In brief
Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy, aged 84, has been reported missing from her Tucson home, and police suspect she may have been taken against her will. The Pima County Sheriff's Department is prioritizing her case, highlighting the urgent need for her medication. Savannah, who is in Arizona, has called for prayers for her mother's safe return.
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Today show host Savannah Guthrie is asking for prayers to help bring home her 84-year-old mother, whom authorities in Arizona believe was kidnapped or taken against her will. 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 wrote in a social media post late Monday. Bring her home. It’s imperative that Nancy Guthrie be found soon because she could die without her medication, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said, urging anyone who has her to free her. If she’s alive right now, her meds are vital. I can’t stress that enough. It’s been better than 24 hours, and the family tells us if she doesn’t have those meds, it can become fatal, Nanos said. For a second day Tuesday, Today opened with Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, but Savannah Guthrie was not at the anchor’s desk. Nanos stated that Savannah is in Arizona. She grew up in Tucson, graduated from the University of Arizona and previously worked as a reporter and anchor at KVOA-TV in Tucson. Nancy Guthrie was last seen Saturday night at her home in the Tucson area, where she lived alone, and was reported missing Sunday. Someone at church called a family member saying Guthrie wasn’t there, leading family to search her home and subsequently call 911. The sheriff’s department is investigating the possibility she was taken overnight. Nancy has limited mobility and officials don’t believe she left on her own. Nanos mentioned she is of sound mind. Searchers have employed drones and search dogs and received support from volunteers and Border Patrol. The homicide team is also involved, and the FBI has offered assistance. On Monday morning, Nanos reported that search crews had worked hard but were later pulled back. He noted, We don’t see this as a search mission so much as it is a crime scene. A sheriff’s helicopter flew over the desert Monday afternoon near Nancy Guthrie’s home in the Catalina Foothills area on the northern edge of Tucson, where her brick home features a gravel driveway and a yard of Prickly Pear and Saguaro cactus.
