Savannah Guthrie is asking anyone who recognizes the language in two ransom notes to contact investigators, six months after her mother, Nancy Guthrie, disappeared from her Tucson, Arizona, home.
In a new Instagram plea shared on August 1, the Today co-anchor described the continuing anguish experienced by her family and urged people to consider whether someone they know had displayed unusual behavior around the time Nancy vanished.
No suspect has been arrested, and Nancy’s location remains unknown.
Guthrie Says Her Family Is Desperate for Information
View this post on Instagram
Guthrie said her family has lived with pain and uncertainty since Nancy was taken from her home during the night six months earlier. She named her siblings, their spouses and other relatives while describing their shared determination to learn what happened. “We are begging for help. We are desperate,” Guthrie wrote. “We need someone to come forward.”
Guthrie reminded potential witnesses that they can provide information anonymously. Her family has offered a reward of up to $1 million for information assisting in Nancy’s recovery, while the FBI is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to her location or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.
Authorities Released Two Notes to Generate New Leads
View this post on Instagram
The plea followed the Pima County Sheriff’s Department’s July 31 release of two messages sent to a Tucson television station during the first week of the investigation. Authorities said the notes contain distinctive patterns of word choice, syntax and phrasing that may be recognizable to someone familiar with the writer.
The first message, dated February 2, demanded $4 million in bitcoin and warned that the amount would rise to $6 million if an initial deadline was missed. It also included details about Nancy’s home that appeared intended to demonstrate the writer’s knowledge of the disappearance.
A second message, received on February 6, claimed Nancy died shortly after being taken and had been buried outdoors. The FBI did not respond to Associated Press questions about whether both messages sent to the television station had been determined to be authentic.
An Armed, Masked Man Appeared on Her Doorbell Camera
Nancy, 84, was last seen at her Catalina Foothills residence on the evening of January 31. She was reported missing the following day after she failed to attend church as expected. Relatives who checked the home found that her wallet, cellphone, hearing aids and medication had been left behind. Blood later confirmed through DNA testing to belong to Nancy was discovered on the front porch.
Surveillance footage showed an armed, masked man tampering with her doorbell camera and attempting to obscure it with a plant. The FBI describes the unidentified man as approximately 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall with an average build.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said two recovered videos may have been recorded on separate days, potentially indicating that the man visited the property before Nancy was taken and prepared for the abduction. Investigators have asked the public to report anyone who suddenly changed their appearance, left the Tucson area, behaved differently or demonstrated an unexplained interest or lack of interest in the case.
The Family Wants Answers Even if Nancy Is No Longer Alive
Guthrie acknowledged that her family wants the opportunity to give Nancy a proper goodbye if she is no longer alive. She also criticized people who have treated the disappearance as entertainment or attempted to profit from the family’s loss. “We will never stop looking for answers,” Guthrie wrote before ending her message with another request: “Please. Bring her home.”
Anyone with information can contact the FBI at 1-800-225-5324 or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900. Digital photographs, doorbell-camera recordings and other files can also be submitted through the FBI’s Nancy Guthrie evidence portal.