Where things stand
• No suspects: There are still no suspects named as the search for Nancy Guthrie, mother of “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, enters a sixth day. The FBI has surged experts to Arizona to help with the investigation and is offering a $50,000 reward for information, and the US attorney general said her office is doing everything it can to assist local law enforcement.
• Son’s plea: Nancy Guthrie’s son addressed possible captors yesterday, saying in a video “we want to hear from you.” A second deadline mentioned in purported ransom notes, which authorities have not verified, is on Monday, the FBI said.
• Clues emerging: Authorities say they believe Guthrie was abducted from her home near Tucson last weekend. Blood found on her porch belonged to her and a front door camera is missing, authorities said. A camera also detected motion around 2 a.m. Sunday, around the time her pacemaker last pinged her phone.
Hoda Kotb returns to "Today" show as colleagues support Savannah Guthrie
Former “Today” show co-host Hoda Kotb returned to Studio 1A this morning as Savannah Guthrie’s colleagues rally to show their support while authorities search for her missing mother.
Kotb was one of the co-anchors of the show with Guthrie for seven years, according to the “Today” show.
Joined by Carson Daly, Sheinelle Jones and Craig Melvin, Kotb reflected on how Guthrie showed up for them during their own challenges.
Kotb said Guthrie was “first in the hospital room” when Kotb’s daughter had a health scare.
Kotb looked at Daly and said Guthrie “hopped on a plane” when his mother died. Then, looking at Melvin, she said, “How about when your brother passed?”
“Savannah,” Melvin said.
Nancy Guthrie's neighbor says she's "very alarmed" by disappearance
Nancy Guthrie’s neighbor, Laura Gargano, told The Associated Press she is “very alarmed” by the 84-year-old’s apparent abduction.
“I just don’t want to imagine what happened that night and what she might have felt at that moment,” Gargano said.
Gargano described Guthrie as a “very sweet woman,” saying the two met when Gargano visited Guthrie’s home for her role on the neighborhood association board.
In general, the Catalina Foothills neighborhood where Guthrie disappeared “is a very, very safe neighborhood,” she said. “I think most people haven’t been overly concerned” about safety.
Man charged with sending Guthrie family an illegitimate ransom threat to appear in court
Derrick Callella, the man charged with sending the Guthrie family an illegitimate ransom threat soon after they posted a plea for the return of their mother, will make his first appearance in court Friday at 5 p.m. ET.
Callella was charged Thursday with two counts related to the fake ransom threat. Shortly after the Guthrie family posted the plea on Instagram, Nancy Guthrie’s daughter and son-in-law both received text messages saying the texter was waiting for a bitcoin transaction, the complaint said. Callella admitted to sending the two messages, according to the complaint.
FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Heith Janke said during a news conference Thursday an arrest of an imposter making a ransom demand was made, but there was “no evidence to connect this” to Nancy Guthrie. “It was someone that was trying to profit from it, a total imposter,” he said.
Callella is scheduled to appear at the Santa Ana Courthouse in Santa Ana, California, according to the court’s calendar. No plea will be taken at the Friday appearance, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
FBI offers $50,000 reward for information in search for Nancy Guthrie
The FBI has announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie “and or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.”
Here are the experts the FBI has surged to Arizona for Guthrie case
The FBI has surged resources to Tucson from across the country in an effort to help local law enforcement find Nancy Guthrie.
Heith Janke, who leads the FBI’s office in Arizona, said yesterday, “The FBI has agents, analysts and professional staff, employees working day and night with our partners at the sheriff’s department.”
Here are the specialists investigating the case:
- FBI Critical Response Group: Specialists based in the Washington, DC, area are always on standby to board one of the FBI’s emergency mission aircraft and launch in support of critical incidents. These include crisis negotiators now working with the Guthrie family following unverified reports of ransom notes, as well as FBI profilers who specialize in understanding the behavior of perpetrators.
- Cell phone exploitation specialists: Members of the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team are actively working the case, officials said. These technical specialists bring expertise in exploiting cell phone tower data to determine what devices may have been in the vicinity of a crime when it was committed.
