Investigators believe the missing mother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie is "still out there," but they have not identified any suspects, a sheriff in Arizona said Thursday.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos also said DNA tests showed blood found on Nancy Guthrie's porch came back a match to her. Authorities think she was taken from her home in Tucson against her will over the weekend.
"Right now, we believe Nancy is still out there. We want her home," Nanos said at a news conference five days after she was reported missing. The sheriff, however, acknowledged that authorities have no proof she is still alive.
A day earlier, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings released an emotional message to her 84-year-old mother's kidnapper, but there has been no public sign of a response.
Savannah Guthrie said her family is ready to talk but wants proof their mom is still alive. In the heart-wrenching video posted on social media Wednesday, she acknowledged hearing media reports about a ransom letter.
"We are ready to talk. However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated," Savannah Guthrie 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 FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to either the recovery of Nancy Guthrie or the arrest of anyone involved in her disappearance. Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
She was last seen Saturday night when she was dropped off at her Tucson home by family after having dinner with them, the sheriff's department said. She was reported missing about 14 hours later on Sunday after she didn't show up at a church.
Nancy Guthrie has limited mobility, and officials don't believe she left on her own. A sheriff's dispatcher said during the search Sunday that Guthrie has high blood pressure, a pacemaker and heart issues, according to audio from broadcastify.com.
The neighborhood's desert terrain can make looking for people difficult, said Jim Mason, longtime commander of a search-and-rescue team in Maricopa County that isn't involved in the search. He said it can be hard to see into areas dense with mesquite trees, cholla cactus, and desert brush.
"Some of it is so thick you can't drive through it," Mason said.
At least three media organizations have reported receiving purported ransom notes that they handed over to investigators. The sheriff's department has said it was taking the notes and other tips seriously but declined to comment further.
A note emailed Monday to the KOLD-TV newsroom in Tucson included information that only the abductor would know, anchor Mary Coleman told CNN. It also included a dollar amount and a deadline, she said.
"When we saw some of those details, it was clear after a couple of sentences that this might not be a hoax," she said in an interview aired Wednesday.
Heith Janke, special agent in charge of the FBI's Phoenix field office, said one of the reported ransom notes had a deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday. He said there was a second deadline for Monday.
"So we are continuing in a normal kidnapping case; there would be contact by now, trying to discuss that," Janke said, according to NBC News. "But those are the time frames we're looking at as we move forward."
The family posted their plea after police searched in and around Nancy Guthrie's home for several hours Wednesday.
Investigators returned for the follow-up investigation after being at the home earlier in the week for a couple of days, said Kevin Adger, a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff's Department. He said the sheriff's department was not commenting on the family's video message.
Savannah Guthrie was emotional during the recording, with her voice cracking. She addressed her mother directly, saying 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.
Savannah Guthrie was flanked by her sister Annie and her brother Camron.
"Mamma, If you're listening, we need you to come home. We miss you," Annie Guthrie said.
President Donald Trump posted Wednesday night on Truth Social that he was directing federal authorities to help where they can. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that Trump spoke with Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday and "told her that the federal government is here to help."
"Any requests that are made by state and local officials in the search of Miss Guthrie will absolutely be accommodated," Leavitt told reporters. "I spoke with the FBI directly about that today as well. Our hearts and our prayers are with Savannah and her entire family as they search for her dear mother."
Authorities previously said Nancy Guthrie's pacemaker device stopped syncing with her Apple devices, including a watch and her iPhone, at about 2 a.m. Sunday, close to the time police believe she was abducted from her home. A cardiologist who treated former Vice President Dick Cheney said it could mean she was involved in a heart rate-surging struggle with her possible captors, the New York Post reported.
"If a person was in a physical struggle, that might have created a rapid heartbeat … the pacemaker would have detected that and potentially reported it," Dr. Jonathan Reiner told CNN.
Reiner also offered a less ominous reason for the pacemaker spike.
"A pacemaker not only has the ability to create a heartbeat, triggering a heart to beat, but it’s also a sophisticated monitor of the patient's heart rhythm, and a pacemaker is programmed to check in once a day, just to check in with its communication device and then ultimately the app that monitors it once a day," he said. "Typically that's at night, so at 2 o’clock in the morning, that’s all it might have been doing."
A couple hundred people prayed and placed lit candles on an altar during a vigil Wednesday night at a Tucson church.
Jeremy Thacker had tears in his eyes as he described the heartbreak and helplessness. He worked with Savannah Guthrie at an Arizona news station. They shared losing their fathers at a young age, and 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," Thacker said.
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