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TUCSON, Ariz. — The intensive search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, reached a fever pitch this week after law enforcement briefly detained and released a person of interest in connection with her February 1 disappearance.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department, supported by the FBI, confirmed that an individual was stopped in a vehicle south of Tucson and questioned. Simultaneously, forensic teams conducted a court-authorized search of a property in Rio Rico, approximately 60 miles from the Guthrie residence. However, officials later announced the individual had been released without charge, and they have yet to publicly name any suspect.
Chilling Footage Unveiled
The detention followed the release of harrowing surveillance footage recovered from the “back-end systems” of Nancy Guthrie’s home security network. The black-and-white video shows a masked, gloved figure carrying a 25-liter backpack and appearing to be armed with a handgun in a holstered position.
FBI Director Kash Patel described the individual as “tampering with the camera” just moments before the 84-year-old was reportedly taken. Investigators believe the doorbell camera was disabled at 1:47 a.m. on the morning of the abduction, followed by a total disconnection of Guthrie’s pacemaker app at 2:28 a.m., a detail that has added immense urgency to the case due to her fragile health and reliance on vital medication.
The $100,000 Pursuit
As the investigation enters its third week, the FBI has doubled the reward for information to $100,000. Law enforcement has also shifted focus to forensic evidence, analyzing a latex glove recovered from a field two miles from the Guthrie home. Preliminary results suggest the DNA profile on the glove does not match previous searches and may belong to the subject seen in the surveillance video.
While one man was previously arrested in California for sending hoax ransom texts to the family, the authorities are still vetting a separate million-dollar Bitcoin ransom demand that surfaced via media channels last week.
‘An Hour of Desperation’
Savannah Guthrie, who suspended her broadcasting duties to assist in the search, has continued to issue emotional pleas on social media. “We are at an hour of desperation,” she told followers, urging anyone who recognizes the “girth or movement” of the masked figure in the video to come forward.
With blood found on the porch confirmed to be Nancy Guthrie’s and no proof of life yet established, the Tucson community and federal agencies remain on high alert. The search has expanded to include Arizona’s desert washes and remote roadways as investigators hunt for any sign of the missing grandmother.