The brother of the “Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie on Thursday renewed their family’s plea for the safe return of their 84-year-old mother, whose disappearance from her secluded Arizona home almost a week ago is being investigated as a possible kidnapping.
The search for Nancy Guthrie entered its sixth day on Friday, with investigators looking at an area expanded from her Tucson-area neighborhood to include adjacent states. Savannah Guthrie and her siblings have warned that their mother’s health and heart are fragile and that it could be fatal for her to be without her medication.
“Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you,” Nancy Guthrie’s son, Camron, said in a video on social media addressed to any potential kidnappers. “We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward.”
He said that the family had not yet heard from a kidnapper or kidnappers directly. Earlier Thursday, the F.B.I. offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s recovery or the arrest and conviction of those involved in her kidnapping.
Since she vanished on Sunday, investigators have worked to recover video evidence, verify her bloodstains on her doorstep and authenticate purported ransom notes. Her doorbell camera was disconnected the night she disappeared, the police said on Thursday, depriving officials of crucial evidence. The police said they were scrutinizing anyone who had contact with her, even her relatives.
“Everybody’s still a suspect in our eyes,” said Chris Nanos, the Pima County sheriff, said in a news conference on Thursday.
At the news conference, Sheriff Nanos provided an approximate timeline of her disappearance.
Nancy Guthrie was last seen by her family on Saturday. She took an Uber to the home of her older daughter, Annie, and son-in-law, Tommasco Cioni, arriving around 5:32 p.m. Sheriff Nanos said that the driver had been interviewed by detectives and was not under suspicion.
After dinner and games, Mr. Cioni drove Nancy Guthrie home and the garage door at her home opened at around 9:48 p.m., Sheriff Nanos said. That door closed at 9:50 p.m.
A few hours later, at 1:47 a.m. on Sunday, the doorbell camera disconnected.
At 2:12 a.m., software detected a person on a camera. But Sheriff Nanos said that no video was available because the Guthries were not subscribed to the camera service and the footage was rewritten.
At 2:28 a.m., Nancy Guthrie’s pacemaker app showed that it was disconnected from her phone.
That morning, Nancy Guthrie did not attend her regular Sunday church service. A friend notified a family member, who went to check on her at 11:56 a.m., discovered that she was missing, and dialed 911.
Sheriff Nanos said there was “no credible information” to suggest that Ms. Guthrie was specifically targeted.
F.B.I. agents were analyzing purported ransom notes sent to the news media. They arrested a California man in his 40s, charging him with sending a fraudulent ransom demand to family via text to Annie Guthrie and Mr. Cioni in an attempt to profit from the disappearance.
Savannah Guthrie said in a video on Wednesday that she and her siblings were ready to listen to ransom offers from whoever might have abducted their mother, but that the family would first need proof that she was still alive.
“Everyone is looking for you, Mommy, everywhere,” she said. “We will not rest.”
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs reports for The Times on national stories across the United States with a focus on criminal justice.
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