The TV star has endured nine days of turmoil after her mother Nancy vanished without a trace
The FBI have stepped into hostage negotiations as Savanna Guthrie admitted her family were “at an hour of desperation” amid her mother’s disappearance. The TV star has endured nine days of turmoil after her mother Nancy, 84, vanished without a trace.
A reported deadline for the safe return of the journalist’s mother passed on Monday at 00:00 GMT, shortly after Savannah issued another plea. At the time, officials said they had still not identified a suspect or person of interest in the investigation.
According to reports, the family had been ordered to pay $6 million in Bitcoin by the deadline – after which the alleged kidnappers would supposedly return Nancy within 12 hours. But the digital wallet referenced in the ransom note for a potential transaction has supposedly remained empty.
READ MORE: Savannah Guthrie issues desperate plea for mum Nancy as ransom deadline passesREAD MORE: All the latest on Savannah Guthrie’s missing mum as star agrees to pay ransom
According to TMZ, Pima County Sheriff’s Office has reportedly handed over negotiations to the FBI, who have now released a statement saying it ‘is not aware of any continued communication between the Guthrie family and suspected kidnappers…’ The bureau is now heading up all elements of the investigation including alleged ransom notes and ‘communications involving the Guthrie family.’
Savannah took to Instagram on Monday evening to beg for help from anyone who was able to give it. In an emotional video, she said: “I wanted to share my thoughts as we enter into another week in this nightmare. Thank you so much for the prayers and the love we have felt, my sister and brother and I. And that our mom has felt. She was taken and we don’t know where… We need your help. No matter where you are, even if you are from Tucson… We are at an hour of desperation .
“Because we believe that somehow, some way, she is feeling these prayers, and that God is lifting her in this moment and in this darkest place. We need your help, law enforcement is working round the clock tirelessly to try to find you.
“So I’m coming on to ask nor just for your prayers. If you see anything or hear anything that seems strange you, that you report it to law enforcement, we are at an hour of desperation and we need your help.”
It comes just one day after Savannah announced the family would pay ransom. “We received your message , and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,” the Today show host said in a video posted on social media, flanked by her siblings. “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
Savannah was referencing a message that was sent to the Tucson-based television station KOLD on Friday afternoon, according to Kevin Smith, a spokesperson for the FBI office in Phoenix.
KOLD said it received an email related to the Guthrie case on social media that day but declined to share specific details about its contents as the FBI conducted its review. The station was one of multiple press outlets that received alleged ransom letters during the week. At least one letter made monetary demands and established Thursday evening and the following Monday evening as deadlines.
Law enforcement officials declined to affirm that the letters were credible but said all tips were being investigated seriously. They also said one letter referenced Nancy Guthrie’s Apple watch and a specific feature of her property. The video released Saturday was the third this week that pleaded with potential kidnappers.
Investigators think Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will from her home just outside Tucson last weekend. DNA tests showed blood on Guthrie’s front porch was a match to her, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said. Authorities have not identified any suspects or ruled anyone out.
The sheriff said Friday that he was frustrated that a camera at Nancy Guthrie’s home was not able to capture images of anyone the day she went missing. Investigators have found that the home’s doorbell camera was disconnected early Sunday and that software data recorded movement at the home minutes later. But Nancy Guthrie did not have an active subscription, so none of the images were able to be recovered.
“It is concerning, it’s actually almost disappointing, because you’ve got your hopes up,” Nanos told The Associated Press in an interview. “OK, they got an image. ‘Well, we do, but we don’t.’” President Donald Trump, speaking on Air Force One on Friday, said the investigation was going “very well.”
“We have some clues that I think are very strong,” Trump said, while en route to his Florida estate. “We have some things that may be coming out reasonably soon.”
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