Investigators believe the missing mother of US news anchor Savannah Guthrie is “still out there” but they have not identified any suspects, a sheriff in Arizona has said, reports RTE.
Revealing fresh details from the ongoing probe at a press conference, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos confirmed that DNA analysis showed the blood discovered on the porch steps leading to the front door of the home belonged to Nancy Guthrie.
“Right now, we believe Nancy is still out there. We want her home,” Mr Nanos said at a news conference five days after she was reported missing, reports RTE.
The sheriff, however, admitted that authorities currently possess no concrete evidence confirming she remains alive, reports RTE.
Investigators provided a clearer timeline covering the period following her last sighting on Saturday night, and stated they are treating seriously a ransom note received by a small number of media organisations.
The note contained a monetary demand with an initial deadline set for Thursday evening, followed by a second deadline on Monday if the first was unmet, according to Heith Janke, the FBI chief in Phoenix, reports RTE.
The note also referenced specific details, including a floodlight at Ms Guthrie’s residence and an Apple watch.
“To anyone who may be involved, do the right thing. This is an 84-yr-old grandma,” Mr Janke said, reports RTE.
The missing woman’s son, Camron Guthrie, shared a video message on social media appealing for his mother’s safe return.
“Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you,” he said on Instagram, reports RTE.
“We haven’t heard anything directly. We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward. But first we have to know that you have our mom,” reports RTE.
Host of US broadcaster NBC’s Today programme Savannah Guthrie previously released a video message directed at anyone possibly detaining her elderly mother, urging them to establish communication.
Authorities emphasised that any decision regarding the ransom demands rests ultimately with the family, yet no reply has been received to their appeals so far, Mr Janke noted, reports RTE.
The Today host spent her childhood in Tucson, earned her degree from the University of Arizona, and earlier in her career served as a reporter and anchor at the Tucson television station KVOA.
Her parents relocated to Tucson during the 1970s while she was still a young child. As the youngest of three siblings, she has often credited her mother with keeping the family united following her father’s fatal heart attack at age 49, when Savannah was only 16, reports RTE.
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