The authorities in Arizona are searching for Nancy Guthrie, 84, the mother of the “Today” anchor Savannah Guthrie, who has been missing since Sunday and whose disappearance is being investigated as a crime.
Ms. Guthrie was last seen at her home near Tucson on Saturday night around 9:30 p.m., according to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos. In an interview with CNN on Monday, he said he thought that Ms. Guthrie had been kidnapped, based on the scene at her home.
Here’s what we know.
What happened?
The authorities responded to a 911 call reporting Ms. Guthrie missing at noon on Sunday, Sheriff Nanos said. They began a search for her, employing a search and rescue team, volunteers, dogs, drones and a helicopter.
Sheriff Nanos described Ms. Guthrie’s home as “a crime scene” on Monday, adding that “we saw some things at the home that were concerning to us,” without offering more details.
He added that Ms. Guthrie has limited mobility and requires medication every 24 hours, and could die without it.
Kevin Adger, a public information officer with the sheriff’s office, said on Monday that “investigators believe she was taken from her home, against her will, possibly in the middle of the night. Now detectives are looking into a possible kidnapping or abduction.”
Ms. Guthrie was described in a missing person’s notice as 5 feet 5 inches tall with brown hair and blue eyes, and “vulnerable.” The authorities said it was not a dementia-related case.
Who is Nancy Guthrie?
Ms. Guthrie has periodically appeared on “Today” show segments alongside her daughter Savannah. In 2022, Savannah Guthrie marked her mother’s 80th birthday on a “Today” broadcast, praising her “grit” and resilience.
“She’s quick and she’s smart, she’s well-read, she’s curious about everything,” Savannah Guthrie said of her mother during the 2022 tribute. Savannah Guthrie’s father died of a heart attack when she was 16, she wrote in 2017. When she and her sister began college, they both opted to live at home. “One of us would always stay home on one of the weekend nights so that my mom wouldn’t be alone,” she wrote.
When Ms. Guthrie turned 70, the anchors of “Today” surprised her with a phone call during the live broadcast. And last fall, “Today” aired a segment in which Savannah Guthrie took a tour of Tucson, her hometown, in which she says that her mother moved there in the 1970s.
What’s the status of the investigation?
Sheriff Nanos told NBC that investigators had taken DNA samples from Ms. Guthrie’s home, but that it could be several days until the samples could produce any conclusive evidence, according to a segment on “Today” on Tuesday morning.
The sheriff’s office has asked the public for help in looking for Ms. Guthrie, and said it does not yet have a strong lead.
The sheriff also told NBC that, while investigators are not ruling anything out, Ms. Guthrie’s relationship to her famous daughter is not a main part of the investigation.
Who is Savannah Guthrie?
Savannah Guthrie is best known as one of the anchors of the NBC morning show “Today,” a job she has held since 2012.
After working in local news and as a lawyer, she joined NBC News in 2007. She worked for the network as a White House correspondent, filled in on “Meet the Press” and anchored “NBC Nightly News.”
She was born in Australia but moved at an early age with her family to Tucson, where she grew up and attended college. She lives in New York with her husband, the communications consultant Michael Feldman, and their two children. She has also written children’s books.
What has the reaction been?
Savannah Guthrie was absent from the “Today” broadcast on Monday morning. The show’s anchors, Craig Melvin and Sheinelle Jones, shared a statement from her: “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.”
Savannah Guthrie urged people to pray for her mother in an Instagram post on Monday. “Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant,” she wrote. “Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment.”
Savannah Guthrie was absent from “Today” again on Tuesday to be with her family in Arizona. She had been part of NBC’s lineup to cover the Winter Olympics in Italy. It was not immediately clear whether that plan would go ahead.
Claire Moses is a Times reporter in London, focused on coverage of breaking and trending news.
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