What occurred to Savannah Guthrie’s mother? Search continues as police verify blood discovered belongs to Nancy | EUROtoday

Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mom of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, has been lacking for one week, and whereas authorities haven’t any proof she’s alive, they’re holding out hope that she’s “still out there.”

“Right now, we believe Nancy is still out there,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos advised reporters throughout a press convention on Thursday. “We want her home.”

Investigators consider Guthrie was taken “against her will” from her dwelling close to Tucson, Arizona, between late Saturday evening and early Sunday. Blood discovered splattered on her entrance porch was confirmed to be hers, Nanos confirmed Thursday.

Authorities are bringing extra assets and other people into the investigation, and the FBI introduced Thursday it was providing as much as $50,000 for info. While the division has obtained “hundreds of leads” associated to Guthrie’s case, authorities haven’t recognized any suspects or individuals of curiosity. However, the Guthrie household acknowledged on Friday that they’d spoken to a suspected kidnapper and stated they have been keen to pay to see their mom returned.

Ransom notes despatched to a number of media retailers are being taken severely,” FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Heith Janke stated Thursday. The notes demand tens of millions of {dollars} in Bitcoin in alternate for Guthrie’s secure return.

“To anyone who may be involved, do the right thing,” Janke stated. “This is an 84-year-old grandma.”

Here’s what we all know to this point:

Who is Nancy Guthrie?

Nancy, 84, lives in Catalina Foothills, an prosperous group adjoining to the desert simply north of Tucson, Arizona.

She is described as a white feminine, roughly 5ft 5in tall, weighing about 150 kilos, with brown hair and blue eyes. It’s not recognized what clothes she is perhaps carrying.

Her daughter, Savannah, is a co-host on NBC’s Today present, and her mom has often appeared on this system in segments alongside her.

How lengthy has she been lacking?

Nancy Guthrie was final seen round 9.30 p.m. on the night of Saturday, January 31, at her dwelling close to Skyline Drive and Campbell Avenue, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department stated.

She spent Saturday evening consuming dinner and taking part in video games with members of the family earlier than one in all them dropped her off at her dwelling that sits on hilly, desert terrain, the sheriff stated.

She was reported lacking the following day, on Sunday, February 1, after she didn’t attend her common church service.

On Thursday, Nanos revealed a extra detailed timeline.

He stated Guthrie ordered an Uber and left her dwelling at 5:32 p.m. Saturday to go to the household dinner. She returned at 9:48 p.m.

“We did speak to a driver, because Nancy, we learned, had been taken the Uber to the family residence, the daughter for dinner,” Nanos stated. “And we located that driver and spoke with them.”

Her storage door opened at roughly 9:48 p.m. and closed two minutes later, which investigators consider marks the time she arrived dwelling.

Her doorbell digicam was disconnected at 1:47 a.m. Sunday. But Guthrie didn’t have an lively subscription so the corporate was unable to get well any footage.

Software knowledge recorded motion on the dwelling minutes later, at 2:12, the sheriff stated, acknowledging that the movement may have come from an animal.

At 2:28 a.m., Guthrie’s pacemaker disconnected from her telephone.

Family members went to verify on Guthrie at 11:56 a.m. Sunday and have been unable to find her. A 911 name was made at 12:03 p.m., and deputies arrived about 10 minutes later.

How is Nancy’s well being?

Nancy Guthrie is taken into account a “vulnerable adult” on account of her age, and Nanos stated at a press convention Monday that she was “very limited in mobility.”

“We know she didn’t just walk out there, that we know,” the sheriff stated, including that her well being challenges have been solely bodily.

“Nancy Guthrie is of great sound and mind, this is not dementia-related. She is as sharp as a tack. Her family wants everybody to know, this is not somebody that just wandered off.”

She additionally takes medicine that, if she doesn’t have in 24 hours, “could be fatal,” Nanos stated Monday.

In a video shared Wednesday, Savannah Guthrie stated her mom’s well being is “fragile.”

“Our mom is a kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light. She has grandchildren that adore her and crowd around her and cover her with kisses. Her health, her heart is fragile,” she stated.

Police additionally flagged her well being points when she initially vanished, in line with a 911 dispatch audio.

“Nancy has high blood pressure, a pacemaker and cardiac issues,” the dispatcher stated.

What do authorities assume occurred?

Police consider that Nancy Guthrie was a sufferer of against the law.

“At this point, investigators believe she was taken from the home against her will, possibly in the middle of the night. Taken against her will includes possible kidnapping or abduction,” Nanos stated earlier this week.

There have been indicators of pressured entry on the dwelling within the Catalina Foothills neighborhood.

NewsNation launched video of dried droplets of blood on stone slabs exterior her entrance door, main away from the home. DNA exams later revealed belonged to Guthrie.

