Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today Show host Savannah Guthrie was last seen at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31.
After the 84-year-old failed to show up for a church service the following morning a concerned friend called Nancy’s family. A search of her residence by her children ended in a call to authorities, who now believe she’s been abducted.
“I believe she was abducted, yes,” Nanos said. “She didn’t walk from there. She didn’t go willingly.” In a news conference, the sheriff revealed, “It is a crime scene. We know that… We do have a crime.” He added, “She did not leave on her own. We know that.”
Savannah Guthrie Asks for Prayers
In a post on social media posted late Monday night, Guthrie asked for prayers as the search for her mother continues.
“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 said. “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.”
She concluded her statement with, “Bring her home.”
The attempt to bring her home hit a slight snag, though.
Pima County Sheriff Offers Update on DNA Evidence
During an interview with CBS 5 host Briana Whitney, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos was asked if he believes they will find Guthrie alive.
“In terms of rescue versus recovery, I know you are still calling it a search and rescue. I also know your homicide detectives are part of this investigation,” Whitney began her segment with Nanos on Monday evening.
“Do you believe you are still looking for Nancy Guthrie alive at this point, that she could be held somewhere, and if so, do you believe that is local in the Tucson area, or that she’s been taken somewhere much further at this point?” she asked.
“I don’t… You know, we’re just not gonna give up hope. We hope she’s out there somewhere,” Nanos replied.
“So you still believe this is an active rescue mission at this point?” Whitney pressed the sheriff, who responded, “We hope so.”
He was later asked if the police were actively DNA testing where the sheriff revealed DNA testing has already begun, but police ran into a slight problem.
“We actually are. So we have our own DNA rapid testing here, and of course, we use a lab. But we’ve been told that the system here in Tucson is down, so we ran that up to Phoenix [Monday],” the sheriff responded. “So hopefully here we’ll know something from Phoenix that we can maybe get to our labs and get a rush order done from them, but even then it’s still a few days, and nothing’s fast enough, right?”
The sheriff also stressed that Nancy requires daily medication, of which she is currently without, that could prove “fatal” if she is unable to be found in a timely manner.
