Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother, Nancy, lives alone in her home outside Tucson, Arizona, where she has resided since the 1970s. She has been missing since this Saturday night, and was reported missing by her family at noon on Sunday, February 1, after she did not go to church that day. Officials emphasize that Nancy has no cognitive issues and is “sharp as a tack.” Savannah, who recently returned to work at the Today Show following vocal cord surgery, has been away as she deals with this very concerning situation. She issued a statement yesterday thanking everyone for their concern and urging people with any information to call the Pima County Sheriff’s department. She also posted to Instagram asking for prayers for her mom. Rescue efforts initially focused on searching for Nancy and used teams of people along with heat-sensing drones. Unfortunately they’re now treating this as an abduction. The Pima County Sheriff has said that the scene at Nancy’s home is “concerning” and believe she did not leave on her own. Nancy cannot walk more than 50 yards and needs to take medication daily.
“Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy, is missing in Arizona in what police believe was an abduction from her home while she slept, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told CBS News on Monday.
“I believe she was abducted, yes,” Nanos said. “She didn’t walk from there. She didn’t go willingly.”
Nanos earlier Monday confirmed that her disappearance is being treated as a crime, and urged neighbors to review home video camera footage.
“We saw some things at the home that were concerning to us,” Nanos told reporters. “We believe now after we’ve processed that crime scene that we do in fact have a crime scene, that we do in fact have a crime, and we’re asking the community’s help.”
Nanos urged people who think they see Nancy Guthrie to take a picture or record a video and alert authorities. A missing person’s flier from the sheriff’s department said she is 5 feet, 5 inches tall, has brown hair and blue eyes and weighs 150 pounds.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, “is very limited in her mobility” and “we know she didn’t just walk out of there,” Nanos said, adding there are other aspects at the scene that indicate she did not leave on her own.
She doesn’t have any cognitive issues, but is in urgent need of her daily medication, authorities said.
“The clock is literally ticking,” Nanos said, referring to Nancy Guthrie’s need to take her medication. “It’s been more than 24 hours since she disappeared.”
guthrie-nancy-2.pngNanos said she lived by herself, and that the family told him “she couldn’t walk 50 yards. And so we know she couldn’t get far from that home unless she was removed from that home.”
“I want to stress to you, and it is really important: Miss Guthrie, Nancy Guthrie is of great sound mind,” Nanos told reporters. “This is not a dementia-related, she is as sharp as a tack. The family wants everybody to know this isn’t somebody who just wandered off.”
The sheriff said Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her home in the Catalina Foothills area at 9:30 p.m. Saturday. When she didn’t show up for church the next morning, family members went to her home, looked for her and called 911, he said.
Nanos didn’t provide additional details about what investigators found concerning at the home, citing the ongoing investigation. Sgt. David Stivers told reporters, “There were circumstances on scene that we believe are suspicious in nature, I think is the best way to put it.”
Nanos did not provide a possible motive and said there was no initial indication Nancy Guthrie was targeted because of her name, but noted, “We can’t dismiss that.”
I read on People Magazine that Nancy’s last appearance on the Today Show was in November, when she did a segment with Savannah returning to her hometown of Tucson. I’m including that below; it’s the second YouTube video. Nancy is shown at around minute 5:30. As outlets are pointing out, Tuscon is just 70 miles from the border to Mexico. This is such a scary situation and I hope that Nancy is ok. I can’t imagine what Savannah and her family are going through right now. Hopefully the media attention will help bring Nancy home safely very soon.
Photos credit: Getty Images and via Instagram and People.com