TODAY show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie and her family have launched a calculated public appeal for information as the search for her missing 84-year-old mother enters its eighth week—a “deliberate” strategy, experts say, designed to break what appears to be an investigative stalemate.
Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Tucson, Arizona home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood on January 31. Despite a massive multi-agency investigation involving local law enforcement and the FBI, authorities have struggled to locate the woman who requires daily medication that could prove fatal if not taken every 24 hours.
The family’s latest push comes as Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos revealed investigators are working with “workable” DNA evidence and sifting through thousands of pieces of video footage. With more than seven weeks passed and 40,000 tips flooding in, the case has taken on an increasingly urgent tone.
The Guthrie family said in a statement: “We desperately ask this community for renewed attention to our mom’s case—please consult camera footage, journal notes, text messages, observations, or conversations that in retrospect may hold significance. No detail is too small. It may be the key.”
The circumstances surrounding Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance read like a crime thriller. Family members dropped her off at her home around 9:45 p.m. on January 31. Hours later, at 1:47 a.m., her doorbell camera disconnected and was removed. Minutes after that, at 2:28 a.m., the app on her pacemaker disconnected from her phone. When she failed to appear for a virtual church service at a friend’s house the next day, family members rushed to check on her and found her gone.
Authorities recovered chilling doorbell footage showing a masked suspect, believed to be between 5 feet 9 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall, wearing a 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack. Blood found on her porch tested positive for her DNA. Investigators discovered 16 gloves during their search, though most belonged to volunteers helping look for the missing woman.
Sheriff Nanos told Newsweek on Friday that the investigation remains far from cold. “We’re working with the FBI. We’re working with several labs around the country on this. We’re working with forensics, examiners, digital video and media analysts. There’s just a lot going on,” Nanos said.
The investigation took a dramatic turn when multiple news outlets received what appeared to be ransom notes demanding payment in cryptocurrency. NBC News reviewed one such note, though no law enforcement agency has substantiated its authenticity. The lack of direct communication with a possible kidnapper and unclear ransom demands has puzzled investigators and former FBI agents monitoring the case.
In what appeared to be a strategic response to the alleged ransom notes, Savannah Guthrie released a statement that seemed designed to elicit proof of life: “We received your message and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us … This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
The family has put up a $1 million reward for Nancy Guthrie’s recovery. Combined with $100,000 offered by the FBI and $102,500 from 88-CRIME, the total reward package now stands at over $1.2 million.
Authorities detained a man on February 10 but released him hours later. They searched a home on February 13 and questioned someone during a traffic stop, but made no arrests. All siblings and spouses in the Guthrie family have been cleared as suspects.
President Donald Trump has taken an active interest in the case, calling Savannah Guthrie to offer federal assistance and telling reporters aboard Air Force One that investigators have “very strong” clues. The FBI has mobilized significant resources, with Director Kash Patel personally releasing surveillance images of the masked suspect on social media in early February—a move that drew criticism from some investigators who had hoped to keep certain details confidential.
Sheriff Nanos told the BBC he believes Nancy Guthrie remains in the Tucson area. He characterized her as being in “not good physical health” and confirmed she “did not leave on her own.”
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department continues analyzing evidence from multiple laboratories and reviewing images and videos captured by cameras throughout the area. Despite the volume of leads—tips have come from as far away as Australia—investigators acknowledge the frustrating lack of a breakthrough.
The family’s public strategy of directly addressing potential captors while simultaneously appealing to the community represents a calculated gamble. By offering both a massive financial incentive and emotional pleas, they hope someone with information will come forward.
NBC News correspondents Liz Kreutz and Tom Winter have been following the case closely, with TODAY providing regular updates as the investigation continues. The national attention has kept pressure on authorities to find answers, even as the case grows more complex by the day.