Savannah Guthrie has shared a new video statement pleading for missing mom Nancy Guthrie’s safe return less than four hours before the latest ransom deadline.
“I just wanted to come on and share some thoughts as we enter into another week of this nightmare,” Savannah, 54, said in a video shared via Instagram on Monday, February 9, before thanking viewers for their prayers
“We believe that somehow, some way, [Nancy] is feeling these prayers and that God is lifting her even in this moment and in this darkest place,” the Today cohost continued. “We believe our mom is still out there.”
Savannah then asked viewers for help to bring Nancy, 84, home safely.
“We need your 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,” Savannah added. “So, 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.”
The NBC personality said the search for Nancy is in an “hour of desperation.”
In the caption, Savannah wrote, “Please. Bring her home. We need you. She needs you. All of you.”
Nancy was reported missing in Tucson, Arizona, by her family on February 1 after she was last seen the previous evening. A friend of Nancy’s from church noticed that she did not attend that Sunday’s service and alerted one of Nancy’s children, who checked on her home and then contacted the police. (Nancy shared Savannah, daughter Annie, 56, and son Camron, 61, with late husband Charles Guthrie.)
Law enforcement believes that Nancy was taken from her home, citing mobility issues that would have made it difficult for her to leave on her own, as well as evidence.
Savannah’s video comes three and a half hours before the 5 p.m. MST deadline outlined in a ransom note sent to multiple local and national news outlets last week. The initial deadline provided in the letter passed on Thursday, February 5, but a second deadline of Monday at 5 p.m. was also given.
Multiple ransom letters have been reported amid Nancy’s disappearance, with one demanding $6 million in bitcoin in exchange for her return, according to Tucson ABC affiliate KGUN9.
One California man named Derrick Callella was arrested last week for sending a fake ransom letter to Annie and her husband, Tommaso Cioni. Callella was charged with two counts of transmitting communication containing a demand or request for ransom in exchange for the release of a kidnapped person.
In a statement shared by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI on Saturday, February 7, it was revealed that a “new message” about Nancy’s disappearance had been sent to Arizona station 13 News.
“The FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department are aware of a new message regarding Nancy Guthrie,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said. “Investigators are actively inspecting the information provided in the message for its authenticity.”
Nanos continued, “While this is one new piece of information, the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department are still asking anyone with tips to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. The FBI continues to offer a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.”
One day after the latest message was received, Nancy and her siblings shared a video offering to pay the ransom money.
“We received your message and we understand,” Savannah said while holding hands with Annie and Camron. “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.”
