Local News
By Rory McNelley, Education and Enrichment Coordinator
The investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today’s Savannah Guthrie, continues since she was first listed as missing Feb. 1.
She did not attend her usual Sunday church service, prompting a friend to alert family members. A missing persons report was filed on Feb. 1 after Savannah and her siblings searched the area with no success.
Guthrie is described in the report as mentally alert but physically limited and requiring daily medication. Authorities declared her home a crime scene due to an indication of forced entry and struggle, disconnection of the house’s camera doorbell and blood belonging to Guthrie found on the porch.
Sheriff Chris Nanos of Pima County stated that investigators believe Guthrie was taken some time in the night against her will, considering her limited mobility. As of right now there are no suspects or persons of interest that have been publicly identified.
Savannah, Annie and Cameron Guthrie, Nancy Guthrie’s children, took to Instagram to release a statement pleading for the return of their mother.
“We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace; this is very valuable to us and we will pay,” they said in a video.
The FBI is one of the agencies investigating the kidnapping, though the investigation continues as Nancy Guthrie remains missing.
The family reportedly promised 6 million dollars in bitcoin as a reward for the safe return of Guthrie, the same amount cited in a ransom note received by a local news outlet days after the abduction. In the letter, potential kidnappers demanded the sum by Monday, Feb. 9.
The note said that Guthrie’s life “would be in peril” if the funds did not arrive by the Monday 5 p.m. deadline. Law enforcement still has not verified whether the note is real. There is still no proof that Guthrie is alive or that the authors of the ransom note have her.
Multiple FBI agents have warned against the authenticity of the note, citing the author’s specification that the sum be given in USD.
“If you’re domestic, why would you ever put USD? You put 6 million,” former FBI agent Michael Harrigan told The Post. There is speculation that people outside of the U.S. are using the Guthrie family’s vulnerability to make money from the situation.
