Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said on Monday that Nancy Guthrie’s family members, including her adult children and their spouses, are not suspects in the disappearance of the 84-year-old.
“To be clear … the Guthrie family—to include all siblings and spouses—has been cleared as possible suspects in this case,” he said in a statement on X. “The family has been nothing but cooperative and gracious and are victims in this case.”
Nanos said that suggesting otherwise “is not only wrong, it is cruel.”
“The Guthrie family are victims plain and simple … please, I’m begging you the media to honor your profession and report with some sense of compassion and professionalism,” he wrote.
The 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie has not been seen since the evening of Jan. 31 at her home in the Catalina Foothills area near Tucson. Family members reported her missing on Feb. 1 after she did not show up to a church gathering. Authorities believe she was taken against her will from her home, which has been treated as a crime scene.
FBI-released video footage shows a masked individual at the front door the morning she disappeared. The prowler, wearing gloves and carrying a backpack, appears to tamper with a doorbell camera. DNA was recovered from the scene, including gloves believed to be left behind by the suspect.
Nanos said that the family had been ruled out early in the probe, and that online speculation has added to the family’s pain.
President Donald Trump on Monday said that those responsible for the kidnapping would face the death penalty if Gurthie is not returned alive.
The FBI deployed earlier this month additional agents to a 24-hour command investigating leads and tips.
Authorities arrested a California man, Derrick Callella, for sending ransom-related texts demanding bitcoin in connection with the case. He has not been linked to the abduction. The FBI has also conducted roadway searches in and around the Tucson area, as well as offered a $50,000 reward—later increased to $100,000—for information leading to Guthrie’s recovery or the arrest of those involved.
Authorities have described the person as having an average build, between 5 feet, 9 inches and 5 feet, 10 inches tall, and wearing a 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker backpack.
No arrests have been made in the case. Guthrie has a pacemaker and needs daily medication for a heart condition. Savannah Guthrie and her siblings have released videos pleading for her safe return.
Authorities ask anyone with information to contact the FBI or Pima County Sheriff’s Department. The search remains ongoing.
