Savannah Guthrie stepped away from the television set and turned to social media Saturday with a direct, personal plea: help find her mother. It has been six months since Nancy Guthrie, 84, was reported missing from her Tucson home in the early hours of February 1. She left without her phone or essential medication, a circumstance family members say raises acute concerns about her safety and wellbeing. Investigators have pursued thousands of tips and examined video evidence, but the search has yet to bring the resolution the family seeks — the safe return of Nancy Guthrie.
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Pima County Sheriff’s Office missing-person flyer for a vulnerable 84-year-old adult reported missing from Tucson, showing a photo, physical description and contact information.
In an Instagram post that the family described as a direct appeal born from six months of anguish, Guthrie laid bare the toll her mother’s absence has taken. "We have lived every moment, every breath, and every heartbeat in agony and despair ever since," she wrote, words that conveyed the constant, consuming nature of the family’s ordeal. "Our hearts are in ruins," Guthrie added, describing how she and her siblings "spend every waking moment thinking of her, longing for her, looking for" Nancy. The family also has shared emotional video messages publicly, pleading for information and for anyone with possible knowledge of Nancy’s whereabouts to come forward.
The Instagram message reiterated the family’s determination to uncover what happened. "There is a determination in us that cannot be quenched - to find out what happened to her, so that we can give her the dignity of a proper goodbye - a celebration of her remarkable life that she so deserves," Guthrie wrote. At the same time, the post renewed a public call for information, referencing a reward in the case and drawing attention to new materials investigators released last week: ransom demand notes that officials say may contain identifying clues.
An NBC 'Today' show anchor on set, shown during an emotional moment — the anchor publicly appealed for help in the search for her missing mother in Tucson.
Those ransom notes were highlighted in Guthrie’s appeal. "Someone recognizes the writing in the ransom demand notes," she wrote, urging anyone with recognition of the handwriting to contact authorities. In the same post she addressed a different audience — those following the case for reasons other than helping — and issued a blunt rebuke: "You are not on her side - you are part of the harm perpetrated against her." The family’s message combined a plea for practical information with a plea for decency, asking the public to treat the search with the seriousness it demands.
Investigators say they have followed thousands of leads over the past months, and the family has made public appeals repeatedly as the search continued. While details of the investigative work have not produced a public breakthrough or confirmation of Nancy Guthrie’s location, the family has emphasized that every tip and every piece of video evidence has been pursued. For now, those efforts have not yielded the outcome the Guthries are seeking: bringing Nancy home and providing answers to loved ones.
The family’s public outreach has been methodical and persistent, alternating between written appeals and video messages intended to keep the search visible and to prompt anyone with information to come forward. The Instagram post Saturday served both as an emotional statement and as a functional request for assistance: contact investigators if you recognize the handwriting in the ransom notes, or if you have any other information related to Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance. The case remains active, and the family and law enforcement say they expect further updates as the investigation continues.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office released images of the two ransom notes on X just prior to the six-month mark, one claiming Nancy Guthrie died shortly after her abduction and "is buried in nature now." Sheriff Nanos also issued a video update emphasizing the investigation remains active with no arrests made. (@PimaSheriff)
On Feb. 24 the Guthrie family announced a separate family reward of up to $1 million for information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s recovery and said they would donate $500,000 to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
The FBI has been publicly involved in the investigation and its materials list a reward (which was later increased) at up to $100,000 for information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s location or to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved; the bureau also released additional images and video describing a masked male about 5'9"–5'10" wearing a black Ozark Trail backpack.
Pima County’s 88‑CRIME program said it received an anonymous $100,000 donation that raised its own reward to $102,500 (separate from the FBI’s reward), meaning non‑family rewards tied to the case exceeded $200,000.
Federal agents arrested a California man, Derrick Callella, in early February and charged him with transmitting a ransom demand in interstate commerce and using anonymous telecommunications to harass; authorities say those messages were an apparent hoax and have not been linked to the ransom letters sent to media outlets.
Law‑enforcement updates in mid‑February reported that investigators had received and reviewed tens of thousands of leads — one local report said more than 18,000 tips had been submitted to the FBI.
Two people who were detained and later released early in the inquiry have filed a notice of claim alleging wrongful detention and seeking a combined $3 million from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.