- Intelligence analysts: Trained intelligence analysts work with FBI special agents to exploit crime scene evidence, pour over tips submitted from the public and establish timelines critical to tracing the steps of a perpetrator.
Attorney General Pam Bondi says disappearance of Nancy Guthrie “breaks my heart”
US Attorney General Pam Bondi addressed the ongoing investigation surrounding the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie this morning, saying her office is doing everything it can to assist local law enforcement.
“We’re working with the locals,” Bondi said.
“Breaks my heart for Savannah and for her family. I know she’s asked for all of our prayers, so please pray for her. Pray for her beautiful mom, pray for her family that she’s returned home. That’s all we can say about that at this time,” the attorney general said, noting she has known Savannah Guthrie for over 30 years.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson with the FBI’s Phoenix office told CNN its intake center has received “consistent tips from the public,” but the office does not have updates at this time.
Savannah Guthrie's Arizona roots
Perched along the Santa Catalina Mountains, the Catalina Hills community where Nancy Guthrie lives is known for outdoor activities, not crime scene investigations.
Homes in the desert community are spaced out and tucked away behind desert foliage, according to Nancy Guthrie’s neighbor, Jeff Lamie, and the quality of life is, as the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie has described, “laid back and gentle.”
“I like to watch the javelinas eat my plants,” Savannah Guthrie once said, referring to pig-looking animals that are often seen in the area.
The family relocated to Arizona from Australia, where Savannah was born, and where Nancy’s husband, Charles Guthrie, worked as a mining engineer.
In 1988, Charles died of a heart attack when Savannah was just 16 years old, a moment that the anchor told NBC tore her “whole world apart.”
Savannah, the youngest of three siblings, stayed in Arizona for college, attending the University of Arizona. Her sister, Annie Guthrie, didn’t wander far either.
In a “Today” show segment about her Tucson roots last fall, one of many times the host featured her mom on the show, the NBC host called herself a “daughter of the desert.”
Lack of contact between captors and family is unusual, retired FBI agent says
The fact that the person or people who purportedly abducted Nancy Guthrie haven’t made contact with her family – despite their pleas for direct contact – “is the most beguiling part” of the kidnapping case, according to James Gagliano, a retired FBI supervisory special agent who has worked on hostage negotiations.
“This one doesn’t make sense, the way the kidnappers are working,” he told CNN this morning. “It is head-scratchingly odd.”
The multiple deadlines mentioned in the ransom note are also unusual, according to Gagliano.
Authorities are working to determine the legitimacy of the ransom notes and whether they are connected to Guthrie’s disappearance.
Similarly, Andrew McCabe, former deputy director of the FBI, said on CNN this morning, “Every kidnapper knows that you cannot get the money, the ransom, unless you’ve provided proof of life.”
“So for this person, who sent these letters, to say, ‘we’ll never contact you, we won’t negotiate, you won’t ever get proof of life,’ to me, that undermines the credibility of the letters,” he explained.
"Not knowing is one of the worst things," says kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart's father
One of the worst parts of his daughter’s kidnapping was the uncertainty, Ed Smart told CNN Friday morning.
“Not knowing is one of the worst things out there,” said Smart, whose daughter Elizabeth was kidnapped in 2002 and held hostage for nine months. “Not knowing what, you know, Elizabeth was going through, how was she surviving?”
“And all of these questions, of course, apply to Nancy,” he went on.
He emphasized the importance of “remaining positive, remaining hopeful, and faith that, you know, she’ll be recovered.”
The first deadline mentioned in a ransom note has passed. Here's what we know
One of the two deadlines mentioned in a purported ransom note in the abduction of Nancy Guthrie has now come and gone.
The FBI said it is investigating and taking seriously the note, which was sent this week to some media outlets. Here’s what we’ve learned about the note:
The note, demanding millions of dollars in Bitcoin for Nancy Guthrie’s safe return, begins by stating Guthrie is “OK, but scared,” according to Harvey Levin, founder of TMZ, which received it. The note has two deadlines — one at 5 p.m. yesterday and one for Monday, an official said.
“If a transfer wasn’t made, then a second demand was for next Monday. We’re not going to go beyond that,” FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Heith Janke said at yesterday’s news conference.
