yahoo Press
Nancy Guthrie latest updates: Husband of Savannah Guthrie posts Mother's Day tribute as case approaches 100 days
Images
Three months and counting since Nancy Guthrie was reported missing from her home in the Catalina Foothills north of Tucson, Ariz., the case is approaching its 100-day mark on Monday with no named suspect, no identified motive and no public confirmation of her whereabouts. Sunday marks Mother's Day, the first since Nancy was reported missing. Mike Feldman, Savannah Guthrie's husband, posted a public Instagram tribute Sunday addressed to his wife. "To the strongest person I know. Surrounding you with love on Mother's Day," Feldman wrote, accompanying the message with heart, broken heart and heart emojis. Savannah Guthrie has not publicly addressed the holiday as of Sunday afternoon. The Pima County Sheriff's Department, leading the investigation with the FBI's assistance, said this month that the case "remains active and ongoing." Human remains discovered Thursday near the intersection of River and Craycroft roads in Tucson — roughly 7 miles from Guthrie's home — initially raised speculation about a connection to the case. Tucson police later said the bones are believed to be prehistoric and are not connected to Guthrie's disappearance. The 84-year-old mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie was last seen around 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 31, when a family member dropped her off at her home after dinner. She was reported missing around noon the next day. A combined reward of $1.2 million is offered for information leading to her recovery. On Feb. 10, the FBI released footage of what it described as a masked and armed individual taken from her doorbell camera the morning she went missing. Authorities have not identified the suspect or a motive. The FBI is reportedly analyzing mixed DNA found at Nancy's home, including a hair sample. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Pima County Sheriff's Department tip line at 520-351-4900 or the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Mike Feldman, the longtime Democratic political consultant who has been married to Savannah Guthrie since 2014, posted a public Mother's Day tribute to his wife on Instagram on Sunday. The couple have two children, Vale and Charles. "To the strongest person I know. Surrounding you with love on Mother's Day," Feldman wrote, accompanying the message with a heart, broken-heart and heart emoji. Human remains discovered Thursday near Nancy Guthrie's Tucson home have been determined to be prehistoric and not connected to her disappearance, the Tucson Police Department said. The remains were found by a true-crime livestreamer roughly seven miles from Guthrie's residence in the Catalina Foothills, near the intersection of River and Craycroft Roads, the Arizona Republic reported. Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, commented Wednesday on the FBI's involvement in the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. On May 5, FBI Director Kash Patel criticized the Pima County Sheriff's Department's handling of the investigation, saying the FBI was initially "kept out" of the probe. Speaking to NewsNation, Blanche said the agency is "ready, willing and able to help as much as we can" as the search for Guthrie continues. He acknowledged reports of alleged "friction" between the FBI and Arizona law enforcement but said a "coordinated approach" was needed. “I’ve seen those reports. We are here to help”, he said. “We don’t like interagency squabbles. Nobody likes that, that doesn’t help the investigation. But we are in a complete cooperative mode with the local law enforcement.” The Pima County Sheriff's Department pushed back against Patel’s comments, saying in a statement: "The FBI was promptly notified by both our department and the Guthrie family. While the FBI Director was not on scene, coordination with the Bureau began without delay." Kash Patel on Tuesday told Sean Hannity that the FBI was “kept out” of the investigation for four days. “The first 48 hours of anyone’s disappearance is critical,” he said on the Hang Out With Sean Hannity podcast. “It’s a state and local law enforcement matter. What we, the FBI, do is say, ‘Hey, we're here to help. What do you need? What can we do?’ And for four days, we were kept out of the investigation. “And when we were finally let in, Sean, look what we did. We went in and got the Ring doorbell and we said, ‘Hey, is anyone talking to Google?’ “I called the leadership at Google and I said, ‘Look, we know that there was not a subscription service to capture all of the data that would’ve been captured had there been a subscription service. But can we go into the cache? Can we go into the data before it’s deleted and see what we can find?’” Patel also said the FBI offered to send DNA evidence to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Va., for analysis. "We would have analyzed it within days and maybe gotten better information or more information. Our lab's just better than any other private lab out there, and we didn't get a chance to do that. So I understand everybody's frustrations on that." In a statement, the Pima County Sheriff's Department pushed back at Patel’s comments, saying Sheriff Chris Nanos provided “immediate local leadership and oversight.” "A member of the FBI Task Force was also notified and present at that scene working alongside our personnel," the statement said. "The FBI was promptly notified by both our department and the Guthrie family. While the FBI Director was not on scene, coordination with the Bureau began without delay." The statement added that decisions regarding evidence processing were made “based on operational needs.” Friday, May 1, marks three months since Nancy Guthrie was reported missing by her family. Here’s what we know about the investigation: No specific suspects have been publicly named, identified or charged with the abduction of Nancy Guthrie. The FBI is reportedly analyzing mixed DNA from Nancy’s home, including a hair sample. DNA testing confirmed that the blood found on the front porch was Nancy’s, according to Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos. The FBI released images and video of what the agency says is a suspect: a male about 5’9” to 5’10” tall with an average build. In the video, he is carrying a black, 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack. Gloves that appeared to match the ones worn by a person seen in the security video outside of Nancy’s home were found about two miles from her home. DNA from the gloves didn’t match any samples in the FBI’s DNA database or DNA found on Nancy’s property. The sheriff’s department has cleared all members of the Guthrie family as potential suspects. Authorities have not confirmed the legitimacy of ransom notes that were sent to media outlets regarding Nancy’s disappearance. A new trial date has been set for a California man who is accused of making a ransom demand to the family of Nancy Guthrie. Derrick Callella, 42, is charged with “transmitting a demand for ransom in interstate commerce, and without disclosing his identity, utilizing a telecommunications device with the intent to abuse, threaten, or harass a person,” according to the FBI. The grand jury indictment details how Callella sent two text messages to two members of the Guthrie family on Feb. 4 asking, “Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction.” Callella said that he was following the case on TV and pulled the family’s information from a “cyber website,” per the indictment. The trial for Callella is set for June 23 at the federal courthouse in Tucson, Ariz., according to local news outlet KGUN. A San Francisco forensics lab that helped crack the case of Rex Heuermann, who pleaded guilty this month to murdering eight women on Long Island, N.Y., could now be involved in DNA analysis related to the Nancy Guthrie case. Last week, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that the Florida lab to which they initially sent DNA samples had sent them to the FBI for analysis. They included an original hair sample. “I am pretty confident that [the FBI] will want to use the lab that they have been extremely successful with, which is Astrea," CeCe Moore, a genetic genealogist at Parabon Nanolabs in Virginia, told Fox News. In the Heuermann case, Astrea Forensics developed a DNA profile from rootless hair evidence. Moore said she’s been involved in several other successful cases in which Astrea conducted similar work. "The FBI used them for the Gilgo case," Moore told Fox News, referring to Gilgo Beach, the area in which Heuermann’s victims’ bodies were found. "So they have a lot of confidence in Astrea." The United Cajun Navy, a volunteer search and rescue group, has offered to revise a proposal sent to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, aiming to secure approval to join the search for Nancy Guthrie, Fox News reported. The Louisiana-based nonprofit organization, which also provides rapid disaster relief and supply distribution, submitted a 41-page proposal in February, stating that it would operate under the sheriff’s control and have no independent authority. The original plan also stated the UCN would provide certified cadaver dogs, a tracking dog, heat-detecting drones and GPS-tracked volunteers. “We have not been contacted on the plan that we provided,” Josh Gill, UCN incident commander, told Fox News. “I'm open to developing a new plan with law enforcement.” “We want permission from the lead agency,” Gill added. “I don't think there would be any harm. I think it would be one step closer to providing some closure — not just to the family or the community, but to the nation.” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos shut down social media reports Friday night that a new person of interest had been detained in the Nancy Guthrie case. Asked about the claim by Fox News reporter Michael Ruiz, Nanos offered a one-word answer: "Nope." The rumor had spread on X and aggregator sites throughout Friday, drawing tens of thousands of views before the sheriff weighed in. Authorities still have not named a suspect or identified a motive in Nancy Guthrie's apparent abduction more than 11 weeks after she was reported missing from her Tucson-area home. Nancy Guthrie has been missing for over 75 days, and there have been no major breakthroughs in the case that continues to grip the nation’s attention in hopes of her safe return. That’s why some social media users are frustrated