“TODAY” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie is asking for prayers for her mother’s safe return as Arizona authorities continue to investigate her possible abduction.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing around noon Sunday from her home outside Tucson after she failed to show up at church, and her family searched her home and property for nearly an hour, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told NBC News. She was last seen the night before, around 9:45 p.m., when family members dropped her off at home.
Nanos said Monday that after what was initially a search-and-rescue operation, officials are treating her disappearance as a “crime.” He said the sheriff’s department believes she was taken “possibly in the middle of the night, and that includes possible kidnapping or abduction.”
No suspects have been identified, the sheriff’s office said Tuesday.
"We are taking all tips and leads very seriously. Anything that comes in, goes directly to our detectives who are coordinating with the FBI," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Nanos on Tuesday repeated pleas for help from the public.
Savannah Guthrie, who was absent from the “TODAY” show Monday and Tuesday, expressed her gratitude for the support Monday night on Instagram — and asked for prayers for her mother's safe return.
“We believe in prayer. We believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope. We believe in goodness. We believe in humanity. Above all, we believe in Him,” she wrote in a caption to an image that reads “Please pray.”
“Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant. Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment,” Savannah Guthrie added. “We need you.”
In a post Tuesday on X, the White House urged anyone with information about Guthrie’s disappearance to contact authorities. “Our prayers are with the Guthrie family as we hope for Nancy’s safe return home,” the post said.
Nanos declined to answer questions about the specifics of the investigation at a news conference Tuesday afternoon, including which evidence was found at the scene. He said authorities do not know whether Guthrie’s possible abduction was random or targeted.
“We’re following all leads,” Nanos said. “We’ve got hundreds of leads.”
The sheriff's office said in a statement that DNA samples confirmed to be those of Guthrie were collected from the home, but it said it has not confirmed that they were blood.
Detectives are also working through any pacemaker information that may be available, it said.
John Edwards, the FBI assistant special agent in charge in Tucson, told reporters that federal law enforcement officers were providing “analytical and technical support” and conducting interviews.
Guthrie has limited mobility and is without her necessary daily medication. She has no cognitive issues, and her disappearance was not linked to dementia, Nanos has said, describing her as “sharp as a tack.”
“We know she was harmed at the home, but we don’t know to what extent,” Nanos told NBC News.
In an interview later with the Arizona Daily Star newspaper of Tucson, Nanos refused to confirm or deny that she was harmed, saying he “misspoke or something.”
Nanos has not provided additional details about the investigation. He previously said authorities are not aware of any threats against Savannah Guthrie, who is now in Arizona.
