Nancy Guthrie’s family has raised the stakes with a $1 million reward to help bring her home, on day 24 of the search for the 84-year-old Tucson woman.
US news anchor Savannah Guthrie, fighting back tears in an Instagram video, shared that the family is offering the expanded reward while expressing deep longing for Nancy’s safe return. They remain hopeful for a miracle, but acknowledge the possibility that she may already be gone or may be with loved ones in heaven.
In the same message, Savannah announced that half a million dollars of the reward will be donated to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. She added a plea to the public: if anyone has heard this message and has information, please come forward. The family asks for any knowledge, no matter how small, to help them either celebrate a miraculous homecoming or honor the life Nancy Guthrie led—brave, beautiful, and noble.
Authorities have urged anyone with direct information about Guthrie’s whereabouts to contact the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Previously, the reward stood at $200,000, consisting of $100,000 offered by the FBI and $100,000 from Tucson Crime Stoppers.
Guthrie was reported missing around midday on February 1 after she failed to attend church services. The Pima County Sheriff’s Office has stated they believe she was taken from her home against her will, potentially in the middle of the night, with kidnapping or abduction considered possible.
Her family has spoken publicly several times, pleading for her safe return and asking for proof that she is still alive. Authorities note that Nancy Guthrie uses a walker, has a pacemaker, and requires daily medication for a heart condition.
Law enforcement has released images of a prime suspect captured on Guthrie’s Nest doorbell camera. The same individual is believed to have appeared at her front door on another occasion before she disappeared, according to a law enforcement source cited by the BBC’s US partner CBS.
Ransom notes purportedly demanding about $6 million in cryptocurrency have been sent to media outlets, with one deadline passing on February 9. A 42-year-old California man has been charged in connection with one fake ransom note.
The case has drawn enormous interest, transforming Tucson—a quiet city known for its retiree community—into a global media focal point. Dozens of observers and amateur investigators have gathered in the area, and detectives have received roughly 40,000 tips from the public.
DNA collected from a glove matching one worn by the suspect in doorbell footage was found near Guthrie’s home, but it did not yield matches in FBI databases. Investigators say they have ruled out all Guthrie family members as suspects, with Sheriff Chris Nanos stating that suggesting otherwise would be “not only wrong, but cruel.”
