Savannah Guthrie renews plea nine months after mother's abduction

Savannah Guthrie asked the public again on Sunday for information about her mother, Nancy Guthrie, nine months after the 84-year-old was taken from her home near Tucson in a case with no named suspect and no arrests.

The TODAY co-anchor, 54, posted the image to Instagram on Sunday morning: a drawing her 12-year-old daughter, Vale, made of a blue umbrella in the rain, with the words, "I know it might not seem like it, but I really need my mommy." Guthrie wrote that she had found the old drawing that day and that it said a great deal about how she feels.

She addressed the post to Annie and Tommy, Cam and Kristine, Mike and herself, and to her mother's grandchildren, writing that the family aches for Nancy Guthrie and cannot move forward. The reward is still available, she wrote, and the family wants to celebrate Nancy Guthrie and give her the dignity she deserves. She thanked those who have shown kindness and asked people to join the family in praying without ceasing.

The night she disappeared

Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her home in the Catalina Foothills area near Tucson shortly before 10 p.m. on Jan. 31, according to Fox News. Family members had dropped her off that night, Newsweek reported. Her family reported her missing the next day.

A masked, armed individual was recorded on the home's doorbell camera, apparently tampering with the device. Investigators believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will in the early hours of Feb. 1. The home was declared a crime scene, and the case has been treated as a kidnapping rather than a voluntary departure.

She left without her phone and without critical medications, CNN reported. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said publicly that Nancy Guthrie did not leave on her own. A joint task force of the sheriff's department and the FBI is handling the investigation.

Neither agency has named a suspect or a person of interest in the nine months since, and no arrests have been announced.

Human remains found on Aug. 17 in a desert area near West Ajo Way and South La Cholla Boulevard, about 15 miles from the home, were not believed to be connected to the disappearance, authorities said at the time. CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller said that not believing there is a connection and officially ruling one out are different, because the second requires scientific evidence.

What the DNA work shows

Nanos said investigators recovered DNA from several gloves and other evidence soon after the disappearance, and that those profiles were being compared with samples from people known to have legitimate access to the home, Newsweek reported.

One glove, found about two miles from the home, appeared to match those worn by the person on the doorbell footage, the FBI said, but its DNA produced no match in CODIS, the FBI's national DNA database. In March, the sheriff's department said the gloves had been traced through DNA to a restaurant worker in the area who is not considered part of the investigation.

Nanos has said some of the DNA recovered could belong to the person responsible, but cautioned that the samples first had to be separated and analyzed. The sheriff's department said on Friday, Oct. 30, that the task force was continuing to work with laboratories, and that investigators had gone to Florida in October to consult lab scientists.

Earlier this month, investigators traveled to Florida to meet with lab scientists to see what more could be done to advance this case. A number of ideas were discussed, and we continue to work with all our partners to solve this case.

The department has not publicly identified the samples or the testing methods under consideration, and it told Newsweek on Friday night that it had no additional information to provide.

Two ransom notes, days apart

Authorities released the contents of two ransom notes in July. The first, sent Feb. 2, said Nancy Guthrie was safe and demanded $4 million in bitcoin for her release. The second, sent four days later, said she had died shortly after she was taken, of what the writer believed was a heart problem, and had been buried "in nature now."

The first note went to the Tucson CBS affiliate KOLD-TV and was addressed to Savannah Guthrie; the second was addressed to the Guthrie family. Newsweek reported that at least three news organizations, including TMZ, received purported ransom notes in early February demanding millions of dollars in bitcoin, and that authorities had not confirmed their authenticity at the time.

Investigators said the notes contained distinctive writing patterns and asked anyone who recognized the style to contact authorities, who released the documents in redacted form.

A new possible ransom text message reached the task force on Sept. 28. After reviewing it, investigators determined the message was not credible, the sheriff's department said on X, and it encouraged anyone who receives a communication about Nancy Guthrie to report it. TMZ reported that the note had been delivered to a woman who was a friend of Nancy Guthrie.

Criticism inside the department

Sgt. Aaron Cross, president of the Pima County Deputies Organization, told TMZ in August that the sergeant first put in charge had never worked a homicide and had been moved into the unit soon after a rapid promotion. He also described communication breakdowns that produced duplicated work, and called releasing the crime scene to the family so quickly the big misstep.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in May that the bureau had been kept out of the investigation for four days. Nanos said the FBI was promptly notified and that coordination began without delay.

It is a common belief in this agency that this case has become an ego case for Sheriff Nanos.

Nanos has said internal or political commentary distracts from an active investigation. The department has continued to describe the investigation as active and ongoing, and in its Oct. 30 update it said that even the smallest piece of information could be critical.

Savannah Guthrie took time away from TODAY after her mother disappeared and returned to the program in April. She rarely mentions the case on air. In June, on TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle, she rejected the suggestion that she had put the case out of her mind.

It's always with me. I cry every morning on the way to work, and I cry every morning on the way home.

In August, six months after the disappearance, Guthrie and her siblings issued a statement saying "our hearts are in ruins" and that they spend every waking moment thinking of their mother. They said they try to be strong because that is what she taught them. Guthrie has said the family has lived "every moment, every breath, and every heartbeat in agony and despair" since she vanished.

Rewards and tip lines

The FBI has increased its reward to $100,000 for information leading to Nancy Guthrie's location or an arrest, Newsweek reported. The Guthrie family is offering a reward of $1 million.

Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or to submit an anonymous tip to 88-CRIME at 520-882-7463. The sheriff's department has asked people who receive any communication about Nancy Guthrie to report it rather than respond to it.