Investigators detail new timeline in Nancy Guthrie’s late-night disappearance. Here’s how the evening unfolded

CNN

By Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN

(CNN) — As Nancy Guthrie’s family desperately pleads for her safe return, investigators announced Thursday they believe she is still alive – though they have no idea who may have taken her against her will.

It has been five days since Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, was apparently kidnapped, disappearing from her secluded Arizona home without her phone or critical medications.

Federal and local investigators have spent days working to recover video footage, analyze DNA and authenticate several potential ransom notes, but have so far received no “proof of life” or identified a suspect – even after Guthrie’s children shared a passionate public appeal to possible captors.

The FBI on Thursday announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to Guthrie’s recovery or an arrest and conviction in her disappearance.

Here is what we know about how the disappearance and investigation have played out.

A Saturday evening supper

Nancy Guthrie was last seen by her family the evening before her disappearance, when she joined relatives for dinner and game night near her Tucson-area home.

Guthrie took an Uber to her daughter Annie’s home around 5:32 p.m. on Saturday, January 31, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said. He said detectives have since interviewed the Uber driver, who the sheriff said is not under suspicion. The driver has been “very open” and shared video of Guthrie from inside their car, he added.

After dinner, family members dropped Guthrie back at her home, which lies in a secluded, cactus-dotted community in the Catalina Foothills.

Guthrie’s garage door opened at approximately 9:48 p.m. and closed at 9:50 p.m., the sheriff said.

“It is that time we assume that Nancy’s home and probably going to bed,” Nanos added.

A series of unusual overnight events

What happened in the late-night hours between Guthrie’s return home and her disappearance remains shrouded in mystery. But a few small pieces of evidence may offer insight into when she may have been taken.

At 1:47 a.m. Sunday, a few hours after Guthrie is believed to have come home, her doorbell camera was disconnected, according to Nanos. Though he confirmed it was removed, he said “we’re not confirming that any cameras were smashed or destroyed around the house.”

About 25 minutes later, at 2:12 a.m., surveillance camera software detected movement, Nanos said. But in a crucial loss for investigators, the camera has not been recovered and its software did not retain footage of the event. The camera owner did not have a subscription that would allow the software to save it, he said.

The sheriff initially said the camera detected a person, but later clarified it could have been an animal.

Guthrie’s pacemaker app data shows it disconnected from her phone at 2:28 a.m., Nanos said.

Guthrie’s cellphone was left behind at the home, a detail which may help narrow down the timeline for investigators, CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst Andrew McCabe said on “News Central” Wednesday.

“Likely, she was taken far enough away from (her phone) that the connection cut off. That could give us an indication of the moment she was taken from the home,” McCabe said.

It was not until later Sunday morning, after Guthrie was uncharacteristically absent from church, that a friend called her family to check in on her. When relatives checked on Guthrie at 11:56 a.m., they found she wasn’t home, authorities said.

Relatives called 911 at 12:03 p.m. to report her missing, and Pima County Sheriff’s Office patrols arrived at her home by 12:15 p.m., the sheriff said.

‘A scene that just disturbed me’

On Sunday afternoon, Nanos received a text describing the state of Guthrie’s home that put him on edge.

“They described to me a scene that just disturbed me,” the sheriff told CNN.

Though Nanos declined to share the contents of the message, he said they were concerning enough to call in the homicide team, as well as search and rescue, he said. “Something didn’t sound right to me.”

As investigators scoured the scene, they found blood on the front porch, which was later confirmed to be Guthrie’s, Nanos said, describing it as “minimal.”

“There’s still more items that have been submitted. We just haven’t got them back yet,” the sheriff said. “In the meantime, we’re not just sitting on our haunches waiting. We do have a number of leads coming in.”

Nanos addressed reports that there had been signs of forced entry at the home. He declined to confirm the detail but did not rule it out.

“I have no clue where that comes from,” Nanos said. “We have been very consistent — we are not discussing that at all, whether it’s forced entry or not forced entry.”