Who may need kidnapped her?

Police have but to publicly establish any potential suspects.

“We’ve submitted all kinds of samples for DNA, and we’ve gotten some back, but nothing to indicate any suspects,” Nanos advised reporters Tuesday.

The sheriff stated investigators have believed from the start that Guthrie was focused, however they don’t know whether or not that was as a result of her daughter is one in all tv’s most seen anchors.

Earlier this week, a number of media retailers reported receiving ransom notes demanding tens of millions of {dollars} in Bitcoin for Guthrie’s return.

FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Heith Janke stated Thursday there was “no contact” for the reason that ransom notes have been despatched to media retailers.

“The family wants to be contacted,” Janke stated. “They know time is of the essence. And if those that may have Nancy are watching this, the family is ready to talk, get proof of life, because there has been no contact after that ransom note went to the media.”

However, not one of the letters contained proof of life, he stated. Janke stated the notes contained references to a deadline and a financial demand, in addition to mentions of “an Apple Watch” and “a floodlight,” however declined to supply additional particulars.

On Thursday, a person was arrested in Los Angeles for allegedly texting Guthrie’s members of the family asking concerning the Bitcoin that was demanded in a ransom letter despatched to media retailers, in line with NBC News.

This comes after an FBI agent introduced officers had arrested one individual in reference to an “imposter” ransom demand.

The prison grievance, which was reviewed by NBC News, says Derrick Callella despatched the members of the family messages after listening to about Nancy’s disappearance on TV. Callella allegedly advised officers he was simply “trying to see if the family would respond,” according to the complaint.

Former FBI special agent Nicole Parker, a Fox News contributor, told Hannity that Nancy had likely been taken by someone with a “deep grievance”.

“I do believe that it was someone who likely knows her, knows her very well, or knows the structure of the home very well, knows that she lived alone, had their eye on her, and had the entry and exit points of the home, and is quite familiar,” Parker said.

It was clear, Parker added, that “the home itself is the crime scene,” and investigators were withholding some details to avoid compromising the ongoing case.

“There is something about it that is very strongly driving this investigation. Law enforcement has kept that quite confidential and quiet, but there is something that they have seen that is driving the sense of urgency on this.”

Where is the search focusing?

Initial search efforts covered the Catalina Foothills area, using drones, aircraft, ground crews and dog teams. The sheriff’s department said the FBI had offered assistance on the case and the U.S. Border Patrol had also assisted with dogs.

The area has seen sunny weather in recent days, though temperatures have dropped to between 40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit at night, according to AccuWeather.

Nancy’s $1 million home, located on a residential street, appears to be in a secluded area. Photos of her home show it’s surrounded by shrubbery on all sides, and some plants appear to partially block the view of her front door from the street. Her property also has a large outdoor area and a pool.

Nancy’s neighbors were asked to check their security cameras and call the Pima County Sheriff’s Department if they see anything.

Large-scale search efforts were called off, with Nanos noting: “Right now, we don’t see this as a search mission, as much as we do a crime scene.”

Deputies were back at the house on Wednesday for what the sheriff called a “follow-up” after the property had already been released back to the family. Teams continued to canvass the area on Thursday.

Nanos said Nancy lives in an area that’s “not well lit.” He described it as a “very suburban, rural area of the Tucson area, in a very mountainous side of town where vegetation is extremely thick.”

“We are still canvassing that neighborhood and other neighborhoods and still drawing down from cameras on our streets, at our intersections, with hopes that maybe we’ll find something,” Nanos told CNN.

What are neighbors saying?

Locals have reacted with shock and rallied to help search for Nancy.

“I just saw her two days ago [on Saturday] checking her mail,” one neighbor told Us Weekly. “She was always smiling and always asking about our family and neighbors. She was very engaged with the community. … It’s very concerning.”

Another neighbor, Morgan Brown, told the magazine that there had been “a lot of dark vans with blacked out windows” in the suburb since Nancy’s disappearance.

“There were a lot of cop cars there at first, and then it was vans, so I assumed that maybe they came across something.”

One neighbor told The Arizona Republic that officers went door to door to talk to people, asking to see any surveillance videos they had and to look through people’s backyards.

Resident Jan Henry, who lives nearby, serves as neighborhood watch lead and has been coordinating a volunteer rescue group.

“We despatched out an alert to all of the neighbors in our neighborhood so we could possibly be on the lookout for her,” Henry advised native information channel KGUN 9.

Who is her daughter, Savannah?

Nancy’s daughter, 54-year-old Savannah Guthrie, is a co-host on NBC’s Today show and was previously a White House correspondent.

Savannah was born in Victoria, Australia, where the family was living at the time while her father worked for an Arizona-based mining company. They returned to the U.S. two years later and settled in Tucson. Savannah’s father died when she was entering her senior year at high school.

