Signs of forced entry found at Arizona home of ‘Today’ show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Investigators found signs of forced entry at the Arizona home of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, a person familiar with the investigation said Tuesday, as the host asked for prayers to help bring back the 84-year-old, whom authorities believe was taken against her will.

The host described her mother as “a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant” in a social media post late Monday. She asked supporters to “raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. Bring her home.”

Law enforcement believes Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” anchor Savannah Guthrie, was abducted from her bed in Arizona.(Instagram/Savannah Guthrie, CNN Newsource)

Nancy Guthrie must be found soon because she could die without her medication, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said, urging whoever 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.

Investigators also found specific evidence in the home showing there was a nighttime kidnapping, the person told The Associated Press. Several of Guthrie’s personal items, including her cellphone, wallet and her car, were still there after she disappeared.

Investigators are reviewing surveillance video from nearby homes and working to analyze data from cellphone towers, Police are also reviewing information from license plate cameras in the area, according to the person, who was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the case and spoke to AP on condition of an anonymity.

The motive remains a mystery. Investigators do not believe at this point that the abduction was part of a robbery, home invasion or kidnapping-for-ransom plot, the person said.

For a second day Tuesday, “Today” opened with Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, but Savannah Guthrie was not at the anchor’s desk. Nanos said Monday that she is in Arizona. The host grew up in Tucson, graduated from the University of Arizona and previously worked as a reporter and anchor at Tucson television station KVOA.

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 to say Guthrie wasn’t there, leading family to search her home and then call 911, Nanos said.

Nancy Guthrie has limited mobility, and officials do not believe she left on her own. Nanos said she is of sound mind.

Nanos said investigators took samples they hope will provide at least part of a DNA profile, KVOA reported.

Searchers used drones and search dogs and were supported by volunteers and Border Patrol. The homicide team was also involved, Nanos said Sunday. The FBI has offered to help, sheriff’s department spokesperson Angelica Carrillo said.

On Monday morning, Nanos said search crews had been pulled back.

“We don’t see this as a search mission so much as it is a crime scene,” the sheriff said.

Even so, a sheriff’s helicopter flew over the desert Monday afternoon near Nancy Guthrie’s home in the affluent Catalina Foothills area on the northern edge of Tucson. Her brick home has a gravel driveway and a yard covered in prickly pear and saguaro cactus.

Savannah Guthrie, who has two siblings, was 16 when their father died. Nancy Guthrie raised them on her own. The host often brought her mother on “Today” as a guest.

“She has met unthinkable challenges in her life with grit, without self-pity, with determination and always, always with unshakeable faith,” Savannah said on the show in 2022 on Nancy Guthrie’s 80th birthday.

“She loves us, her family, fiercely, and her selflessness and sacrifice for us, her steadfastness and her unmovable confidence is the reason any of us grew up to do anything.”

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Billeaud reported from Phoenix.