‘Agony’: US TV anchor speaks after mother’s kidnapping note revealed
US Today host Savannah Guthrie has spoken on-air after reports emerged that a second note sent to the media following the suspected kidnapping of her mother Nancy Guthrie claimed she was dead and did not include any ransom details.
The 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie was reported missing from her home in Tucson, Arizona in the early hours of February 1 in an apparent abduction.
Nancy Guthrie's disappearance from her home on January 31 dominated national news headlines for several weeks in February. Supplied
Investigators have examined two notes sent to the media after Guthrie’s disappearance.
The first indicated she was safe and asked for cryptocurrency in exchange for her release.
The second note “differed in every way” from the first and stated that Guthrie was dead, US network NBC reports.
Investigators regard both notes as “potentially credible”.
The contents of the second note had not been revealed until now.
Savannah Guthrie, who has returned to her anchor job, spoke after Today aired a report about the revelations.
While she said she would not comment on the reports, she took the opportunity to renew her appeal for information, calling the situation “unprecedented”.
“I can’t pretend I’m not here, and so since I am, I wanted to just take the opportunity to, to ask people to really, to beg people to come forward,” she said.
“Somebody knows something, and this is a new story today that is on your radar, but this is the life that my sister lives, that I live, that my brother lives, that our extended families live, that our children live every day, and we are in agony, and we cannot be at peace.”
Guthrie has issued repeated pleas for information and even appealed to the presumed kidnappers, eventually announcing a $US1 million ($1.4 million) reward.
Days after her disappearance, footage of a masked man on Nancy Guthrie’s doorstep was released to the media.
US Today Show host Savannah Guthrie and her mum, Nancy Guthrie. Instagram/@savannahguthrie
The images and video show a man wearing gloves, long sleeves, pants, and with a balaclava over his face, apparently attempting to block the door camera at the home, including by holding up a handful of plants.
Police have not identified any persons of interest in the case.
Savannah Guthrie spoke about her mother’s disappearance during an interview with her friend and colleague Hoda Kotb in March and made another plea to kidnappers.
“Someone needs to do the right thing. We are in agony. We are in agony. It is unbearable,” she said.
The journalist returned to work as an anchor for Today in April.
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