“TODAY” co-host Savannah Guthrie renewed her appeal for help finding her mother, Nancy, on Sunday, nine months after the 84-year-old disappeared from her Tucson, Arizona, home. Authorities believe she was abducted.
Guthrie shared an old drawing by her daughter, Vale. It shows a blue umbrella in the rain alongside the words, “I know it might not seem like it, but I really need my mommy.”
“Found this old drawing from my daughter today,” Guthrie wrote. “It says so much about how I feel.”
She said daily life can look normal as her family tries to carry on and stay strong for the children, but “it’s not and it never will be.”
Guthrie said she and her family are desperate for answers and urged anyone with information to come forward. The reward remains available, she wrote, asking people to help the family find Nancy and give her the dignity she deserves. She also thanked supporters and called on them to keep praying for the family.
Nancy was reported missing on Feb. 1. She was last seen at her home in the Catalina Foothills area near Tucson shortly before 10 p.m. on Jan. 31.
Doorbell camera footage showed a masked, armed person apparently interfering with the device. The FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department have not named a suspect, and no arrests have been made.
Guthrie has continued asking for answers while returning to her work on “TODAY.” In a June appearance on “TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle,” she pushed back against the notion that she had moved on from her mother’s disappearance.
“I know maybe people wonder, ‘What’s going on? How is she able to do that job? Is she not thinking about it? Did she forget?’ No. Never,” she said. “It’s always with me. I cry every morning on the way to work, and I cry every morning on the way home.”
In August, six months after Nancy went missing, Guthrie and her siblings issued another appeal. The family said they were trying to stay strong, as their mother had taught them, but that their hearts were “in ruins.” They said they spent every waking moment thinking of Nancy, longing for her and searching for her.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Friday that the task force investigating Nancy’s disappearance was continuing to work with laboratories on DNA analysis. Investigators had traveled to Florida earlier in the month to meet with lab scientists and discuss ways to move the case forward. The department said it was continuing to work with its partners and reminded the public that no tip is too small.
Sheriff Chris Nanos has previously said Nancy “did not leave on her own.”
Authorities released details of two ransom notes in July. The first, sent on Feb. 2, claimed Nancy was safe and demanded $4 million in bitcoin for her release. A second note, sent four days later, claimed she had died soon after being taken.
Investigators said the notes had distinctive writing patterns and asked anyone who recognized them to contact authorities. A possible additional ransom text reported in September was later deemed not credible.
Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit an anonymous tip at 520-882-7463.
