against her will."
Is Nancy Guthrie sick?
Nanos noted that Nancy is “very alert, she’s of good, sound mind” and confirmed that she doesn't suffer from any cognitive impairments such as dementia. He said the family "wants everybody to know this isn't somebody who just wandered off," in part because she is “not in good physical health.”
Jenna Bush Hager revealed on TODAY With Jenna & Sheinelle that Nancy "takes daily medication and she needs them for survival," and she's without her medication right now. Nanos said "it could be fatal" if too much time passes between doses.
The FBI is helping to investigate “hundreds of leads,” and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is also assisting in the investigation. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.
Was Nancy Guthrie kidnapped?
Police believe Nancy was kidnapped while she was sleeping in the early hours of Feb. 1.
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to Nancy's recovery and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.
There have been reports of ransom notes sent to various media outlets, including TMZ. On Feb. 3, TMZ reported that it had received an “alleged ransom note” demanding “a specific substantial amount in Bitcoin,” totaling in the millions, in exchange for Nancy's release. It also included a Bitcoin address to send the funds. Heith Janke, FBI Phoenix's special agent in charge, said in a press conference that the letter didn't include proof of life.
On Feb. 6, a local news outlet reported that it had received another message from someone claiming to be Nancy's kidnapper. They did not release the contents of the message, but a spokesman for the FBI's Phoenix office told the Washington Post that Savannah's Feb. 7 plea, in which she offered to pay for her mother's return, was referring to this correspondence.
The FBI also uncovered an imposter ransom letter and arrested one person in connection with the bogus demand.
Surveillance photos of potential Nancy Guthrie suspect
Over a week into the search for Nancy, on Feb. 10, the FBI released surveillance photos and video of a potential suspect. The four images depict a person wearing gloves, a mask, and a backpack appearing to tamper with the camera at Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance. FBI Director Kash Patel said the potential subject is armed.
On February 23, ABC News reported that sources had said the masked person who was seen in doorbell footage at Nancy Guthrie's on the morning of her disappearance appears to have been outside her home on a previous night as well. Sources say that the images released of the suspect without a backpack seem to have been captured before Feb 1. But the Pima County Sheriff's Office told PEOPLE that there's "no evidence to support that" and called the reports "speculative at best."
Timeline of Nancy Guthrie's disappearance
At a press conference on Feb. 5, police offered a more detailed timeline of Nancy's disappearance:
- 5:32 p.m. — Nancy Guthrie leaves to go to her family's home.
- 9:48 p.m. — Her family drops Guthrie at home, and the garage door opens.
- 9:50 p.m. — The Garage door closes.
- 1:47 a.m. — Nancy's doorbell camera disconnects
- 2:12 a.m. — The doorbell camera software detects movement, which is believed to be from a person.
- 2:28 a.m. — Nancy's Pacemaker app disconnects from her phone.
- 11:56 a.m. — Family checks on Nancy and discovers she is missing.
- 12:03 p.m. — 911 call comes in to Pima County Sheriff's Department.
- 12:15 p.m. — Deputies arrive at the home.
Unfortunately, the doorbell camera did not capture any video of movement at 2:12 a.m.
Diving deeper into this complex case
Like people all across the country, our own Katie Couric has been heavily invested in this story. "This is absolutely gutting," she wrote on Instagram. "My heart is breaking for the Guthrie family. Anyone with information please call 1-800-CALL-FBI." Read about her personal take on Nancy's disappearance in this essay about her experiences with the Guthrie family, and catch up on more of her coverage about the case in this eye-opening interview with two FBI veterans.
And because the notes that claim to be from Nancy's captors have asked for payment in Bitcoin, we also took a closer look at how crypto really works and why digital currency has become so valuable to criminals.
