Six months after her mother Nancy Guthrie went missing, NBC “TODAY” co-host Savannah Guthrie made an emotional plea on social media for the public’s assistance. The Pima County Sheriff's Department has also released a pair of ransom notes in hopes of generating leads.
"This is our beautiful Mom. Six months ago, someone took her out of her bed in the dead of night. We have lived every moment, every breath, and every heartbeat in agony and despair ever since," Guthrie wrote on Instagram Saturday. "Every day, we wake up and try to be strong and go on – because that’s what our joyful and resilient Mom taught us to do. But make no mistake – our hearts are in ruins. ... We spend every waking moment thinking of her, longing for her, looking for her."
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen outside her home near Tucson, Arizona, on Jan. 31. A masked intruder was recorded by the home's doorbell camera disconnecting the cameras at approximately 1:47 a.m. on Feb. 1. Later that morning, at 2:28 a.m., her pacemaker lost its Bluetooth connection to her cell phone, according to the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
The newly released ransom notes, reportedly sent on Feb. 2 and Feb. 6, demanded $4 million in Bitcoin and threatened Nancy Guthrie's life. The notes contained details about the crime scene that authorities believe were not publicly known at the time, including references to the location of Guthrie's Apple Watch and a smashed floodlight in her backyard. Information about the watch had reportedly begun to emerge publicly on Feb. 3, the day after the first note was sent.
"We are begging for help. We are desperate," Savannah Guthrie’s post continued. "We need someone to come forward. Someone knows something. Someone suspects something. Someone recognizes the writing in the ransom demand notes."
She urged anyone who might have noticed anything unusual about someone they know to come forward, emphasizing that information can be provided anonymously and that a reward is available. "There is a way out – to tell what you know. You can do so anonymously," she wrote. "There is a way to end this situation and do the right thing."
Guthrie expressed the family’s enduring grief, stating, "There is a hole inside us that can never be filled. There is an ache that cannot be softened. And 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."
The second ransom note reportedly claimed that Nancy Guthrie had "perished."
Guthrie concluded her plea by thanking those who have offered prayers and support, stating, "We need your prayers, we need your kindness. We need the good to be stronger than the evil." She asked those following the story not to treat it as entertainment or for profit, but to support her mother. "We will never stop looking for answers – and we will never stop looking for the light. We will always be hoping and praying and believing in the best of our world – in spite of circumstance. This is what our faith makes possible. Please. Bring her home," she wrote.