Savannah Guthrie, a national morning television co-host, made an emotional appeal on air Tuesday asking anyone with information about the disappearance of her mother to step forward. Speaking from her anchor seat and flanked by colleagues, she pleaded with viewers, saying she was begging people to come forward because "somebody knows something."
The broadcast plea came in the wake of reporting released Monday about a second note tied to the case that surfaced in early February, less than a week after 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie was last seen alive at her Tucson, Arizona home. According to the reporting, the second note characterized the elder Guthrie as having died but did not include an apology or seek payment for the return of a body. Investigators deemed that note credible, as they also had the first note, which reportedly demanded payment in cryptocurrency for Nancy Guthrie's release.
On Tuesday, the 54-year-old co-host said she had no comment on the reporting and was not involved in the news organization's coverage. She then described the continuing anguish across her family since her mother's disappearance. Nancy Guthrie, who had been in frail health and had limited mobility, was last seen on January 31 after spending an evening with her older daughter, Annie Guthrie, and Annie's husband.
"We are in agony. We cannot be at peace. No matter how much I try to come out here every day and smile and find that joy," she said, describing how the uncertainty has affected her and her relatives. Guthrie returned to the morning show in April after an extended leave following her mother's vanishing.
She reminded viewers that a $1 million reward remains available for information that leads to her mother's recovery, and she again urged those with knowledge to "please do the right thing for us, for our family, for our children." She concluded her appeal by promising that the family would never stop looking for Nancy Guthrie and that they love her mother.
Public and law enforcement attention to the case intensified in mid-February, when Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos and the FBI released surveillance video showing an armed figure wearing a ski mask tampering with the home’s doorbell camera shortly before the disappearance. Authorities later recovered a glove near the residence that resembled the pair seen on the masked individual in the footage.
Investigators obtained a DNA sample from that glove and compared it against profiles in a national database, but the sample did not produce a match. That development dashed hopes among investigators and the family that the test could directly identify a suspect. In a video message made after the DNA results were disclosed, Guthrie said the family continued to hold on to a faint hope that Nancy might be alive while acknowledging the painful possibility that she may already be gone.
Media coverage of the case has declined substantially since the detailed surveillance footage and law enforcement statements in February. Nonetheless, Guthrie’s public request on her weekday program underscores that the family and investigators remain actively seeking information despite the passage of more than four months since Nancy Guthrie was last seen.
Case status and public appeal: The family is continuing to solicit tips and has maintained a $1 million reward for information leading to recovery. Investigators considered two purported ransom notes credible, the first demanding cryptocurrency and the second asserting the elder Guthrie had died.
Evidence developments: Law enforcement released surveillance video of a masked armed individual near the home and recovered a glove with which they obtained a DNA sample. The DNA sample did not match any profiles in a national database.
Family response: Savannah Guthrie has returned to her on-air duties following an extended absence and has publicly described the family's anguish, urging anyone with information to contact authorities and promising they will not stop searching.