Two weeks after her mother’s disappearance, US television presenter Savannah Guthrie made an urgent appeal to the 84-year-old’s alleged kidnappers.
02/16/2026, 05:3802/16/2026, 05:38
“We still have hope,” she said in a video message on the Instagram platform. Referring to her mother, Nancy Guthrie, she continued: “Whoever has her or knows where she is: It’s never too late.” With a halting voice, she added: “It is never too late to do the right thing. (…) We believe in the good in all people. And it’s never too late.”
Guthrie’s fate is causing a nationwide stir in the USA; even President Donald Trump and the FBI have become involved in the case. The TV presenter’s mother, who has a heart condition and is dependent on medication, was last seen on the evening of January 31st. Since then she has disappeared without a trace. Investigators in the state of Arizona assume a kidnapping and are looking for a male suspect who was recorded on a video camera at the pensioner’s house. The FBI doubled the reward for information about Guthrie’s disappearance to up to 100,000 US dollars (around 77,000 francs).
Investigators examine DNA traces in gloves
Recently there were several police operations in connection with the criminal case in the area around the city of Tucson in Arizona. During a joint operation on Friday evening, the sheriff’s office said that no further information would be released at the FBI’s request.
According to US media reports, investigators found gloves similar to those worn by the suspect captured on surveillance camera a few kilometers from Guthrie’s home. There are DNA traces in it that are now being examined, it said, citing the FBI.
Nancy Guthrie’s children had repeatedly addressed the unknown alleged kidnapper or kidnappers in video messages and also hinted at a possible ransom payment. In the most recent video, only Savannah Guthrie, who is known as the presenter of the successful show “Today” on US breakfast television, spoke. (sda/dpa)