President Trump says he wants the death penalty for Guthrie’s kidnapper
President Donald Trump has said he wants the death penalty for Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper.
Law enforcement is asking anyone with information to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI or the Pima County Sheriff’s Office tips.fbi.gov. (520-351-4900) or 88-CRIME.
The search for Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother is in its fourth week as Arizona authorities say the case remains unsolved.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI continue to search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of the “Today” anchor. Guthrie was reported missing from her home in Arizona on Sunday, February 1st, and has been missing since Saturday, January 31st. As the investigation dragged on for another week without any major developments or arrests, the Sheriff’s Office announced on February 21 that it still had “hundreds of law enforcement personnel” dedicated to the investigation. Find Guthrie.
Earlier this month, the FBI released an image showing a masked man appearing to be fiddling with a camera on Guthrie’s doorstep the morning she disappeared, but the identity of the person in the image has not been determined. Law enforcement has ruled out the entire Guthrie family as suspects.
The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to Guthrie’s recovery or the arrest and conviction of those responsible for her disappearance.
The status of the incident as of Sunday, February 22nd is as follows:
Savannah Guthrie mom case latest update: Investigation remains ‘in progress,’ authorities say
The latest information comes from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, which issued a statement on February 21 claiming the investigation remains “ongoing.” This update comes at the end of a week where there appeared to be little major progress in search.
On February 21, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office said, “Resources in this investigation remain unchanged and may fluctuate daily based on leads in the investigation. Hundreds of law enforcement personnel remain dedicated to this case. An active investigation will continue until Nancy Guthrie is located or all leads are exhausted.”
The sheriff’s office also confirmed that detectives and investigators were back in the Guthrie area on Feb. 21 “on patrol as part of an investigation,” but did not provide further details.
In an interview with NBC News on Feb. 20, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos addressed the pace of the investigation, telling the network, “Sometimes things take a while.” But he added that the investigation is “still growing” rather than shrinking “in terms of leads, efforts and the opening of investigations.”
“We’re not quitting,” Nanos told NBC. “We’ll find her.”
Are there any suspects in the Nancy Guthrie case?
Authorities are still working to identify the masked man seen at Guthrie’s door the morning she disappeared in doorbell camera footage released earlier this month, but the sheriff’s office said on February 20 that authorities “have not ruled out the possibility that more than one person is involved.”
However, Nanos told NBC News on February 20 that “we are getting closer and closer to identifying other items” of clothing, including shoes, pants and a jacket, that the man was wearing in the video.
The FBI previously said the man seen in the surveillance video was “approximately 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall and of average build.” He was wearing an Ozark Trail Hiker Pack, a backpack sold exclusively at Walmart. The Sheriff’s Office announced last week that investigators were working with Walmart to identify the person who purchased the backpack.
The clothing seen in the video “may have been purchased from Walmart, but is not exclusively available at Walmart,” the sheriff’s office said in a Feb. 16 statement.
Authorities are continuing to analyze DNA found at Guthrie’s residence. Investigators previously confirmed on February 13 that DNA not belonging to Guthrie or anyone who had “close contact with her” had been collected from her property and submitted for analysis. In a Feb. 21 update, the Sheriff’s Office said that “laboratory experts are working on its analysis” but that “as with any biological evidence, there may be challenges in isolating the DNA.”
Investigators are also examining surveillance video submitted by Nancy Guthrie’s neighbor. The sheriff’s office is asking neighbors to submit any video footage that appears to be “unusual or significant” between January 1 and February 2 to investigators.
Savannah Guthrie has not spoken out about the incident since February 15, when she released a video saying, “We still have hope, we still believe.” She added: “I just wanted to say to anyone who has her or knows where she is that it’s not too late.”
Contributors: Jeanine Santucci, Anthony Robledo, Edward Segarra and Taijuan Moorman
