A sign showing support from neighbors is posted at the home of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of US journalist and television host Savannah Guthrie, who went missing from her home in Tucson, US on February 9, 2026. | Image Credit: Reuters
US television network news host Savannah Guthrie took to social media on Monday (February 9, 2026) to plead for the public’s help in locating her elderly mother, who disappeared from her Arizona home a week ago in a kidnapping for ransom.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen Jan. 31, leaving her home near Tucson after family members had dinner with her, and relatives reported her missing the next day, authorities said.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said the elder Guthrie had extremely limited mobility and could not leave her home without assistance, leading investigators to the initial conclusion that she had been abducted.
Since then at least two apparent ransom notes have surfaced, both initially delivered to the news media.
“We believe our mother is still out there,” Ms. Guthrie, 54, co-anchorNBC’s “Today” Show, said in four video messages she and other relatives posted to Instagram in recent days.
“Law enforcement has been working tirelessly trying to bring her home, trying to find her. She was taken, and we don’t know where. And we need your help,” Ms. Guthrie said.
Anyone who notices “anything strange” related to his mother’s fate is asked to report it to law enforcement, “even if you’re far from Tucson,” he said, adding, “We’re in a desperate hour.”
The message, dated Monday (February 9, 2026), was included in a ransom note sent to several media outlets last week, days after the elder Guthrie disappeared. The initial deadline set in that letter for last Friday at 5pm came and went.
A second apparent ransom note went out Friday after family members pleaded with anyone holding Nancy Guthrie to open a direct line of communication, the FBI and the Sheriff’s Department said.
Also Read | US news anchor Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy, is missing; Family renews appeal to kidnappers
On Saturday (February 7, 2026), Savannah Guthrie appeared with her brother and sister in a poignant video message directed at their mother’s captors, pleading for their return but making no clear reference to whether she is believed to still be alive. “It’s the only way we can have peace,” the TV host said in a message on Saturday (February 7, 2026). “It is very valuable to us and we will pay.”
Adding to the concern about Nancy Guthrie’s future is the fragile state of her health and her dependence on daily medication.
A nine-day search for Nancy Guthrie is unknown, yielding no evidence of life. And on Sunday, the sheriff said investigators needed to identify “any suspects, persons of interest or vehicles related to this case.”
When asked last Thursday (Feb. 5, 2026), Nanos admitted whether he feared she was dead, but added, “We operate from a position until we know, she’s out there, she’s alive, and we’ll think that way until we find her.”
Nanos confirmed reports that DNA test results determined the blood on the front door porch steps of the victim’s home came from her.
The FBI on Thursday (Feb. 5, 2026) offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.
Published – February 10, 2026 at 07:01 am IST