She attended the University of Arizona thanks to her mom, who had taken a job there in order to secure tuition-free education for her children.

Savannah has spoken often about how her mother supported her in her dreams of parenthood, reassuring her that it would happen when the time was right. She now has a daughter, Vale, and a son, Charley, with her husband, Michael Feldman, whom she married in 2014.

How is the family coping?

Savannah Guthrie has asked for help to “bring her home” in the wake of her mother’s disappearance, posting a faith-based message on Instagram on Monday night to her 1.2 million followers.

“Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant,” she wrote. “Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment.”

In a video posted Wednesday evening, Savannah and her siblings – Annie and Camron Guthrie – acknowledged the reports of a ransom note and made a direct plea for proof their mother is alive. They said they were “ready to talk” and asked whoever has their mother to provide evidence of life.

“We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please reach out to us,” Savannah Guthrie said while fighting off tears.

With her voice cracking, she addressed her mother directly, saying the family was praying for her and that people were looking for her.

“Mamma, if you’re listening, we need you to come home. We miss you,” Annie Guthrie added.

On Thursday, Camron posted his own video on behalf of his family asking the suspected kidnappers to contact them.

“Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven’t heard anything directly,” he said in the video. “We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward. But first, we have to know that you have our mom. We want to talk to you and we are waiting for contact.”

Then, on Friday, the family posted another message acknowledging that contact had been made with a suspected kidnapper.

In the video, Savannah Guthrie says that her family has “received your message” and “will pay” for their mother’s safe return.

“We received your message and we understand,” the Today anchor said.

“We beg you now to return our mother to us, so that we can celebrate with her,” Guthrie said. She added that her mother is “very valuable to us” and “we will pay.”

Annie is a writer and jeweler living in Tucson, according to her biography on the Arizona Commission on the Arts website. She published Instant Gratification, a book on jewelry making, in 2001. Fourteen years later, she published The Good Dark, a book of poems.

Camron is a retired military pilot, according to a social media post Savannah shared in 2018.

“I have never been more proud of my big brother. He has flown for our country for 26 years, and continues to serve proudly in the ‘Green Mountain Boys’ – the Vermont Air National Guard,” she wrote at the time.

Savannah has been absent from the Today show all week and will not be traveling to Milan, Italy, to host the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony.

She had also reportedly planned to stay in Italy for a week to record NBC’s morning program with her former co-host Hoda Kotb. The Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo are set to run from February 6 to 26.

An NBC Sports spokesperson said in a statement shared with The Independent, “Savannah will not be joining us at the Olympics as she focuses on being with her family during this difficult time. Our hearts are with her and the entire Guthrie family as the search continues for their mother.”

Craig Melvin, who was also supposed to host Olympic Late Night from Milan from Saturday to Monday, will be staying in the U.S. as well.

What is the public reaction?

People across the U.S. are voicing their support for Savannah Guthrie and her family as they search for Nancy.

President Donald Trump spoke to Savannah Guthrie directly, offering his support. He shared a Truth Social post on Wednesday evening detailing his phone call.

“I spoke with Savannah Guthrie, and let her know that I am directing ALL Federal Law Enforcement to be at the family’s, and Local Law Enforcement’s, complete disposal, IMMEDIATELY. We are deploying all resources to get her mother home safely. The prayers of our Nation are with her and her family. GOD BLESS AND PROTECT NANCY! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP,” he wrote.

New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan also offered words of support during an appearance on the Today show.

“Savannah, I am asking the Good Shepherd to find this lost sheep,” he stated.

Current and former colleagues of Savannah have additionally provided their help, with Today co-host Al Roker urging the general public to assist discover Nancy.

“We are praying for Savannah and her household and the return of their beloved Mom, Nancy,” Roker wrote on Instagram.

NBC News’ Kristen Welker has stated she is “praying” for the household. Hoda Kotb, Savannah’s former Today co-host, shared a photograph of Nancy on Instagram, together with the sheriff’s division’s telephone quantity, writing: “If you know anything.. pls help.”

NBC Sports Anchor Mike Tirico equally voiced his help for the household, including that “this is a time for caring about the people in your family, and we are holding Savannah near and dear to our heart, and we are praying for all of them.”

Fans also sent Savannah love on Instagram after she made her emotional plea for help.

“Praying for your lovely mom and your family. God is Almighty. Almighty is God,” one fan wrote.

Another wrote: “Sending you so much love and prayers.”

“We’re all praying for your beautiful Mom to return safely. Sending you and your family strength. We love you, Savannah,” a third said.

Any information or evidence relating to Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance can be submitted to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department via this online portal. The sheriff’s department said anyone with information is urged to call: (520)-882-7463.