By Evan Garcia and Steve Gorman
TUCSON, Arizona, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Investigators in Arizona presume the kidnapped elderly mother of popular U.S. television news host Savannah Guthrie is “still out there” and alive four days after she was abducted from her home, though no suspect has been identified, authorities said on Thursday.
Police and FBI officials said they had intensified their search for Nancy Guthrie, 84, calling in extra personnel and special forensic analysts, even as the first of two deadlines set in a ransom note came and went early Thursday evening.
Nancy Guthrie was last seen on January 31 when she was dropped off at her residence near Tucson by family members after having dinner with them, and relatives reported her missing around noon the following day, according to authorities.
Because her mobility is extremely limited, she could not have left her home unassisted, leading investigators to conclude early on that she was the victim of a kidnapping.
Revealing new details from the investigation at a press conference on Thursday, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos confirmed reports that DNA tests determined that blood found on the porch steps at the front door to the home came from Guthrie.
Nanos said in a separate CNN interview that he immediately assigned his homicide detectives to the case, an unusual step given that there was no body. He said he based his decision on initial details from the scene that he found “alarming.”
“They described a scene to me that just disturbed me,” he said, without elaborating.
A timeline compiled by investigators showed that the victim’s doorbell camera was disabled and her pacemaker app disconnected from her telephone line in the predawn hours of Sunday morning, when she presumably was kidnapped.
Five days into the search, investigators have not yet obtained proof of life, or identified a suspect or “person of interest,” Nanos told reporters, but added, “Right now, we believe Nancy is still out there. We want her home.”
Asked whether he feared she was dead, Nanos acknowledged he did, but added, “We operate from a position that until we know, she’s out there, she’s alive, and we’re going to continue thinking that way until we find her.”
RANSOM NOTE SET TWO DEADLINES
The FBI on Thursday offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.
FBI special agent Heith Janke said a purported ransom letter sent to various media outlets this week was being treated seriously, but he said there had been no further communication from anyone claiming to hold Guthrie.
“In a normal kidnapping case, there would be contact by now,” Janke said.
The letter, whose authenticity had yet to be conclusively determined, set a 5 p.m. Thursday deadline for payment of a ransom, with a second deadline for next Monday, Janke added, declining to give further details. Authorities provided no further updates as the initial deadline lapsed.
According to celebrity news website TMZ.com, the first outlet to report receiving a copy of the note in question, it demanded a ransom sum “in the millions” to be paid in cryptocurrency.
Janke said the letter made mention of certain details that lent credence to its authenticity, including unspecified references to an Apple Watch and a flood light. He said there were no other demands in the note except for a ransom.
“Any action taken on any ransom is ultimately decided by the family,” Janke told reporters.
Janke also said investigators have arrested someone in connection with a separate “impostor ransom demand” sent to family members.
Among other concerns for Nancy Guthrie’s wellbeing was that her frail health was dependent on daily medication, a point made by Janke in remarks he directed to her captors during the news conference.
“You still have time to do the right thing before this becomes a much worse scenario for you,” Janke said.
“We don’t know that she’s getting her medication. That in itself could prove fatal,” the sheriff added.
In a video posted to Savannah Guthrie’s Instagram account on Thursday evening, Camron Guthrie, Nancy Guthrie’s son, pleaded for someone to reach out directly to the family.
“We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward,” Guthrie said in the video. But first we have to know that you have our mom.”
The victim’s daughter, co-anchor of NBC’s morning news show “Today” since 2012, also posted an online video on Wednesday pleading for her mother’s safe return and appealing to whoever might have been holding her to open a line of communication with the family.
“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,” Savannah Guthrie, 54, said in her video message.
Enhanced investigative resources assigned to the case included FBI cellular analysts who specialize in collecting and processing digital information, such as data from banks, phone companies and social media, Janke said.
(Reporting by Evan Garcia in Tucson Arizona; Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by David Gregorio, Will Dunham and Michael Perry)
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