Savannah Guthrie’s Brother Pleads for Proof of Life as ‘Ransom’ Deadline Passes

The brother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie posted a new video on social media Thursday night, pleading with the suspect or suspects behind the disappearance of his 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, to communicate directly with the family after the first of two deadlines, laid out in unverified anonymous ransom notes sent to the media, passed.“Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven’t heard anything directly. We need you to reach out, and we need a way to communicate with you so we move forward,” the brother, Camron Guthrie, said in a video on Instagram. “But first, we have to know that you have our mom. We want to talk to you, and we are waiting for contact,” he added.The video was posted around the same time as the 5 p.m. deadline imposed in one of the purported ransom notes by the possible kidnapper of Ms. Guthrie, who was discovered missing from her Tucson-area home Sunday. Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen on the evening of January 31, 2026, at her home. Via NBCAuthorities believe Ms. Guthrie was removed from her home against her will, and a DNA test has since confirmed that the blood discovered on her front porch belonged to her. However, authorities have yet to identify any person of interest in her disappearance.“Right now, we believe Nancy is still out there. We want her home,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said in a press conference Thursday. Authorities, however, admitted they do not have any evidence to confirm proof of life for Ms. Guthrie. The FBI special agent in charge in Phoenix, Heith Janke, told reporters that Ms. Guthrie and her two siblings did not receive any ransom letters similar to the notes sent to the media this week.Mr. Janke added that one of the ransom notes set a 5 P.M. deadline Thursday for the Guthrie family to pay millions in bitcoin for their mother’s release. A second ransom deadline, in a separate note, has been set for Monday. Camron Guthrie’s message could be found on his sister’s Instagram. InstagramOn Tuesday morning, the first ransom note was received by TMZ demanding a “substantial amount” of Bitcoin to be sent to a specific Bitcoin address that TMZ confirmed was real. The note also contained unconfirmed details about damage in Ms. Guthrie’s home. Ransom letters were also sent to other local and national news outlets, although it remained unclear if they were authentic. One note “talked about an Apple watch, and one talked about a floodlight,” Mr. Janke added.Authorities on Thursday also provided a clearer timeline of events leading up to Ms. Guthrie’s disappearance.On Saturday, January 31, Ms. Guthrie left her home in an Uber to have dinner at a family member’s home at 5:32 p.m. She was driven back to her home by a family member at 9:48 p.m. Neighbors of Nancy Guthrie show support for the family in metro Tucson, Arizona. AP/Sejal GovindaraoAt 1:47 a.m. Sunday morning, Mr. Nanos said that a doorbell camera at her home had disconnected. At 2:12 a.m., the doorbell camera’s software detected movement, but the footage was not saved as Ms. Guthrie did not have a subscription with the company, authorities said. Then, at 2:28 a.m., Ms. Guthrie’s pacemaker app had been disconnected from her phone. Her family checked in on her at 11:56 a.m. Sunday after she missed church. Upon discovering she was missing, her family called 911 shortly after noon.On Thursday, Mr. Nanos shot down recent reports of there being forced entry at Ms. Guthrie’s home. “Where it’s forced entry or not forced entry, that is something we’re just not discussing,” Mr. Nanos said. The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for any information leading to the recovery of Ms. Guthrie or the arrest of anyone involved in her disappearance. All three Guthrie siblings made an impassioned plea for their mother’s return on Instagram. Instagram Also on Thursday, a Southern California man was arrested for allegedly sending texts to a daughter and son-in-law of Ms Guthrie’s, allegedly demanding bitcoin.On Wednesday, shortly after Savannah Guthrie posted a video on Instagram asking for her mom’s possible adductors to contact the family, Dominick Callella allegedly sent separate texts to Annie Guthrie and her husband asking, “Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction,” according to the criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court.Mr. Callella, who was arrested in Los Angeles on Thursday, allegedly used a voice-over-Internet-Protocol, or VoIP, application to send the messages from a different phone number. When approached by investigators, Mr. Callella allegedly admitted to sending the two text messages using a VoIP account after finding the contact information for Annie Guthrie and her family from a “cyber website,” according to the criminal complaint. Mr. Callella allegedly told investigators that he sent the text messages as he was “trying to see if the family would respond.” Mr. Callella also allegedly called one Guthrie “family member” in a call that lasted nine seconds, according to the complaint. He is set to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Friday.

Savannah Guthrie’s Brother Pleads for Proof of Life as ‘Ransom’ Deadline Passes

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