Live updates: 'We need your help,' Savannah Guthrie says as search for her mother enters second week
In a video shared Monday, the "TODAY" show co-anchor said the family believes Nancy Guthrie is "still out there" and is "at an hour of desperation."
What to know
- It has been more than a week since the mother of “TODAY” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie was reported missing, and authorities said Saturday they have not identified any suspects, persons of interest or vehicles connected to the case.
- Nancy Guthrie, 84, was dropped off at her home outside Tucson, Arizona, the night of Jan. 31 and was reported missing about noon Feb. 1.
- In an Instagram video today, Savannah Guthrie said the family believes Guthrie is "still out there." She asked viewers to report anything “strange” to law enforcement. "We are at an hour of desperation, and we need your help."
- The FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Friday that the agencies are aware of a "new message" regarding Guthrie. It’s not clear what kind of message it is and if it is connected to the possible ransom note that was sent to three news outlets.
- In a new video Saturday night, Savannah Guthrie addressed her mother's possible kidnapper and begged for her return. “This is very valuable to us, and we will pay,” she said.
FBI says it's working around the clock for a break in the investigation
The FBI said it has agents, analysts and professional staff working around the clock in the search for Nancy Guthrie.
"Additional personnel from FBI field offices across the country continue to deploy to Tucson," the agency said in a statement this afternoon. "We are currently operating a 24-hour command post that includes crisis management experts, analytic support, and investigative teams.”
'We believe our mom is still out there' and 'we need your help,' Savannah Guthrie says in new video
In a new Instagram video, Savannah Guthrie thanked the public for praying for the safe return of her 84-year-old mother, who has been missing for more than a week.
"We believe that somehow, some way, she is feeling these prayers and that God is lifting her even in this moment and in this darkest place," the "TODAY" co-anchor said of her mother, Nancy Guthrie. "We believe our mom is still out there."
Savannah Guthrie, speaking directly to the camera, said her family needs the public's help.
"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, and we need your help," she said.
"I’m coming on just to ask you, not just for your prayers, but no matter where you are, even if you’re far from Tucson, if you see anything, you hear anything, if there’s anything at all that seems strange to you, that you report to law enforcement," she added. "We are at an hour of desperation, and we need your help."
Trump is 'closely following' investigation, White House press secretary says
President Donald Trump has been "closely following" the Guthrie investigation and "receiving frequent updates," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
FBI provides summary of resources in Guthrie investigation
The FBI said it has deployed additional intelligence and personnel from its Phoenix office and other FBI field offices to assist in the Guthrie investigation.
The agency is also staffing a 24-hour command post with agents who investigate incoming leads and tips.
"The FBI has agents, analysts, and professional staff working day and night with our partners at the sheriff’s department," the agency said in a statement.
Members of the cellular analysis survey team (CAST) are assisting and continue to collect and process digital data as detectives review and analyze information from various sources, including banks and social media.
‘TODAY’ co-hosts discuss ‘uncharted territory’ of reporting on Guthrie investigation
As the search for “TODAY” co-host Savannah Guthrie’s mother stretches into its second week, her colleagues acknowledged today the “uncharted territory” of reporting on the story.
“Our ‘TODAY’ family continues to navigate uncharted territory, balancing the updates on the search for Savannah’s mom with all the other stories of the day, like we normally do,” co-host Craig Melvin said. “But we know things are far from normal right now, so folks, we are asking for your grace as we continue to do this.”
Hoda Kotb, who returned to the anchor desk alongside Melvin as Savannah Guthrie remains in Arizona, reiterated that while the Guthrie family remains their “biggest priority,” they also have a job to do.
'TODAY' show viewers share messages of support
Over the weekend, viewers of the "TODAY" show from across the country shared heartwarming messages of support for Savannah Guthrie and her family.
"Praying for the safe return of your precious mother," one viewer wrote. "Sending so many endless prayers."
Another viewer told the Guthrie family that they have "millions of people around the world who are standing with and praying for you."
"So we know everybody is feeling the way we are," Jenna Bush Hager said, getting emotional.
Hoda Kotb said she went to Guthrie's church on Sunday and felt like "every single person there was like-minded and the outpouring was incredible for her, her family, her loved ones all over the country."
Former FBI hostage negotiator says open communication is key in negotiations
Chip Massey, a retired FBI hostage negotiator and CEO of Convincing Company, said it's a good thing that Savannah Guthrie's family continues to address their mother's possible kidnapper.
