The search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, has stretched into its fourth week, with key questions about what happened — and why — still unanswered.
By day 24 of the search, Savannah Guthrie announced that her family was offering up to $1 million for her mother’s return, while acknowledging that the elder Guthrie “may already be gone.”
Authorities believe 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, who has limited mobility, a pacemaker, and relies on daily medication for a heart condition, was abducted from her Arizona home in the middle of the night.
Investigators are still trying to identify the masked and armed man captured on footage recovered from Nancy Guthrie’s missing Nest doorbell camera the night she disappeared.
The case, which has drawn tens of thousands of tips from the public, has gripped the nation, amid reports of purported ransom notes and gut-wrenching video pleas by Savannah Guthrie and her siblings.
Below is a timeline of developments, from the last time Nancy Guthrie was seen to the latest updates in the case, based on information released by the FBI and local law enforcement.
The night Nancy Guthrie was last seen
On January 31, at around 5:30 p.m. MST, Nancy Guthrie went to her daughter, Annie Guthrie’s, local home for dinner.
The elderly woman was dropped off by her family members at her ranch-style home just outside Tucson, in the Catalina Foothills, just before 10 p.m. that night.
“We know that because we have the garage door open at approximately 9:48 p.m.,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos previously said. “At 9:50 p.m., that garage door closes.”
“It’s at that time we assume that Nancy’s home and probably going to bed,” he added.
The doorbell camera goes dark
At 1:47 a.m. on February 1, Nancy Guthrie’s doorbell camera disconnected, according to police.
At 2:12 a.m., the doorbell software detected a person on the camera.
Investigators initially could not retrieve that footage because Nancy Guthrie did not have a subscription to store her doorbell feed, Nanos said.
A break in the case came when authorities, with help from “private sector partners,” recovered some doorbell footage from “residual data located in backend systems,” said a statement on FBI director Kash Patel’s X account.
Sixteen minutes after the doorbell camera detected a person, police said that Nancy Guthrie’s pacemaker app disconnected from her phone.
Family calls 911
Nanos, the Pima County sheriff, said that Nancy Guthrie’s family went to her home to check on her at 11:56 a.m. on February 1 after learning that she had not shown up to church.
A sheriff’s department spokeswoman later clarified, telling news outlets that Nancy Guthrie was supposed to go to a friend’s house to watch a livestream of a church service, but never arrived.
After a frantic search of Nancy Guthrie’s home, family members called 911 to report her missing at 12:03 p.m. on February 1.
Authorities arrived minutes later, at 12:15 p.m. They found Nancy Guthrie’s doorbell camera removed and drops of blood on the front porch that later matched back to her.
Purported ransom notes surface
In the days following Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, purported ransom notes were sent to local and national media outlets.
One note included a monetary demand with two deadlines, FBI Phoenix’s special agent in charge, Heith Janke, said at a February 5 press conference. The deadlines have since passed.
Authorities have not publicly verified the authenticity of the ransom notes, but they said they were taking them “seriously” as with all leads.
A California man was arrested on February 5 and charged with sending a fake ransom demand to the Guthrie family.
Savannah Guthrie urges abductors to make contact
Savannah Guthrie released her first video message on February 5, begging for her mother’s safe return.
In a video released on Instagram, the famed NBC anchor sat alongside her siblings, Annie Guthrie and Camron Guthrie, and spoke directly to those who may have her mother.
“We, too, have heard the reports about a ransom letter in the media,” Savannah Guthrie said.
She continued, “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. We want to hear from you, and we are ready to listen. Please, reach out to us.”
Another Guthrie family message — and a promise to pay
In a somber Instagram video with her siblings on February 7, Savannah Guthrie told her mother’s abductors: “We received your message and we understand.”
“We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,” the “Today” show host said. “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
Savannah Guthrie begs the public for help
On February 9, as the search entered its ninth day with no major developments, Savannah Guthrie posted a fourth Instagram video, this time urging the public for help.
“We are at an hour of desperation, and we need your help,” she said, adding, “We believe our mom is still out there.”
“Law enforcement is working tirelessly around the clock trying to bring her home, trying to find her. She was taken, and we don’t know where,” Savannah Guthrie said.
An FBI spokesperson told Business Insider on February 10 that the agency was “not aware of any continued communication between the Guthrie family and suspected kidnappers, nor have we identified a suspect or person of interest in this case at this time.”
A break in the case
On day 10 of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department released videos and images of a suspect in the case.
The black-and-white footage retrieved from the Google-owned Nest doorbell camera mounted outside the woman’s home showed a fully masked person, who authorities say was armed, at the front door the night she was taken.
The person, wearing a backpack and gloves, appears to hold a flashlight in his mouth and attempts to block the camera lens with plants.
It was not clear what time the footage was recorded. Some news reports have since suggested the released images of the person were taken on two different days.
“There is no date or time stamp associated with these images. Therefore, any suggestion that the photographs were taken on different days is purely speculative,” Brittany Abarr, a spokeswoman for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, told Business Insider on February 24.
Abarr referred any other related questions to the FBI, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Authorities have described the suspect as a man of average build, standing about 5 feet and 9 to 10 inches tall. Investigators believe he was wearing a 25-liter “Ozark Trail Hiker” backpack sold exclusively at Walmart.
‘Persons of interest’ and thousands of tips
Patel, the FBI director, told Fox News in an interview on February 10 that law enforcement was looking at “people who, as we say, are persons of interest.”
“But as you know, with any investigation, you are a person of interest until you are either eliminated or you are actually found to be the culprit or the culprits involved, and that’s the stage we’re at right now. “
Just days into the investigation, the FBI offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information related to Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance. That reward was later upped to $100,000.
Both the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department have received tens of thousands of tips since the woman’s disappearance.
Guthrie family ruled out as suspects
Nanos, the Pima County sheriff, said in a statement on February 16 that the Guthrie family, including all siblings and spouses, has been cleared as possible suspects in the case.
“The family has been nothing but cooperative and gracious and are victims in this case,” Nanos said. “To suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is cruel.”
The Guthrie family, the sheriff said, “are victims plain and simple.”
No suspects or persons of interest have been publicly identified by investigators.
Analysis of DNA found at Nancy Guthrie’s home
Investigators with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department have been analyzing “biological evidence” found at Nancy Guthrie’s home.
On February 21, Angelica Carrillo, a department spokeswoman, said, “All evidence from the crime scene and search warrant scenes has been submitted for analysis.”
“As with any biological evidence, there can be challenges separating DNA,” she said, adding that there were “no updates regarding this process.”
Meanwhile, investigators were not ruling out the possibility that more than one person may be involved in the woman’s disappearance, the sheriff’s department said.
Savannah Guthrie announces $1 million family reward
In a tearful Instagram video posted on February 24, Savannah Guthrie said her family still believes “in a miracle,” but added, “We also know that she may be lost.”
“If this is what is to be, then we will accept it,” a visibly emotional Savannah Guthrie said.
The “Today” show host said while her family is confronting the possibility of the worst, “We need to know where she is.”
“We need her to come home,” she said. “For that reason, we are offering a family reward of up to $1 million for any information that leads us to her recovery.”
Read the full article here