“The second deadline is far more consequential,” Levin told CNN’s Erin Burnett last night. He did not elaborate.
Those who have seen the note say it details information that only someone privy to this case would know.
“They do mention the floodlight, the damaged floodlight. There is something else, and it is the placement of the Apple watch,” Levin said. Janke confirmed the note referred to those two items.
Media outlets TMZ, KOLD, and KGUN each received a purported ransom note via email. None provided contact information.
The note, Levin told CNN, indicated the Guthrie family would have no way of contacting the purported captor or captors. Whoever sent the email to TMZ, he added, went to great lengths to remain anonymous.
KOLD anchor Mary Coleman told Burnett she had not received any communication since receiving the note.
CNN’s Cindy Von Quednow and Elise Hammond contributed to this reporting.
The ‘Today’ show’s deep bonds underscored
NBC used to promote the cast of the “Today” show as “America’s first family,” and this agonizing week has shown why.
Savannah Guthrie’s co-hosts and colleagues have extended their support, both on-air and off, as the authorities try to find her 84-year-old mother, Nancy.
Read more about how the “Today” show’s coverage has reflected those bonds.
With physical evidence limited, investigators look to see who was around Nancy Guthrie's home
Lacking any video of her abduction, investigators into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie have been taking precautionary looks at a wide range of people who have been to the home before.
An Uber driver who drove Guthrie to her daughter Annie’s home for dinner Saturday night was “very open” and not under suspicion, Nanos said.
A former NYPD investigator adds that credit card records are likely being examined for clues about any deliveries that may have been made to the house.
“It would widen the net as it relates to people that visited that location,” Darrin Porcher told CNN’s Rahel Solomon. “This can be quite telling because it can give us information as to not just the timeline, but the interaction with Nancy.”
Here's what outlets that received an alleged ransom letter are saying about it
The alleged ransom letter sent to media outlet TMZ indicated the Guthrie family would have no way of contacting Nancy Guthrie’s purported abductor or abductors, founder Harvey Levin told CNN’s Erin Burnett yesterday.
Levin added whoever sent the email to TMZ went to great lengths to remain anonymous.
The letter begins by stating Nancy Guthrie is “OK, but scared,” Levin said, adding his team immediately sent the letter to law enforcement.
Levin said the letter included one detail that has not been reported: the placement of Nancy Guthrie’s Apple Watch.
The note also included two deadlines — one at 5 p.m. Thursday and one on Monday, officials said.
KOLD anchor Mary Coleman, who also received the letter, said she has not received any new communication.
“I’ve been refreshing my email constantly to try and see if we’ve received anything. I have my email open right here and we haven’t received anything just yet,” she said.
Coleman said she also hasn’t heard any new information about the ongoing search or investigation and added law enforcement personnel are still present at all of the scenes.
“The captors say she’s OK, but when you also confirm that her blood was found at the doorstep, there are numerous things that are very concerning about the entire situation,” Coleman told Burnett.
Could a potential Bitcoin ransom be traced? Experts advise
If the Guthrie family makes a ransom payment for their mother’s return, can the alleged captor be traced? A former FBI deputy director and cybersecurity expert speak to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins:
Former FBI counterintelligence operative and cybersecurity expert Eric O’Neill explains further to CNN’s Laura Coates:
Timeline: How Guthrie's disappearance unfolded
It has been six days since Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her secluded Arizona home without her phone or critical medications.
Here is a timeline on what we know about her disappearance.
Saturday, January 31
- 5:32 p.m.: Guthrie takes an Uber to her daughter Annie’s home.
- 9:48 p.m.: Guthrie’s garage door opens and then closes about two minutes later. Family members had taken Guthrie back to her home after dinner.
Sunday, February 1
- 1:47 a.m.: Guthrie’s doorbell camera is disconnected.
- 2:12 a.m.: Surveillance camera software detects movement but the camera owner did not have a subscription that would allow the software to retain footage for viewing.
- 2:28 a.m.: Guthrie’s pacemaker app data shows it disconnected from her cell phone which was left behind at home.
- 11:56 a.m.: Relatives check on Guthrie after finding out she was uncharacteristically absent from church.
