Nancy Guthrie disappearance: Day 19 latest updates

TUCSON, Ariz. – Feb. 19 marks the 19th day since Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her Tucson-area home. Investigators believe she was taken against her will.

What happened over the past few days?

Timeline:

On Wednesday, TMZ said they received a “highly sophisticated” ransom demand involving cryptocurrency.

“The email demands a dollar amount similar to the $6 million ransom demand in the previous email we received, days after the kidnapping. This email graphically describes the consequences if the ransom isn’t paid,” TMZ said.

TMZ said they forwarded the ransom demand to the FBI.

Investigators are also continuing to analyze biological evidence found at Nancy Guthrie’s residence. DNA profiles are currently under lab analysis, and the number of profiles remains part of their active investigation. 

88-CRIME received an anonymous donation of $100,000, increasing the reward to $102,500. This is in addition to the $100,000 FBI reward being offered. The FBI is not involved in the administration of any non-FBI rewards.

PCSD also said they are not releasing any details surrounding additional topics of “working with Mexican authorities, utilizing polygraph tests, specific video surveillance requests, financial analysis, etc.”

Dig deeper:

On Tuesday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said DNA from a glove that was found two miles from Guthrie’s home did not trigger a match in the national CODIS database. 

“Investigators are currently looking into additional investigative genetic genealogy options for DNA evidence to check for matches,” PCSD added.

Also on Tuesday, FOX 10 Investigator Justin Lum spoke one-on-one with Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who addressed some of the lingering questions about the case. 

“Your question really is on, again, the sheriff’s belief from day one that Nancy’s still here. You have no proof, nobody does, that she’s not, that she is deceased,” Sheriff Nanos said. “They ask me, ‘do I have proof of life?’ I ask them, ‘is there proof of death?’ I’m going to have that faith, and sometimes that faith, that hope is all we have. My team, 400 people out there in the field today, woke up this morning and went out there with the hope. And the belief that they’re going to find Nancy, and she’s gonna be okay. That family has that hope and belief. I’m not crushing that. We’re gonna continue working this case every minute of every day, and we will find her, and we’ll find you.”

Nanos also had a message for the person responsible.

“The individual doing this. Just let her go. It will work out better for you in the long run. Trust me. Just let her go. Take her to a park. Take her, take her to the hospital. Just let her go,” said Nanos.

On Monday, the sheriff’s department cleared the Guthrie family, including all siblings and spouses, as possible suspects in the case.

What they’re saying:

Savannah Guthrie issued a new plea on Instagram for the safe return of Nancy, speaking to “whoever has her.”

“I wanted to come on and… It’s been two weeks since our mom was taken, and I just wanted to come on and say that we still have hope and we still believe. And I wanted to say to whoever has her or knows where she is, that it’s never too late. And you’re not lost or alone. And it is never too late to do the right thing. And we are here. We believe. And we believe in the essential goodness of every human being. And it’s never too late.”

The backstory:

Guthrie went missing on the night of Jan. 31 and was reported missing on Feb. 1 when she didn’t show up for church. Since her disappearance, the FBI has released footage of her alleged abductor at her doorstep. The agency also increased its reward in the case to $100,000. A Wisconsin attorney, who is the president of Milwaukee Crime Stoppers, is also offering a $100,000 reward in the case.

PCSD and the FBI are working on finding Guthrie by searching rural and rigid terrain around the Tucson area, where Guthrie and her daughter, Annie, live. The sheriff’s department is asking for anyone within a 2-mile radius of Guthrie’s Catalina Foothills home to submit any footage they may have from Jan. 1 to Feb. 2 that they “deem out of the ordinary or important.”

Nancy Guthrie: Investigators seek help with video

As crews continue to search for Nancy Guthrie, investigators are also asking people who live in the area to check their surveillance video for anything unusual. FOX 10’s Nicole Krasean has more, from Tucson.

What you can do:

The FBI continues to urge anyone with information to contact its hotline at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has also set up a tipline where the community can submit information. A new online form is available for tips.

Map of the area where Nancy Guthrie was last seen: