The authorities in Arizona are looking for the mother of Savannah Guthrie, the co-anchor of the “Today” show on NBC, after she went missing this weekend, the Pima County Sheriff said on Sunday.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her home in Tucson, Ariz., at around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sheriff Chris Nanos said during a news conference Sunday evening. She was reported missing at around noon on Sunday.
Sheriff Nanos said the scene at Ms. Guthrie’s house “had some concerns for us,” prompting the authorities to call in a criminal investigation team in addition to search and rescue teams.
“This one stood out because of what was described to us at the scene, and what we found and located just looking at the scene,” he said, without giving any details.
Asked if he suspected foul play, the sheriff said he was “not ruling it out.”
Search efforts included volunteers on the ground, drones, dogs and a helicopter, Sheriff Nanos said. “We’ve pretty much just thrown everything at this that we can,” he said. He noted that Ms. Guthrie, who was described in a missing person’s photo as 5 feet 5 inches tall with brown hair and blue eyes, was “not in good physical health” but did not have cognitive problems. The missing person poster described her as “vulnerable.”
“We’ll be at this all night, processing the house,” he told reporters, adding that the search and rescue mission would continue on Monday morning. Searchers would “try to regroup and see what else we can do, maybe we’ve missed something,” he said.
Savannah Guthrie was absent from the “Today” broadcast on Monday, which began with the news of her mother’s disappearance. The show shared a statement from Ms. Guthrie: “On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and messages of support. Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear Mom.”
In a statement shared with NBC News, the Guthrie family said: “We can confirm this is a missing persons case, and the family is working closely with local law enforcement.”
Claire Moses is a Times reporter in London, focused on coverage of breaking and trending news.
The post Mother of ‘Today’ Anchor Savannah Guthrie Is Missing, Authorities Say appeared first on New York Times.
