A little bit of blood was found inside the Arizona home of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, whose disappearance is being investigated as a crime, a law enforcement source familiar with the case told CBS News.
It is unclear whose blood it is, but it is being tested. Investigators and analysts are combing through the house in search of clues to the 84-year-old’s disappearance.
When asked about the blood during a news conference Tuesday, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said evidence collected from Guthrie’s Tucson, Arizona, home was still being processed and that none of it pointed toward a suspect.
“I’m not saying there’s blood inside that house or outside that house,” Nanos told reporters. He said he couldn’t provide details about what was collected from the home.
Investigators believe that Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her home in the middle of the night over the weekend, Nanos told CBS News. Nanos said the search was ongoing.
“We don’t know where she is,” the sheriff said.
Nanos was asked if a ransom demand had been made for Guthrie. “We’re following all leads,” the sheriff said. He also said, “That’s all I can tell you. We’ve got hundreds of leads.”
The sheriff has dismissed the possibility that Guthrie, who lives alone, may have wandered away from her home because he said she doesn’t have any cognitive issues and her mobility is limited.
Authorities have been searching for Guthrie since Sunday. She was last seen at her home Saturday night, but no one knew she was missing until she didn’t show up for church the next morning, Nanos said.
Guthrie takes daily medication, adding additional urgency to the search.
Savannah Guthrie asked people on social media Monday to pray for her mother.
“Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant,” she said on Instagram. “Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. we need you.”
Savannah Guthrie and mother Nancy Guthrie on the “Today” show June 15, 2023.
Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images
An official told CBS News that 88-Crime, an Arizona-based, non-profit program that works with law enforcement to help solve crimes, is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for “information leading to the arrest of the person or persons involved in the disappearance.”
Nancy Guthrie’s family has asked residents near her home to review their security footage from over the weekend, especially between the hours of 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Sunday. When CBS News asked Nanos about the time frame, he said the department is starting with a narrow window and will expand outward.
“Keep looking. You never know what you’ll see,” Nanos told CBS News. “Maybe it’s just a pair of headlights. But if you see something that just doesn’t seem right in that neighborhood, please let us know. We can come and download all your digital evidence and take a look at it ourselves.”
Anna Schecter and
Patrick Torphy
contributed to this report.
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