Savannah Guthrie, in new video message, promises to pay for return of her mother
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 13 hours ago
- 4 min read
By REIS THEBAULT
In a subdued and cryptic new video shared on social media Saturday evening, the children of Nancy Guthrie again addressed her purported kidnapper, pleading for the return of their mother and promising to pay for her release.
Guthrie’s daughter, Savannah Guthrie, an anchor of the “Today” show on NBC, posted the 20-second message on her Instagram account as the search for her mother, an 84-year-old resident of Tucson, Arizona, dragged into its seventh day.
“We received your message, and we understand,” Savannah Guthrie said, holding hands with her two older siblings, Annie and Camron, who were sitting beside her. “We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
It was not clear what message Savannah Guthrie was referring to, but Friday a local TV station, KOLD, announced that it had received a note from Guthrie’s supposed kidnapper. The station forwarded the message to police, and the FBI said it had agents working to verify its authenticity.
The search for Guthrie has drawn worldwide attention, fueled by her daughter’s fame and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the case. Authorities have repeatedly said, including Saturday, that they have not identified a suspect or a person of interest, and they have acknowledged that they do not know whether Guthrie is still alive.
Guthrie was last seen Jan. 31, after a quiet night spent at the nearby home of her older daughter, Annie Guthrie. When Guthrie did not show up for church the next day, a friend called the family, who rushed to Guthrie’s home and found her gone. Her cellphone, wallet, car and medication had been left behind.
A frantic search ensued, and the case grew more complicated when a ransom note claiming to be from Guthrie’s kidnappers was sent to media outlets shortly after her disappearance. The note, which was described by the celebrity gossip site TMZ — one of the organizations to receive it — demanded payment in millions of dollars of bitcoin. KGUN, a Tucson-area television station that also received the initial note, reported the figure was $6 million, but then appeared to walk that back, saying it was unconfirmed by authorities
The message also listed two deadlines, one for Thursday evening and another for Monday, authorities said.
In a video that Guthrie’s children shared Wednesday, Savannah Guthrie told whoever abducted her mother that “we are ready to talk.” They asked for proof that she was alive, and they stressed that Guthrie could die without her medication.
“Her health, her heart, is fragile,” Savannah Guthrie said.
As the Thursday deadline approached, Camron Guthrie said on social media that the family had not yet heard from the kidnappers, and he urged them to get in touch.
“We need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward,” he said.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department declined to comment, saying officials had no new information to share with the public.
The latest video
Retired FBI agent Lance Leising said the Guthrie family’s video Saturday was strikingly different from the first, when Guthrie’s children addressed their mother directly and assured her they were trying to bring her home.
“They’re not talking directly to Nancy anymore,” said Leising, who worked in the bureau’s Phoenix division for more than two decades. “They’re talking to the kidnappers but not to Nancy. That concerns me.”
The change in tone and direction is an indication, Leising said, that the family is “concerned she may no longer be alive.”
But, he said, there are still so many details that remain unknown. And the latest statement, which sounded to Leising like it was carefully crafted with the FBI’s help, could be interpreted in different ways, he said.
Take the word “celebrate.”
“That could mean celebrate a safe resolution and her return,” Leising said. “Or it could mean a celebration of life, a funeral.”
One reason to be purposefully vague, he added, is that investigators probably are not convinced that the notes are coming from the actual kidnapper.
“The possibility that it’s fraudulent and these people don’t have Nancy is still high,” Leising said.
Michael Alcazar, a retired hostage negotiator with the New York Police Department who has been following Guthrie’s case closely, said the statement sounded defeated. It was short, direct and Savannah Guthrie did not read from a script, signs that the family may fear the worst, Alcazar said.
“This message wasn’t as careful,” he said.
But there is investigative utility in continuing to correspond with the kidnappers, Alcazar added, because every new message is another chance that the perpetrators might inadvertently identify themselves.
“They’re hoping they make a mistake and they can eventually identify where the message is being sent from,” Alcazar said.
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