Investigators looking into the disappearance of US TV host Savannah Guthrie’s mother have found signs of forced entry at her Arizona home.
Savannah Guthrie is a main co-anchor on Today, the morning show on NBC News, the US sister network of Sky News.
A person familiar with the inquiry told the Associated Press that evidence in the home of Nancy Guthrie, 84, indicated that she had been kidnapped during the night.
They said that several of Nancy Guthrie’s personal items, including her mobile phone, wallet and her car, had been left in her property.
Investigators do not believe at this point that the abduction was part of a robbery, home invasion or kidnapping-for-ransom plot, the person said.
Police officers are currently reviewing information from licence plate cameras and surveillance video from nearby homes while working to analyse data from local phone towers.
Nancy Guthrie was first reported missing by her family after she failed to appear at church on Sunday.
She was last seen at her home near Tucson, Arizona, the night before at around 9.30pm.
In a social media post made on Monday, Savannah Guthrie described her mother as “a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant”.
Neighbours of Nancy Guthrie show support for the family. Pic: AP
She asked supporters to “raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. Bring her home”.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos urged whoever has Nancy Guthrie to free her because she could die without access to medication.
He said: “If she’s alive right now, her meds are vital. I can’t stress that enough. It’s been better than 24 hours, and the family tells us if she doesn’t have those meds, it can become fatal.”
He added that investigators has taken samples that they hoped would provide at least part of a DNA profile.
Nancy Guthrie. Pic: Pima county sheriff’s department
People searching for Nancy Guthrie used drones and search dogs and were supported by volunteers and Border Patrol.
Search crews have now been pulled back, however.
Mr Nanos said: “We don’t see this as a search mission so much as it is a crime scene.”
He previously said that Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance was not “dementia related”.
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“She’s as sharp as a tack,” he said. “The family wants everyone to know that this isn’t someone who just wandered off.”
Savannah Guthrie often brought her mother on Today as a guest.
Speaking on the show in 2022 on Nancy Guthrie’s 80th birthday, she said: “She has met unthinkable challenges in her life with grit, without self-pity, with determination and always, always with unshakeable faith.
“She loves us, her family, fiercely, and her selflessness and sacrifice for us, her steadfastness and her unmovable confidence is the reason any of us grew up to do anything.”