with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department for posting an update for a missing person on Thursday using only the first name. “Update: Nancy has been located,” the caption read. When hopeful X users opened the post, they found a poster for a different senior, Nancy Radakovich, attached to the update. While many expressed that they were happy to hear Radakovich, 82, was found, they also criticized the sheriff’s department for not including her last name and demanded updates on Nancy Guthrie’s case. “Thank god she was found but COME ON. Can you be anymore tone deaf???” one person commented. “You couldn’t have included her last name in this tweet? I thought you were talking about Guthrie for a second,” another user wrote. Another person echoed that sentiment, writing, “[You] need to use the last name when you have 2 Nancys missing!!” The Pima County Sheriff’s Department responded to reports that a potentially critical DNA sample has been sent to the FBI from a private lab in Florida that works with the sheriff’s department. “PCSD has worked with the FBI since the beginning of the Guthrie investigation,” reads the statement posted on X on Thursday. “This is not new information. The private lab we utilize in Florida continues to share information with the FBI lab & other partner labs across the country. DNA analysis remains ongoing.” It is the first time in nearly one month that the sheriff’s department has issued a statement on the Nancy Guthrie case. The FBI is reportedly analyzing DNA recovered from Nancy Guthrie’s home that may be critical to the case. Sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News that in recent days the DNA sample was sent from a private Florida lab that works with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department to the FBI. The bureau will use new technology to conduct advanced analysis on the DNA sample in hopes that it’ll help identify the person who kidnapped Nancy Guthrie, ABC News reported. The DNA sample in question has been previously described by the sheriff’s department as mixed DNA from more than one person. This week, Hoda Kotb, who filled in for Savannah Guthrie during her two-month Today show hiatus, has returned to the NBC morning show alongside Guthrie to fill in for coanchor Craig Melvin while he is on vacation. “It’s been fun holding her hand,” Kotb told People. “I mean, that’s been my favorite part.” The outlet said Kotb got visibly choked up and said, “Just sitting next to her. That’s it. It’s been really beautiful and I feel privileged to be able to sit there for a little while.” Kotb also argued that while Guthrie said she is “helping” her, “I don’t feel that. I feel like I get to be in the seat to watch what strength looks like. There’s nobody like her.” Before Guthrie returned to the Today show, Kotb sat down with her in an emotional interview that aired last month to talk about the investigation into her mother’s disappearance and what her mother was like. Entertainment news website TMZ reported on Monday that it received two new purported ransom notes that claim to know where Nancy Guthrie’s body is located and who is responsible for her disappearance. Monday was the same day Savannah Guthrie returned to the Today show for the first time after her mother’s disappearance. According to the outlet, the pair of notes is from the same person who, back in February, demanded bitcoin in exchange for information related to Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance. “We got another letter today from this person, an email saying, ‘I know where her body is and who the kidnapper is. Give me half a bitcoin and I’ll tell you,'” TMZ founder Harvey Levin said live on air Monday. TMZ also reported that shortly after it went live on the air on Monday, a second note was sent, which said, "I saw her alive with them in the state of Sonora, Mexico." The Mexican state shares a major southern border with Arizona. Nancy Guthrie’s home is located in Tucson, Ariz., about 70 miles from the Mexican border. The outlet said it has alerted the FBI. Savannah Guthrie joined her colleagues on Monday to thank fans gathered outside of the Today show’s studio in Rockefeller Center. Cheering fans were seen wearing yellow ribbons, a symbol representing hope, and holding up signs of support as the search for her missing mother is in its third month. “We ❤️ you Savannah,” one sign read. Another sign read, “Decide and do,” a tribute to the grieving advice Savannah said she received from her mother, Nancy, after her father died when she was a teenager. “These signs are so beautiful,” Savannah said tearfully. “You guys have been so beautiful. I’ve received so many letters, so much kindness, to me and my whole family. We feel it. We feel your prayers, so thank you so much.” Savannah Guthrie returned to the Today show anchor desk on Monday for the first time since her mother’s disappearance. “It is good to be home," Savannah Guthrie said at the start of the NBC morning show. Craig Melvin, Guthrie’s Today show cohost, said, “Yes, it is good to have you back at home.” Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen on Jan. 31 at her Tucson, Ariz., home. She was reported missing the next day. Savannah Guthrie wore a yellow dress, a nod to the color of flowers and ribbons left by well-wishers during the search, now in its third month. Melvin wore a yellow tie. “Well, here we go, ready or not. Let's do the news," Guthrie said before turning to a segment on the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. She later fought back tears when she gathered with her colleagues to thank fans gathered outside of the show’s studio in Rockefeller Center. Guthrie announced her return during a March interview with colleague Hoda Kotb. "I can't come back and try to be something that I'm not," she said. "I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I'll belong anymore, but I would like to try." Savannah Guthrie is set to return to NBC's Today show on Monday, April 6 — her first appearance since her mother, Nancy Guthrie, disappeared from her Tucson, Ariz., home on Feb. 1. She will cohost the first two hours of the program, which airs at 7 a.m. ET. Guthrie announced her return during a March interview with colleague Hoda Kotb. She described the decision as purposeful. "I want to smile,” Savannah Guthrie said. “And when I do, it will be real. My joy will be my protest." It has now been two months since Nancy Guthrie was reported missing from her home near Tucson, Ariz., where the 84-year-old mother of NBCToday show cohost Savannah Guthrie was last seen. Authorities have not named a suspect or identified a motive in her apparent abduction. Here is a timeline of key developments in the investigation. Jan. 31 Nancy Guthrie is last seen around 9:45 p.m. when she is dropped off by her family at her home in the Catalina Foothills north of Tucson, Ariz., after having dinner with her daughter Annie Guthrie, who lives nearby. Feb. 1 Nancy Guthrie’s pacemaker stops syncing with her Apple devices at 2:28 a.m., according to police. She is reported missing around noon after she did not show up at a friend’s house to watch an online church service. Feb. 2 Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos says police believe Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped and didn’t leave her home on her own. Feb. 3 TMZ and two Tucson television news stations receive what appears to be a ransom note, demanding millions of dollars in bitcoin. The FBI is not able to immediately verify its authenticity. Feb. 4 Nancy Guthrie’s adult children post an Instagram video addressing a possible kidnapper, saying that the family is ready to talk, but they need proof that their mother is alive. Feb. 10 The FBI releases video and images of what it said was an “armed individual” appearing to tamper with a doorbell camera at Nancy Guthrie’s home on the morning she was reported missing. Feb. 16 Nanos releases a statement saying all members of Nancy Guthrie’s family, including siblings and spouses, have been cleared as possible suspects. “To suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is cruel,” Nanos said. Feb. 17 Police say DNA from gloves found about 2 miles away from Nancy Guthrie’s house turned up no matches in the FBI’s national database. Feb. 24 Savannah Guthrie posts a new video announcing the family’s $1 million reward for information that leads to Nancy Guthrie's “recovery.” The Today host says that while the family still believes “in a miracle,” they also know that “she may already be gone.” Feb. 27 The Pima County Sheriff’s Department says it is “refocusing resources” in the Nancy Guthrie case but not giving up the search. “This remains an active investigation and will continue until Nancy Guthrie is located or all leads have been exhausted,” the sheriff’s department said. March 25 In her first interview since her mother’s disappearance, Savannah Guthrie tells Today show cohost Hoda Kotb that she fears her mother may have been targeted because of her own fame. “It’s too much to bear to think that I brought this to her bedside, that it’s because of me,” Savannah said. “And I just want to say I’m so sorry, Mommy. I’m so sorry.” The investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie is about to enter its third month. The 84-year-old mother of NBC Today show cohost Savannah Guthrie was last seen around 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 31, when family members dropped her off at her home in the Catalina Foothills north of Tucson, Ariz., following dinner. She was reported missing around noon the next day after she did not show up at a friend’s house to watch an online church service. The FBI’s release of security camera footage showing a masked and armed individual taken from her doorbell camera on the morning of Feb. 1 yielded thousands of tips, but authorities have not named a suspect or identified a motive in her apparent abduction. Police in Scottsdale, Ariz., have identified the body of a woman recovered from a canal over the weekend as Passion Schurz, a 28-year-old who was reported missing from the Salt River-Pima Maricopa Indian Community on March 22. “The initial identification was made based on specific tattoos, her physical characteristics, and clothing description,” the police department said in a post on X. “We can confirm that there were no injuries related to fractures, stab wounds, or gunshot wounds. The medical examiner is still determining the official cause of death.” Officials said there is “no apparent connection” to the Nancy Guthrie case.