By SEJAL GOVINDARAO and JACQUES BILLEAUD Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — NBC “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie said Wednesday that her family is ready to talk to people holding their 84-year-old mother, but they want to see proof that she is alive.
Guthrie said in a recorded video posted on social media that her family has heard media reports about a ransom letter for Nancy Guthrie, who authorities believe was taken from her home in Arizona against her will.
“We are ready to talk. However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated,” Savannah Guthrie said while reading from a prepared statement. “We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please reach out to us.”
The family posted the message after police conducted a search in and around Nancy Guthrie’s home for several hours in the late afternoon and early evening.
She was last seen Saturday around 9:45 p.m. when she was dropped off at home by family after having dinner with them, the sheriff’s department said. She was reported missing midday Sunday after she didn’t appear at a church.
Multiple media organizations reported receiving purported ransom notes Tuesday that they handed over to investigators. The sheriff’s department had said it was taking the notes and other tips seriously but declined to comment further.
Savannah Guthrie was at times emotional during the recording. Her voice cracked when she addressed her mother directly, saying that they were praying for her and that people were looking for her.
“Mommy, if you are hearing this, you are a strong woman. You are God’s precious daughter,” she said.
Authorities on Wednesday offered no detailed update on their search. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos’ office said detectives still were speaking with anyone who had contact with Nancy Guthrie last weekend but that no suspect or person of interest had been identified.
Nanos suggested there was video from some cameras, though he didn’t elaborate, adding: “That’s all been submitted and we’re doing our best with the companies that own those cameras or built those cameras.”
There were signs of forced entry at the home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood. Guthrie has limited mobility, and officials do not believe she left on her own. A sheriff’s dispatcher talking to deputies during a search Sunday indicated that she has high blood pressure, a pacemaker and heart issues, according to audio from broadcastify.com.
Jim Mason, longtime commander of a search-and-rescue posse in Maricopa County, isn’t involved in the search for Guthrie but said desert terrain can make looking for missing people difficult. He said it can be hard to peer into areas that are dense with mesquite trees, cholla cactus and other desert brush.
“Some of it is so thick you can’t drive through it,” Mason said.
On the other side of the country, Victory Church in Albany, New York, said it’s offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to finding Nancy Guthrie.
“Me and my wife, we watch Savannah every single morning. We’ve heard of her faith. We’ve heard of her mom’s faith. And she’s got such a sweet spirit,” Pastor Charlie Muller said.
The White House said President Donald Trump called and spoke with Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday.
“I spoke with Savannah Guthrie, and let her know that I am directing ALL Federal Law Enforcement to be at the family’s, and Local Law Enforcement’s, complete disposal, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “We are deploying all resources to get her mother home safely.”
For a third day, “Today” opened with Guthrie’s disappearance, but Savannah Guthrie was not at the anchor’s desk. NBC Sports said Tuesday that she will not be covering the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics “as she focuses on being with her family during this difficult time.”
The “Today” host grew up in Tucson, graduated from the University of Arizona and previously worked as a reporter and anchor at Tucson television station KVOA. Her parents settled in Tucson in the 1970s when she was a young child. The youngest of three siblings, she credits her mom with holding their family together after her father died of a heart attack at 49, when Savannah was just 16.
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Billeaud reported from Phoenix. Associated Press writers Michael Hill in Albany, New York, Darlene Superville in Washington and Julie Walker in New York City contributed.