The search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of the “Today” anchor Savannah Guthrie, was growing more urgent and more difficult by the hour as it entered its fourth day on Wednesday, officials said, pleading for help from the public.
“Time is not on our side,” Chris Nanos, the Pima County sheriff, said in an interview on Tuesday.
Ms. Guthrie was taken from her home near Tucson, Ariz., against her will sometime between 9:45 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday morning, the authorities said. No suspects have been identified, and Sheriff Nanos said there was “no credible information” indicating that Ms. Guthrie was specifically targeted.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office said it was “aware of reports circulating about a possible ransom note(s),” adding that the department had received a copy of a ransom note and was working with the F.B.I. to validate it.
As more time passed, officials pleaded for anyone who had taken Ms. Guthrie to let her go, warning that it was dangerous, and potentially fatal, for her to be without her daily medication. While Ms. Guthrie has no known cognitive issues, she has limited mobility and cannot walk far on her own, the authorities said.
The authorities have also said that Ms. Guthrie’s relationship to her famous daughter was not a main focus of the investigation. Savannah Guthrie would no longer be part of NBC’s planned Winter Olympics coverage, NBC Sports announced on Tuesday night.
The authorities said they had spoken with Ms. Guthrie’s family members and that they were all cooperative, Sheriff Nanos said.
With no arrests, no motive and no suspects identified, the authorities turned to the public for help finding Ms. Guthrie. “We’re looking at this from every angle, but we need your help,” Jon Edwards, the assistant special agent in charge of the F.B.I.’s Tucson field office, said during a news conference on Tuesday.
Ms. Guthrie was last seen Saturday around 9:45 p.m., when her son-in-law dropped her off at her home in the Catalina Foothills, a quiet, wealthy neighborhood near the Santa Catalina Mountains just north of Tucson.
When she did not show up at her regular Sunday church service, a friend notified her family members. The family members went to Ms. Guthrie’s home and did not find her there, then called 911 and reported her missing.
The police responded at noon on Sunday and found “something at the home that didn’t sit well,” Sheriff Nanos said. He did not elaborate, but said there was concerning evidence beyond red splatters on the front doorstep of Ms. Guthrie’s house, which remained visible on Tuesday afternoon. The sheriff’s office said it had completed its initial investigation of the scene at the house.
DNA samples that were taken from the house were confirmed to belong to Ms. Guthrie, the sheriff’s office said. Sheriff Nanos did not specify whether those samples were blood. Investigators were also working to determine the number of cameras at Ms. Guthrie’s house and whether there was any footage available, the sheriff’s office said.
Savannah Guthrie, who has been absent from the “Today” show this week, asked her followers for prayers on Instagram. “Bring her home,” she wrote.
Claire Moses is a Times reporter in London, focused on coverage of breaking and trending news.
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