The brother of “TODAY” Show host Savannah Guthrie issued a desperate appeal Thursday to individuals allegedly holding their 84-year-old mother captive, as the first ransom deadline passed without resolution in the ongoing Arizona kidnapping case.
Camron Guthrie delivered a solemn message in a video posted to his sister’s Instagram account Thursday as the search for Nancy Guthrie entered its fifth day.
The family has not received direct communication from the alleged captors despite ransom demands sent to media outlets, according to media reports.
“Whoever is out there holding our mother – we want to hear from you,” Camron stated in the video.
He emphasized the family’s lack of direct contact with anyone claiming to hold Nancy Guthrie.
The family indicated they have not established any communication channel with potential kidnappers.
Ransom notes demanding millions of dollars were reportedly sent only to local news stations and TMZ, leaving the family without a way to respond.
“We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward,” Camron said in his appeal.
He stressed the family’s requirement for proof that the alleged captors actually have their mother.
Savannah Guthrie captioned the video with a simple plea: “Bring her home.”
WATCH:
Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her Tucson residence, valued at $1 million, early Sunday morning.
She had spent Saturday evening dining with her eldest daughter Annie and son-in-law Tommaso Cioni before the incident occurred, Resist the Mainstream previously reported.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos provided a timeline of events Thursday, the Daily Mail outlined.
Nancy traveled to her daughter’s residence approximately 30 minutes away via Uber at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
A family member returned her to her home at 9:50 p.m., where surveillance showed her entering through the garage door.
Technical evidence revealed concerning details about the hours that followed. Nancy’s doorbell camera disconnected at 1:47 a.m. Sunday morning.
Camera sensors detected a person at 2:12 a.m. Her pacemaker tracking application, which monitors heartbeat data, disconnected from her phone’s Bluetooth at 2:28 a.m.
Church officials reported Nancy missing Sunday morning when she failed to appear for services. The family became alarmed when the routine churchgoer did not show up as expected.
Media organizations subsequently received ransom communications demanding millions of dollars for Nancy’s release.
The initial deadline was set for 5 p.m. local time Thursday, which passed without public indication of contact or payment.
Investigators disclosed Thursday that the ransom demand contained no proof Nancy is alive and provided no contact method for the Guthrie family. However, a second deadline was established for Monday, with demands for millions in Bitcoin cryptocurrency.
FBI officials stated the ransom note’s authenticity has not been confirmed but authorities are treating it as a serious investigative lead.
Sheriff Nanos acknowledged Thursday that investigators have not identified any suspects and no individuals have been eliminated from consideration.
“We’re not there, we’re just not there yet,” Nanos told reporters.
He discussed evidence recovered from Nancy’s home, including blood droplets and the doorbell camera removed from the property during the timeframe of her disappearance.
The sheriff reported that blood evidence was expedited for DNA analysis but yielded limited results. “It came back to Nancy. That’s what we know,” Nanos stated.
Additional items have been submitted for DNA testing but results are pending, according to the Daily Mail’s report.
The alleged ransom communication, sent to TMZ and local television stations, included specific demands for Bitcoin payments and claimed the elderly mother of three was “safe but scared.”
TMZ’s Harvey Levin revealed Thursday that a second payment deadline looms, describing it as “far more consequential” than the first, though he declined to share specific details about the timeline or amounts demanded.
The ransom note contained detailed information about Nancy’s $1 million home, including references to an Apple Watch located inside the residence and a broken flood light.
These specifics have led investigators to take the communication seriously, despite being unable to verify its authenticity.
“This is not a letter that was thrown together in a couple of minutes,” Levin told reporters. “It’s a very specific, well-organized, layered letter that really lays things out.”
The TMZ producer emphasized the structured nature of the communication, stating it was “very, very structured” and “very detailed,” ruling out the possibility of artificial intelligence or a disturbed individual creating the message.
Tracking the ransom letter’s origin has proven difficult. “As far as we can tell, it’s impossible to trace the origin of this email,” Levin reported Thursday. However, he suggested specific content within the letter indicates the sender may be located within the Tucson area radius.
Savannah Guthrie appeared Wednesday alongside her siblings in an emotional video appeal.
“We live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated. We need to know, without a doubt, that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please, reach out to us,” she stated through tears.
