What happened over the past few days?
TUCSON, Ariz. – Saturday marks Day 28 in the search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, who went missing from her Tucson-area home on Feb. 1. Authorities believe Nancy was taken from her home against her will.
On Friday in a new social media post, Savannah Guthrie pleaded for the return of her missing mother, saying the $1 million reward her family offered for the recovery of Nancy “can be paid in cash.”
“Please – be the one that brings her home. Tips can be anonymous, reward can be paid in cash, as explained here,” Guthrie wrote in her post, which was accompanied with a video from the “Today” show that explained to viewers how anonymous tips can be submitted.
On Thursday, newly-released video from a neighbor’s Ring camera showed a dozen cars passing through the area on the same morning that Nancy disappeared. Some of the activity takes place at around 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 1, which is around the same time Nancy’s pacemaker last synced with her iPhone.
The FBI told Fox News that some of its operations in the search have been moved to Phoenix. Nancy’s home will also reportedly be turned back over to her family either this weekend or early next week.
On Wednesday, former FBI Special Agent Lance Leising talked about the latest developments.
“It is common to go back to a crime scene. Whether you are binging new investigators back there, maybe a new agency jumps in and needs to be briefed and wants to see it. Sometimes, you bring lab analysts back there to collect and get a feel for it. Sometimes, prosecutors go to a crime scene later in the investigation. All these could be possible. The fact they carried bags of items out, that’s a little unusual after the crime occurred. I’d be very curious what those are, and how much value they hold.”
On Tuesday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department reiterated that investigators are continuing to pursue “all viable leads,” while the Guthrie family is asking for “No Trespassing” signs to be put around Nancy’s home.
FBI officials said they have received 1,500 new tips since Savannah Guthrie increased the reward amount.
On Monday, Pima County officials debunked claims that a new doorbell photo shows a masked suspect at Nancy Guthrie’s home prior to her Feb. 1 abduction, calling the social media rumors “purely speculative.”
Investigators clarified that while images show a suspect in various stages of attire, there are no date or time stamps to prove the individual visited the property on multiple different days.
Last weekend, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos reportedly told NBC News that there’s a snag with mixed DNA that was sent to a lab in Florida. He also said there are no names his team is currently looking into.
The sheriff’s department said detectives and agents returned to the Guthrie neighborhood canvassing as part of the investigation.
All crime scene evidence and search warrant scenes have been submitted for analysis. “As with any biological evidence, there can be challenges separating DNA, etc.”
Savannah Guthrie also issued a new plea on Instagram, announcing a reward of up to $1 million for the recovery of Nancy.
“We know that millions of you have been praying. So many people have been of every faith and no faith at all, praying for her return. And we feel those prayers. Please keep praying without ceasing. We still believe. We still believe in a miracle. We still believe that she can come home,” Savannah said in the video.
Investigators are also continuing to analyze biological evidence found at Nancy Guthrie’s residence. DNA profiles are currently under lab analysis, and the number of profiles remains part of their active investigation.
The backstory: Guthrie went missing on the night of Jan. 31 and was reported missing on Feb. 1 when she didn’t show up for church. Since her disappearance, the FBI has released footage of her alleged abductor at her doorstep.
PCSD and the FBI are working on finding Guthrie by searching rural and rigid terrain around the Tucson area, where Guthrie and her daughter, Annie, live. The sheriff’s department is asking for anyone within a 2-mile radius of Guthrie’s Catalina Foothills home to submit any footage they may have from Jan. 1 to Feb. 2 that they “deem out of the ordinary or important.”
What you can do: The FBI continues to urge anyone with information to contact its hotline at 1-800-CALL-FBI. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has also set up a tipline where the community can submit information. A new online form is available for tips.
Map of the area where Nancy Guthrie was last seen:
The Source: The Pima County Sheriff’s Department, the FBI, and previous FOX 10 reports.
