Six months after her 84-year-old mother vanished from her Arizona home, US television broadcaster Savannah Guthrie has issued a raw plea to the public: “we are begging for help” from anyone who knows anything about what happened.
Nancy Guthrie disappeared overnight between 31 January and 1 February. Security camera footage later recovered by investigators shows a masked person wearing gloves moving around outside her home on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona.
Watch: FBI releases footage of masked man at front door of missing TV anchor’s mother
The disappearance quickly drew national attention, with the FBI moving into the area as the search intensified for the missing woman.
“Every day, we wake up and try to be strong and go on – because that’s what our joyful and resilient mom taught us to do.
“But make no mistake – our hearts are in ruins,” Savannah Guthrie wrote in an Instagram post.
Savannah Guthrie said their ‘hearts are in ruins’
On Friday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said efforts to find Nancy Guthrie are continuing and renewed its call for public help, releasing two alleged ransom notes delivered to a local television station on 2 February and 6 February.
According to authorities, the first note demanded a ransom and threatened Nancy Guthrie’s life. The second struck a different tone, apologising and claiming she had died in captivity and was “buried in nature now”.
Her remains have not been recovered and investigators say there are currently no known suspects.
Savannah Guthrie, her brother and sister have posted several video messages pleading for their mother’s return
Investigators and the Guthrie family are urging anyone who recognises wording or speech patterns in the letters — or who has noticed a shift in someone’s behaviour — to report it, hoping a small detail could break open the case.
“Someone knows something. Someone suspects something. Someone recognises the writing in the ransom demand notes.
“Someone has noticed something different, strange, troubling or just unusual – perhaps with someone they deeply love,” Savannah Guthrie wrote in the post this morning.
“There is a way out – to tell what you know… There is a way to end this situation and do the right thing,” she added.
Investigators have offered a reward for information related to the case and have repeatedly noted that tips may be offered anonymously.
Source: AFP