There was a sudden increase in law enforcement activity Wednesday night as detectives performed a “follow-up” at Guthrie’s home, the sheriff’s office said. Fresh crime scene tape wrapped around the length of the house — and was then promptly taken down.

As details of the apparent kidnapping spread across national media, President Donald Trump called Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday to express his support.

“I spoke with Savannah Guthrie, and let her know that I am directing ALL Federal Law Enforcement to be at the family’s, and Local Law Enforcement’s, complete disposal, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said on social media Wednesday evening. “We are deploying all resources to get her mother home safely.”

FBI scrutinizes ransom notes

At least three potential ransom notes have been reportedly sent to media outlets this week, but the FBI says it has not been able to confirm their authenticity and the family has not received additional contact from purported ransomers.

At least three different media outlets — TMZ and CNN Tucson affiliates KOLD and KGUN — report they received ransom notes earlier this week demanding millions of dollars in bitcoin for Guthrie’s safe return.

The same note was sent to several media outlets, according to Heith Janke, the FBI special agent in charge, but he could not confirm when the notes were sent.

Though he declined to detail the contents of the note, Janke confirmed it referred to an Apple Watch and a floodlight.

There have been no additional demands beyond the original notes and no confirmation that the sender is holding Guthrie, Janke said.

One of the letters included two deadlines, including a first deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday and a second deadline for next Monday, Janke said. Authorities did not clarify what time zone the deadlines would fall under.

But despite the deadlines, the family has not heard from the sender of the note, the FBI agent said.

“If those that may have Nancy are watching this, the family is ready to talk, get proof of life, because there has been no contact after that ransom note went to the media,” Janke said.

Another note sent directly to the family was identified as an “imposter ransom demand,” Janke said. A California man has been charged in connection with the false threat.

A heartbreaking family plea

Savannah Guthrie, alongside her siblings Annie and Camron, shared a wrenchingly emotional video Wednesday night, saying, “The light is missing from our lives.”

The children acknowledged that they have seen reports of ransom notes and appeared to make a direct plea to potential ransomers.

“We need to know without a doubt that she’s alive and that you have her,” Savannah Guthrie said. “We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please reach out to us.”

She said her mother is in “constant pain” and needs her medication to survive.

Savannah Guthrie, who has bowed out of hosting NBC’s Winter Olympics coverage in light of the disappearance, spoke directly to her mother in the video.

“Everyone is looking for you, Mommy, everywhere,” she said. “We will not rest – your children will not rest – until we are together again.”

On Thursday night, Camron Guthrie renewed the plea for possible captors to reach out to the family, saying “we haven’t heard anything directly.”

“We need you to reach out, and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward,” Camron Guthrie said in a video. “But first, we have to know that you have our mom. We want to talk to you and we are waiting for contact.”

A race against time continues

As Nancy Guthrie’s health complications make every passing day more dire, investigators are throwing their full weight behind locating her.

Going days without essential medications “could prove fatal” for Guthrie, Nanos said. Authorities have been contacting pharmacies and local hospitals for any sign of the woman or an effort to get medication for her.

More than 100 tips have been received as of Thursday, Nanos said.

Test results are still pending for physical and biological evidence collected from the scene, the sheriff explained. While investigators have been able to expedite some analyses, such as the blood on Guthrie’s porch, it may take several days to get other test results back.

“These things are done in an hour on Law & Order. This is real world, and it just takes some time,” he told CNN.

Investigators have been met with other roadblocks. The private serenity that attracted Guthrie to her desert home has also meant that surveillance footage is hard to come by, the sheriff said.

Nanos described it as “a very suburban, rural area” that sits on a “very mountainous side of town where vegetation is extremely thick” and the area is “not very well lit.”

“We are still canvassing that neighborhood and other neighborhoods and still drawing down from cameras on our streets, at our intersections, with hopes that maybe we’ll find something,” Nanos said.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Ed Lavandera, Rebekah Riess, Alaa Elassar, Elise Hammond and Cindy Von Quednow contributed to this report.