"In hostage negotiation, the key is keep the lines of communication open. As long as somebody’s talking, we’re doing OK." Massey said on NBC News NOW.
In a new video Saturday night, Guthrie said the family would "pay" for Nancy Guthrie's return.
Three officials briefed on the investigation said the video was in response to a second note. NBC News has not reviewed a copy of the second note.
See a timeline of the night Guthrie disappeared
Authorities investigating the disappearance of “TODAY” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie’s mother provided a timeline Thursday of the night she went missing.
The timeline was among the most precise information provided by Arizona law enforcement officials since Guthrie was reported missing around noon Sunday, setting off a desperate search that now includes both state and federal agencies.
Authorities return to Guthrie’s home to conduct search
Authorities are still trying to find answers more than a week now since Guthrie went missing from her Tucson home.
NBC's "TODAY" show, co-anchored by Hoda Kotb in Savannah Guthrie's absence, reported today that the FBI and sheriff’s deputies conducted another extensive search of Guthrie’s property over the weekend, and Savannah Guthrie posted a new video along with her siblings with a message for their mother’s possible captors.
"TODAY" co-anchor Craig Melvin repeated a plea for anyone with information about Guthrie's disappearance to contact law enforcement officials.
Video by Savannah Guthrie was response to second note, sources say
A video Saturday by Savannah Guthrie, with her brother and sister at her side, was a response to a second note sent about their mother Friday, three officials briefed on the investigation said.
That note was sent to Tucson television station KOLD. Authorities are still trying to determine conclusively whether the second note has the same origin as the first ransom note that several news outlets received, and whether either is connected to anyone behind Guthrie's disappearance, according to the FBI and sheriff's officials in Pima County, where she lives.
The Guthrie family has been apprised of the efforts to investigate the notes and the case itself, the three officials briefed said.
On Friday, FBI agents were on the roof and in vegetation at Guthrie’s home, video of the location showed. They worked until nightfall and towed a vehicle believed to be Guthrie’s from the home, according to the video.
On Saturday night, sheriff's detectives were at the home of Guthrie's daughter Annie Guthrie, as part of a follow-up search in the normal course of the case, a spokesperson confirmed.
The search was consented to, two of the three officials briefed on the search said.
No suspects in the case, sheriff's department says
The Pima County Sheriff's Department has said there are no suspects, persons of interest or vehicles that have been identified in the case.
Detectives remain on the active case, and details of their follow-up trips to multiple locations will not be disclosed, the department said yesterday.
News conferences will not be held until there are significant developments that warrant announcement, the department said.
Guthrie’s church asks congregation to pray for missing 84-year-old
As the search for Guthrie enters its second week, parishioners were asked to pray for the missing 84-year-old yesterday at the church where she’s been a congregant for decades.
John Tittle, the pastor at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, led a prayer early in the service as he said the congregation continued to stand with the Guthrie family.
“We are seeking to just honor the family’s privacy and their desires,” Tittle said. “It was communicated to me, ‘pray.’ We’re going to keep praying through this horrific ordeal.”
Deputies assigned to provide security at Guthrie home
Deputies have been assigned to provide security at the Tucson-area home of Guthrie, the Pima County Sheriff's Department said.
Deputies were assigned to "maintain a presence" at Guthrie's home in the Catalina Foothills at the request of the Guthrie family, the sheriff's department said in a statement yesterday.
Savannah Guthrie tells mother’s possible kidnapper ‘we will pay’ in new video
“TODAY” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie addressed her mother’s possible kidnapper in a new Instagram video yesterday, saying the family would “pay” for the 84-year-old woman’s safe return.
“We received your message and we understand,” Savannah Guthrie said, seated alongside her brother, Camron Guthrie, and sister, Annie Guthrie. “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,” Savannah Guthrie said in closing, holding her siblings’ hands.
Guthrie’s video did not provide specifics about the message she referenced.
What we know about the search for Guthrie
The desperate search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC’s “TODAY” show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, is ongoing, with mounting questions about what happened to her and concerns for her physical health.
Guthrie, 84, was reported missing Sunday from her home in the Catalina Foothills, an unincorporated community north of Tucson, Arizona.
Authorities have described the case as a possible kidnapping or abduction, and there have been reports of ransom notes.
