Authorities are searching for the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie after investigators said she was forcibly taken from her home in Tucson, Arizona, over the weekend.
The case is urgent because Nancy Guthrie, last seen Saturday night, could die without her medication, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said.
Investigators have shifted from a rescue effort to a criminal investigation. There were signs of forced entry at Guthrie’s home, according to a person familiar with the investigation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details publicly.
Nanos has declined to describe the evidence or say whether Guthrie’s disappearance was random or targeted. As of Wednesday, investigators had not identified a suspect or a person of interest as of Wednesday.
Here’s what to know about the case:
She disappeared from a quiet, affluent neighborhood
Nancy Guthrie lived alone in the upscale Catalina Foothills area and was last seen at her home around 9:30 p.m. Saturday. She was reported missing midday Sunday after someone at her church called a family member to say Guthrie wasn’t there, leading family to search her home and then call 911, Nanos said.
Guthrie has limited mobility, supporting the theory that she was taken against her will, but the sheriff said she is of sound mind.
Her brick home sits in a hilly neighborhood where houses are spaced widely apart and separated from traffic by long driveways, gates and desert vegetation. Saguaro cacti and wispy trees partially block views of the home from the street, and the area appears to have little street lighting at night. That makes it less likely that security cameras captured helpful footage of Guthrie’s disappearance.
Jim Mason, a longtime commander of a search and rescue posse with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, said desert terrain can complicate searches because dense brush and cacti can limit visibility. Mason, whose group is based about 175 miles (280 kilometers) north of Tucson, was not involved in the search.
Searchers initially used drones, dogs, volunteers and Border Patrol resources, Nanos said, but crews were pulled back by Monday morning.
Asked Tuesday whether authorities were searching for Guthrie alive, Nanos said, “We hope we are.”
Physical evidence but no clear motive
There were signs of forced entry at Guthrie’s home, and several personal items, including Guthrie’s cellphone, wallet and car, were all still there, according to the person familiar with the investigation. Authorities are reviewing nearby surveillance video, license plate camera data and cellphone tower records, the person said.
The motive remains a mystery. Investigators do not believe the abduction was part of a robbery, home invasion or kidnapping-for-ransom plot, the AP source said early Tuesday.
Unspecified DNA samples were collected and submitted for analysis. “We’ve gotten some back, but nothing to indicate any suspects,” the sheriff said.
Public calls for help
Multiple media outlets reported Tuesday that they received purported ransom notes and turned them over to investigators. The sheriff’s department said it is taking the notes and other tips seriously but declined to comment further.
Nanos and the Tucson FBI chief urged the public to offer tips during a news conference Tuesday. A church in Albany, New York, has offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to Guthrie’s whereabouts.
In a social media post late Monday, Savannah Guthrie asked supporters to “raise your prayers” for her mother, and “believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. Bring her home.”
The White House said President Donald Trump talked to Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters a day earlier, he called the situation “terrible.”
“I always got along very good with Savannah,” Trump said.
A strong mother figure
Savannah Guthrie is in Arizona and hasn’t appeared at the anchor’s desk this week.
The youngest of three siblings, she grew up in Tucson, graduated from the University of Arizona and previously worked as a reporter and anchor at KVOA-TV before joining “Today” in 2011.
She credits her mother with holding the family together after her father’s fatal heart attack when she was just 16.
“When my dad died, our family just hung onto each other for dear life,” she said on “Today” in 2017.
Before her disappearance, viewers got to know Nancy Guthrie through her daughter’s show. In a segment last year, Nancy Guthrie described why the family settled in Tucson in the 1970s.
“It’s laid back and gentle,” she said.
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Associated Press writers Mike Balsamo in Washington, D.C.; Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix and Sejal Govindarao in Tucson, Arizona; Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama; and Michael Hill in Albany, New York, contributed to this report.
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