Authorities are looking for the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie after they say she was taken from her home in Tucson, Arizona, against her will over the weekend.
It’s imperative that Nancy Guthrie, who was last seen Saturday night, is found soon because she could die without her medication, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said.
The sheriff held a news conference Tuesday and urged the public to offer tips, but revealed few new details about the investigation. Officials have finished combing through Nancy Guthrie’s home and turned it back over to the family, Nanos said.
He declined to say whether Guthrie’s disappearance was thought to be random or targeted or to describe the evidence found at her home.
Investigators still do not have a suspect or person of interest, the sheriff’s department said in a statement Wednesday morning.
There were signs of forced entry at Nancy Guthrie’s home, according to a person familiar with the investigation, who was not authorized to discuss details publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Investigators also found specific evidence in the home showing there was a nighttime kidnapping, the person said.
Nancy Guthrie reported missing after she didn’t go to church
Nancy Guthrie was last seen Saturday night at the affluent Catalina Foothills area home where she lived alone. She was reported missing Sunday. Someone at a church called a family member to say Guthrie wasn’t there, leading family to search her home and then call 911, Nanos said.
Initially, searchers used drones and dogs and were supported by volunteers and Border Patrol, Nanos said. But by Monday morning, officials indicated this was less a search mission and more of a crime investigation.
There were signs of forced entry at the home, and several personal items, including Guthrie’s cellphone, wallet and car, were all still at the residence. Investigators were reviewing surveillance video from nearby homes and analyzing local cellphone tower data.
The motive remains a mystery. Investigators do not believe the abduction was part of a robbery, home invasion or kidnapping-for-ransom plot. Multiple media organizations reported receiving purported ransom notes that they handed over to investigators; however, further comments from the sheriff’s department were limited.
In a social media post, Savannah Guthrie, who grew up in Tucson, asked her followers to raise their prayers for her mother’s safe return. She shared the emotional strain the family has experienced, particularly following the death of her father when she was a teenager.
Before her disappearance, viewers got to know Nancy Guthrie through her daughter’s segments. Savannah has often credited her mother with holding their family together after their father's sudden passing.
