Savannah Guthrie has released her most somber video yet, begging for information about her abducted mother, Nancy.
The 55-year-old Today Show host shared the clip via her Instagram profile on Monday afternoon, as a final 5pm MT ransom deadline approaches.
Speaking from her home city of Tucson, in Arizona, Guthrie said: ‘She was taken and we don’t know where…
‘We need your help.
‘No matter where you are, even if you are from Tucson… We are at an hour of desperation.’
Nancy was taken from her $1 million home in the Catalina Hills neighborhood in the early hours of Sunday, February 1.
There has been no trace of her since, and investigators say they have no suspects or persons of interest.
Local news outlets report the Guthrie family has been ordered to pay $6 million in Bitcoin by 5pm MT (7pm ET) on Monday.
Guthrie has indicated she is willing to pay it, even though the sender has not provided any proof that Nancy is still alive, and experts caution that the demand may be a scam.
The journalist went on to thank the public for all their support amid her mother’s disappearance.
‘Because we believe that somehow, some way, she is feeling these prayers, and that God is lifting her in this moment and in this darkest place,’ Guthrie said, adding that she and her siblings, Annie and Camron, ‘believe our mom is still out there.’
‘Law enforcement is working tirelessly, around the clock, trying to bring her home, trying to find her. She was taken and we don’t know where,’ Nancy’s heartbroken daughter continued.
Nancy was last seen at her home on January 31 after going to her eldest daughter Annie’s house for dinner and a game night.
She was reported missing the following morning after her friend told her family she did not show up to church – something out of the ordinary for Guthrie’s elderly mother.
As the investigation into her kidnapping continues, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office released a timeline they believe coincides with Nancy’s final movements before she was abducted.
Around 1.47am on Sunday, her doorbell camera disconnected from her front door. A person was seen in the camera, but video evidence was not available, Sheriff Chris Nanos said.
An analysis team found that the clip was not viewable and ‘kind of loops and right and covers up’, Nanos stated.
Her pacemaker – an implanted device that regulates someone’s heartbeat – disconnected from her iPhone and Apple watch app around 2.30am.
Guthrie’s latest video comes after she and her siblings sat down in prior clips pleading for their mother’s safe return.
A series of reported ransom notes have been sent to media outlets amid Nancy’s disappearance.
On Monday, one day after Nancy was first reported missing, KOLD, a local Tucson outlet, said they were sent a ransom note in regard to the missing woman.
The outlet’s news director, Jessica Boubula, confirmed they received the note around 5pm local time. It stated that the first deadline was for Thursday, February 5, at the same time.
On Tuesday, TMZ reporters revealed that their outlet had also received a ransom note from people believed to know Nancy’s whereabouts.
That letter demanded payment of millions in Bitcoin, a popular digital currency that can be difficult to trace.
Another ransom note was sent to KOLD around 11.45am on Friday, but it did not contain any further demands than what was already asked. It also did not provide proof of life.
KGUN 9, another small station, also said that they had received a letter demanding $6 million in Bitcoin by 5pm MT on Monday.
Other outlets also reportedly received this letter.
The note stated that if the hefty demand was not met, then Nancy’s life would be in danger.
Earlier on Monday, TMZ reported that a Bitcoin account set up to receive the ransom appeared to be empty.
It is unclear how long it takes for a Bitcoin account to update, but the account viewed by the outlet showed a $0 balance and no recorded transactions.
Over the weekend, investigators searched Annie’s home, which is about four miles away from her missing mother’s property.
They were seen taking photographs inside the property for several hours until around 10.30pm local time. Authorities did not say what, if any, new evidence had been collected.
Annie’s husband, Tommaso Cioni, was the last person to see Nancy after he dropped her off at her home around 9.48pm on January 31.
Drone footage was also released showing investigators removing a floodlight from Nancy’s home amid revelations that a ransom note specifically referenced the fixture.
Missing-person billboards were erected across the Southwestern states, displaying the 84-year-old’s photograph and description.
On Sunday, Pima County investigators were spotted using a pole to search the inside of a septic tank located behind Nancy’s home.
A security camera was removed from the exterior of the property on Monday.
The search remains ongoing as her family and friends continue to hold out hope for her safe return.
