Nancy Guthrie: FBI gives suspect description as reward increases to $100,000

TUCSON, Ariz. – The FBI has released descriptions of the suspect in connection with the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.

What we know:

In a post made to X, FBI officials described the suspect as a man who is about 5’9″ to 5’10” tall, with an average build.

The FBI said identifying details about the suspect were confirmed after “a forensic analysis of the doorbell camera footage by the FBI’s Operational Technology Division.”

Dig deeper:

In addition, the FBI announced it is increasing the reward for information that leads Nancy and/or the arrest and conviction of those involved to $100,000. Initially, it was $50,000.

The backstory:

Nancy, who is the mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie, was last seen on the night of Jan. 31 after being dropped off at her Catalina Foothills home near East Skyline Drive and North Campbell Avenue. She was reported missing the next day after her family was notified that she hadn’t shown up for church.

Authorities say she was taken from her home against her will and is without her necessary medication. Photos taken at the scene show blood drops on the porch of Nancy’s home.

On Feb. 11, FBI officials said they were “conducting an extensive search” along roadways in the Catalina Foothills area near Guthrie’s home.

“Numerous FBI agents are conducting an extensive search along multiple roadways in the Catalina Foothills area related to the Nancy Guthrie investigation,” the FBI’s Phoenix field office said in a statement. “We are asking the medi and motorists to follow all traffic laws and to remain especially cautious when passing law enforcement personnel near the roadways.”

According to Fox News, TMZ has reported that they have received another letter in connection with Guthrie’s disappearance.

Nancy Guthrie: TMZ says it received new letter in kidnapping

TMZ is reporting it received a new letter amid the search for Nancy Guthrie. TMZ says the sender of the letter claimed they knew the name of the alleged kidnapper and that they reached out to Guthrie’s family. The letter also demands a single bitcoin be sent to an active bitcoin address. A single bitcoin is worth about $66,000.

“An hour and a half ago, we got, kind of a bizarre letter, an email from somebody who says they know who the kidnapper is and that they have tried reaching Savannah’s sister Annie and Savannah’s brother, to no avail. And they said they want one Bitcoin sent to a Bitcoin address that we have confirmed is active. It’s a real Bitcoin address, and as they put it, time is more than relevant. So we have no idea whether this is real or not. But they are making a demand.” 

The man who was detained for questioning as a person of interest in the case on Feb. 10, but he was later released.

On Feb. 12, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department asked residents within a two-mile radius of Nancy’s home to submit “all video footage that includes vehicles, vehicle traffic, people/pedestrians, and anything neighbors deem out of the ordinary or important” from Jan. 1 to Feb. 2.

Also, the TMZ reported that they received another e-mail in connection with the case, and that the e-mail contains “ominous statements.”