Sheriff Believes ‘Today’ Host Savannah Guthrie’s Mother Was Abducted

An Arizona sheriff said on Monday that “we do in fact have a crime scene” as officials searched for the mother of “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, who was reported missing from her home over the weekend.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told a news conference that Nancy Guthrie did not likely leave of her own accord.

“She is very limited in her mobility, we know she didn’t just walk out of there, that we know,” Nanos told the news conference. “There were other things at the scene that indicate that she did not leave on her own.”

Nanos told CBS News on Feb. 2 that investigators believe Nancy Guthrie may have been abducted while she was sleeping.

“We believe 100 percent right now she could not have walked away from that home,” he said. “I believe she was abducted, yes. She didn’t walk from there. She didn’t go willingly. We don’t believe that.”

Nanos said later in the news conference that the 84-year-old has some physical ailments and cannot walk far on her own.

Searchers were using drones and dogs, Nanos said. Volunteers and Border Patrol supported search-and-rescue teams, and the homicide team was also involved, he said. It is not standard for the homicide team to get involved in such cases, Nanos said.

In an earlier update, the department said that Nancy Guthrie was last seen on the evening of Jan. 31 at her home near East Skyline Drive and North Campbell Avenue, north of Tucson. She is described as having brown hair and blue eyes and is 5 feet, 5 inches tall.

When asked about her health on Sunday evening, Nanos told reporters in a separate event that her family had reported that Guthrie had no “cognitive issues at all” and is of sound mind.

“We get these calls quite often about missing people, and we do a pretty good job on searching the area and alerting the media,” the sheriff said. “But this one stood out because of what was described to us at the scene and what we found and located just in looking at the scene.”

Savannah Guthrie issued a statement through the “Today” show, saying that “on behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and messages of support.”  She added, “Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear Nancy.”

“We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at (520) 351-4900,” the statement said.

On Monday, the “Today” show included reporting about the disappearance of the co-anchor’s mother. Savannah Guthrie was not at her desk that day.

Two of the show’s hosts, Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones, shared an update on their social media page, writing that the elder Guthrie is without her daily medication that “she needs to survive.” They also urged anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.

The Epoch Times contacted a spokesperson for NBC Universal, which airs the “Today” show, for comment on Monday. The Epoch Times was not able to reach out to Guthrie’s family for comment by the time of this article’s publication.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.