- 12:03 p.m.: Guthrie’s relatives call 911 to report her missing.
- 12:15 p.m.: Pima County Sheriff’s Office patrols arrive at Guthrie’s home.
Read what investigators have revealed about Guthrie’s late-night disappearance.
Analysis: Why Guthrie siblings’ efforts to make direct contact is crucial
CNN’s John Miller breaks down why the efforts by Nancy Guthrie’s children to make direct contact with the person or people who sent the ransom demand linked to her disappearance is so important.
CNN’s John Miller breaks down why the efforts by Nancy Guthrie’s daughter, Savannah, and son, Camron to make direct contact with the person or people who sent the ransom demand linked to Nancy's disappearance is so important.
Kidnappings that gripped America in the past
Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance follows several high-profile abductions over almost a century.
Here are some past cases that have captured America’s attention.
Elizabeth Smart
Elizabeth Smart was abducted at age 14 from her Salt Lake City home in 2002 by Brian David Mitchell and rescued nine months later. Smart has become an outspoken activist for child safety and survivors of sexual abuse.
Her father Ed Smart told CNN Thursday: “I had this feeling inside that Elizabeth was still out there… My message to (Savannah Guthrie and her family) would be to keep the faith and keep hope alive until there’s some other word out there.”
Charles Lindbergh Jr.
The toddler son of aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh was taken from his family home in New Jersey in 1932 and a ransom note demanding $50,000 was left at the windowsill. It was dubbed the “crime of the century.” The child was discovered dead two months later. A carpenter was convicted and executed.
Frank Sinatra Jr.
Frank Sinatra’s 19-year-old son was seized from a Lake Tahoe hotel in 1963. The kidnappers demanded a $240,000 ransom and were eventually caught and prosecuted. Barry Keenan, who was one of the kidnappers, later wrote a podcast manuscript while he was in prison,
Patty Hearst
In 1974, then 19-year-old Patty Hearst, granddaughter of a powerful media family, was abducted by a radical leftist guerrillas group who called themselves the Symbionese Liberation Army. Hearst later appeared to align herself with her captors, even participating in criminal acts. She was eventually arrested, served time, and more than two decades later - received clemency and a pardon.
Nancy Guthrie’s neighbor speaks to CNN as search intensifies
As the search for Nancy Guthrie intensifies, CNN’s Laura Coates speaks with her neighbor Tom Pew, who describes heavy police activity in the area.
Man charged in fake ransom threat due in court today, CNN affiliate reports
A California man charged with sending an illegitimate ransom threat to family members of Nancy Guthrie is scheduled to make his first court appearance Friday in downtown Los Angeles, CNN affiliate KCAL/KCBS reported.
CNN has reached out to the US attorney’s office for confirmation.
Derrick Callella, 42, was arrested Thursday in Hawthorne, California, and faces federal charges related to transmitting a ransom demand and making harassing communications, court records show.
Shortly after the Guthrie family posted a video on Instagram Wednesday asking for information on their missing mother, Guthrie’s daughter and son‑in‑law received text messages asking whether they had sent bitcoin and stating the texter was waiting for the transaction, a criminal complaint said. About three minutes later, a brief nine‑second call was placed to a family member, according to the filing.
Authorities traced the phone number and, after being advised of his Miranda rights, Callella admitted to sending the messages, telling investigators he found the family’s information on a “cyber website” and sent the texts to see whether they would respond, the complaint said.
CNN is working to determine whether Callella has an attorney.
Earlier Thursday, FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Heith Janke said an arrest had been made in connection with an imposter ransom demand but emphasized there was “no evidence to connect this” to Guthrie. “It was someone that was trying to profit from it, a total imposter,” he said.
FBI director's planned visit to Tucson is unrelated to Guthrie investigation
FBI Director Kash Patel is being briefed several times a day on the Nancy Guthrie investigation, a bureau official said, noting the director has a trip to Tucson coming up that is unrelated to the missing mother of “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie.
“He does have a trip scheduled to Tucson that was pre-scheduled before this, but he is receiving consistent and constant updates from our team here,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Heith Janke said during a news conference in Arizona Thursday.
