Savannah Guthrie addresses missing mother’s case after report on ransom note

Savannah Guthrie pleaded for the public’s help in finding her missing mother after reports that ransom notes sent after her disappearance said she had died shortly after being abducted from her Arizona home.

Guthrie, the co-host of NBC’s “Today,” addressed the case after several media outlets reported that a second ransom note sent after her mother’s disappearance said Nancy Guthrie had died shortly after she was abducted from her home in the Tucson area and had been buried in nature.

“I don’t have any comment on this story, and I’m not involved in our coverage,” Guthrie said after the report aired. “But I can’t pretend I’m not here.”

She said the case was now being brought to a wider audience but had been part of her family’s life every day since her mother disappeared.

“This is the life that my sister lives, I live, my brother lives, our extended families live, our children live every day,” Guthrie said. “We are in agony. We cannot be at peace, no matter how much I try to come out here every day and smile and find that joy.”

Guthrie urged anyone with information to come forward, saying even small details could help investigators and that tips could be made anonymously.

“Somebody knows something,” she said. “This is the moment to tell you that we need your help. We’re begging for your help. I’m not going to miss that opportunity.”

Brian Entin of NewsNation reported that the second note indicated Guthrie’s death was not intentional but did not include a direct apology.

Investigators considered the notes potentially credible and the FBI tried to trace where they came from.

The message reportedly surfaced on February 7, when Savannah Guthrie released a video appeal after investigators began reviewing the notes sent to KOLD, a Tucson television station.

“We received your message and we understand,” Guthrie said in the video at the time. “We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us and we will pay.”

Authorities have said Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will from her home. The FBI has offered a reward for information in the case, while the family has separately offered $1 million for information leading to her recovery.

“Please do the right thing for us, for our family, for our children,” Savannah Guthrie said Tuesday. “We love our mom. We’ll never stop looking for her, never.”