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The search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie, has entered its third week with a combined reward now exceeding $200,000 for information leading to her whereabouts or the arrest of those responsible for her disappearance.
Guthrie vanished from her Tucson, Arizona home in the early morning hours of Saturday (February 1) after surveillance footage captured a masked and armed person tampering with her security camera. Authorities believe she was abducted while sleeping, and relatives discovered her missing around noon that day when she failed to appear for scheduled activities.
The reward total jumped dramatically Wednesday (February 18) after an anonymous donor contributed $100,000 to the local 88-CRIME tip line, raising that program's reward to $102,500. The FBI had already offered $100,000 for information leading to Guthrie's location and the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance. The combined amount now represents one of the largest rewards in a missing-person case in the region.
According to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, investigators have received more than 30,000 tips but have not publicly identified any suspects. The sheriff told media he remains confident authorities will locate Guthrie, even if it takes "10 days, 10 months, or worse," and suggested she is likely being held somewhere near her home region.
Forensic teams examining Guthrie's residence in the Catalina Foothills have identified biological material that does not belong to her. DNA profiles are undergoing laboratory analysis, though officials have not disclosed details about the substance or timing of its discovery. Investigators also recovered a glove roughly two miles from the home that appeared consistent with what the masked person was wearing in surveillance footage. That glove's DNA profile did not match entries in the FBI's CODIS database or samples collected from Guthrie's property.
Authorities have explored potential cross-border angles given Tucson's proximity to Mexico, located roughly an hour's drive away. The FBI has notified Mexican authorities of Guthrie's disappearance as standard procedure in cases near the frontier, though officials say there is no confirmed evidence she was taken across the border. A potential lead in Mexico's Sonora state was examined but did not progress, and there is no indication the case involves drug cartels or organized trafficking networks.
Sheriff Nanos publicly addressed online speculation earlier this week, stating that Guthrie's family, including all siblings and spouses, has been "cleared as possible suspects." He described the family as "nothing but cooperative and gracious" and called suggestions of family involvement "not only wrong, it is cruel."
The Guthrie family has repeatedly said it believes Nancy is alive and has offered to pay ransom if demanded. Unverified emails claiming to be ransom notes have circulated, including one seeking millions of dollars in cryptocurrency, but media outlets that received such messages said they were passed to the FBI for analysis.
Timeline details from the morning of the abduction show Guthrie's doorbell camera disconnected at 1:47 a.m., and the camera software detected a person at 2:12 a.m., though no video is available. Relatives responded to her home at 11:56 a.m. and called 911 at 12:03 p.m. after discovering she was missing.
Authorities continue to request that anyone with relevant information or video footage from the early morning hours of Saturday (February 1) come forward. Anyone with information is urged to call 911, the Pima County Sheriff's Department at 520-351-4900, or submit anonymous tips through 88-CRIME.