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Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos confirmed that his department is now investigating a possible incident at the home of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of TODAY Show host Savannah Guthrie, that took place three weeks before the 84-year-old was kidnapped.
“We do believe that something occurred on Jan. 11, and that’s with the FBI’s analysis of the equipment and digital stuff they’ve done,” Nanos told KOLD on Monday (March 23).
Nanos, who is leading the investigation and has faced backlash as the search continues into its 52nd day, didn't expand on what evidence led to the sudden focus on that date. Guthrie is believed to have been abducted in the early hours of February 1, when security footage later recovered from her doorbell camera captured a masked man on her doorstep.
The investigation into Guthrie's disappearance has no clear suspects nor strong leads more than a month after being launched on February 1. Savannah shared a statement on behalf of her family "desperately" pleading to the Tucson, Arizona, community to give "renewed attention" to her mother's kidnapping case in a statement shared on her Instagram account on behalf of her family Sunday (March 22).
"We are deeply grateful for the outpouring from neighbors, friends and the people of Tucson. We are family now," the Guthrie family said. "We continue to believe it is Tucsonans, and the greater Southern Arizona community, that holds the key to finding resolution in this case. Someone knows something. It's possible a member of this community has information that they do not even realize is significant.
"We hope people search their memories, especially around the key timelines of January 31 and the early morning hours of February 1, as well as the late evening of January 11.
"We desperately ask this community for renewed attention to our mom's case -- please consult camera footage, journal notes, text messages, observations, or conversations that in retrospect may hold significance.
"No detail is too small. It may be the key.
"We miss our mom with every breath, and we cannot be in peace until she is home. We cannot grieve; we can only ache and wonder. Our focus is solely on finding her and bringing her home.
"We want to celebrate her beautiful and courageous life, but we cannot do that until she is brought to a final place of rest.
"Thank you for continuing to pray without ceasing."
Savannah, her sister, Annie Guthrie, and brother-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, carried flowers while being escorted by Pima County Sheriff's Department deputies to the memorial site in front of Nancy's home in a video shared by NewsNation reporter Brian Entin earlier this month. The TODAY Show anchor also shared a photo of flowers at the memorial on her Instagram account.
"We feel the love and prayers from our neighbors, from the Tucson community and from around the country 💛," Savannah wrote. "Please don’t stop praying and hoping with us. Bring her home."