The FBI has recovered additional surveillance imagery in the case of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie, who has now been missing from her Tucson, Arizona, home for almost seven weeks.
The new images, reported by ABC News citing unnamed sources briefed on the investigation, were recovered in recent weeks. They add to a thin but growing body of evidence in a case that has gripped the nation and left a prominent family publicly begging for answers.
According to Newsweek, Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her home on January 31. She was reported missing the following day. Drops of her blood were found on the front porch. On February 10, the FBI released a video captured by a doorbell camera. Several people were observed in the back and side yards of the property over an unspecified period of time before the abduction.
Despite the new imagery, critical gaps remain. Video footage itself has not been recovered; only thumbnail images were captured. And according to the report, nothing suspicious was recorded in those thumbnails.
Savannah Guthrie sat with her siblings, Annie and Camron, in a video posted on Instagram, making a heart-wrenching plea for her mother's kidnapper to send "proof of life." In another video, she delivered a blunt, two-word message to whoever is responsible:
"We will pay."
No proof has been received that Nancy Guthrie is alive.
There have been reports from multiple outlets of ransom notes that demanded payment in cryptocurrency, but authorities have not verified the authenticity of those notes. The gap between a family willing to pay and a kidnapper who has offered no evidence of a living hostage is a grim one.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said in a recent interview with NBC News that investigators believe they know the motive for the crime. He did not elaborate.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department offered only a carefully worded statement to ABC News:
"continues to analyze various forms of evidence in the Nancy Guthrie case, including material from laboratories as well as images and videos captured by cameras. At this time, we will not comment on the details or status of this analysis."
That statement tells the public almost nothing, which may be by design. Investigations of this nature often operate in deliberate silence. But almost seven weeks without a suspect, without a public breakthrough, and without proof that the victim is alive leaves a vacuum that no carefully hedged press release can fill.
The kidnapping of an 84-year-old woman from her own home in a mid-sized American city is the kind of crime that should force an honest conversation about safety, particularly for elderly Americans living alone. Nancy Guthrie's case commands national attention because of her daughter's fame. Most cases like this would not.
Tucson residents placed candles and flowers at a memorial in front of the local KVOA news station in early March. The community is watching. The country is watching.
The FBI has asked anyone with information to call 1-800-CALL-FBI. The Pima County Sheriff's Department can be reached at 520-351-4900, or tips can be submitted through 88-CRIME.
Seven weeks is a long time. For the Guthrie family, every day without answers is its own sentence. For law enforcement, the window to bring Nancy Guthrie home narrows with each one.