Savannah Guthrie says the family is ready to pay the would-be kidnappers a ransom for her mother’s return
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NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie told the would-be kidnappers of her mother Nancy Guthrie on Saturday that the family is willing to pay for her safe return.
“We received your message, and we hear you. We are asking you now to bring our mother back to us so we can celebrate with her,” Guthrie said in a video prepared by his siblings. “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very important to us, and we will pay.”
Guthrie was referring to a message sent to KOLD – a television station based in Tucson, Ariz. – on Friday afternoon, according to Kevin Smith, a spokesman for the FBI’s Phoenix office.
KOLD said it received an email related to Guthrie’s case on social media that day but declined to share specifics about its content as the FBI conducts its review.
The station was one of several media outlets that received letters of alleged ransom during the week. At least one book made demands for money and established Thursday evening and the following Monday evening as deadlines.
At a press conference Thursday, law enforcement officials declined to confirm the authenticity of the letters but said all tips are being investigated. They also say that another book mentions Nancy Guthrie’s Apple watch and some aspect of her outfit.
The video that was released on Saturday was the third this week by the potential kidnappers.
There are no suspects at this time
Investigators say they believe Nancy Guthrie was taken from her home just outside of Tucson last weekend. A DNA test showed blood on Guthrie’s front porch matched him, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said. Authorities have not yet identified the suspects or issued a verdict.
A police officer said on Friday that he was frustrated that the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s home was unable to take pictures of anyone on the day she went missing.
Investigators discovered that the home’s doorbell camera was disconnected early Sunday morning and that software data recorded movement in the home minutes later. But Nancy Guthrie didn’t have an active subscription, so none of the photos could be found.
“It’s touching, actually disappointing, because you’ve got hope,” Nanos told The Associated Press in an interview. “Okay, they have a picture. ‘Yes, we have it, but we don’t have it.’
US President Donald Trump, speaking on Air Force One on Friday, said the investigation was “going very well.”
“We have leads that I think are very strong,” Trump said, while en route to his Florida home. “We have some things that may come out soon.”
Detectives returned to the scene
Police were back at Nancy Guthrie’s property on Friday.
The sheriff’s department posted on social media that it is not allowed to enter the road in front of the house to give the investigators space. Journalists who were sidelined were ordered to move.
The Catalina Foothills Association, a neighborhood group, told residents in a letter that authorities are resuming searches in the area immediately.
“I know we all stand together in our disbelief and grief and we greatly appreciate your willingness to speak with law enforcement, share surveillance footage and allow a search of your property,” the association’s president said in a letter.
The sheriff said Thursday that investigators have never given up trying to find the camera footage.
“I wish technology was as simple as we believe it is, that here’s a picture, here’s your bad guy. But it’s not,” Nanos told the Associated Press. “There are pieces of information coming to us from these technology groups that say ‘this is what we have and we can’t get it anymore.’
Health concerns
Meanwhile, concerns about Nancy Guthrie’s health have grown, as authorities say she needs essential daily medication.
He reportedly has a pacemaker and has suffered from high blood pressure and heart problems, according to a sheriff’s dispatcher’s audio on broadcastify.com.
“His condition, I would imagine, is getting worse every day,” Nanos said. “He needs medication. And I have no way of knowing if they are getting that medication for him.”
