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US NEWS ANCHOR Savannah Guthrie has issued a public message pleading for the return of her 84-year-old mother and asking for proof that she is alive.
Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was taken from her home in Arizona against her will.
She was last seen at around 9.45pm on Saturday, when she was dropped off at home by family after having dinner with them, the sheriff’s department said. She was reported missing at midday on Sunday after she did not appear at a church.
In a recorded video posted on social media, Samantha Guthrie said her family have heard media reports about a ransom letter for her mother.
“We are ready to talk. However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated,” the NBC host said while reading from a prepared statement.
“We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please reach out to us.”
The family posted the message after police conducted a search in and around Nancy Guthrie’s home for several hours yesterday.
Kevin Adger, a spokesman for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, said investigators had been at the home earlier in the week for a couple of days and then turned it back over to the family with the understanding they could go back if they needed to.
“This is a follow-up investigation,” he said in reference to officials returning yesterday.
Adger said the sheriff’s department was not commenting on the video released by the family.
Multiple media organisations reported receiving purported ransom notes on Tuesday that they handed over to investigators. The sheriff’s department had said it was taking the notes and other tips seriously but declined to comment further.
Savannah Guthrie, who hosts NBC’s Today programme, was at times emotional during the recording, with her voice cracking.
She smiled and looked into the camera when addressing her mother directly, saying that the family was praying for her and that people were looking for her. “Mommy, if you are hearing this, you are a strong woman. You are God’s precious daughter,” she said.
Savannah Guthrie described her mother as a “kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light” and said she was funny, spunky and clever.
“Talk to her and you’ll see,” she said.
Guthrie was flanked by her sister Annie and her brother Camron who both also spoke. Annie called their mother their beacon and said they need her.
“Mamma, if you’re listening, we need you to come home. We miss you,” Annie Guthrie said.
Authorities yesterday offered no detailed update on their search.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos’s office said detectives still were speaking with anyone who had contact with Nancy Guthrie last weekend but that no suspect or person of interest had been identified.
Nanos suggested there was video from some cameras, though he did not elaborate, adding: “That’s all been submitted and we’re doing our best with the companies that own those cameras or built those cameras.”
There were signs of forced entry at the home in the Catalina Foothills neighbourhood. Nancy Guthrie has limited mobility, and officials do not believe she left on her own.
A sheriff’s dispatcher talking to deputies during a search on Sunday indicated that she has high blood pressure, a pacemaker and heart issues, according to audio from Broadcastify.
Jim Mason, long-time commander of a search-and-rescue posse in Maricopa County, is not involved in the search for Nancy Guthrie but said desert terrain can make looking for missing people difficult. He said it can be hard to peer into areas that are dense with mesquite trees, cholla cactus and other desert brush.
“Some of it is so thick you can’t drive through it,” Mason said.
A couple of hundred people attended an evening vigil for Nancy Guthrie at a Tucson church where they heard prayers and placed lit candles on an altar. A priest prayed for God to comfort Nancy Guthrie and to bring her home to those she loves.
Afterwards, Jeremy Thacker had tears in his eyes as he described the heartbreak and helplessness he was experiencing over Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance. He worked with Savannah Guthrie at a local news station and they shared losing their fathers at a young age. His own sister was kidnapped when he was young.
Thacker said he knew Nancy Guthrie to be sharp, grounded and earnest. “We’re all holding our breath,” he said.
On the other side of the country, Victory Church in Albany, New York, said it is offering a $25,000 (€21,000) reward for information that leads to finding Nancy Guthrie.
“Me and my wife, we watch Savannah every single morning. We’ve heard of her faith. We’ve heard of her mom’s faith. And she’s got such a sweet spirit,” pastor Charlie Muller said.
The White House said US president Donald Trump called and spoke with Savannah Guthrie yesterday.
“I spoke with Savannah Guthrie, and let her know that I am directing ALL Federal Law Enforcement to be at the family’s, and Local Law Enforcement’s, complete disposal, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“We are deploying all resources to get her mother home safely.”
With reporting from Press Association
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