Nancy Guthrie, the missing 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, did not leave home on her own and is believed to have been kidnapped, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told CBS News on Monday.
“I believe she was abducted, yes,” Nanos said in an interview. “She didn’t walk from there. She didn’t go willingly.”
Authorities noted that Guthrie was at risk of dying if she didn’t take her medication in the next 24 hours. They stressed that the incident was being treated as a crime.
“We believe ... that we do, in fact, have a crime scene, that we do in fact have a crime,” Nanos said one day after officers searched her home near Tucson, Ariz.
Guthrie’s family contacted authorities Sunday around noon to report her missing after a member of her church alerted them that she wasn’t in attendance at services. She was last seen on Saturday.
“She did not leave on her own. We know that,” Nanos said, noting that because of her very limited mobility, investigators “know she didn’t just walk out of there.” At this time, he couldn’t provide any more information about how authorities concluded a crime had taken place, just that “there were circumstances on scene that ... are suspicious in nature.”
Though she has physical limitations, Nanos said, Guthrie is not cognitively impaired.
“Nancy Guthrie is of great sound mind,” he said. “This is not dementia-related. She is as sharp as a tack. The family wants everybody to know this isn’t somebody who just wandered off.”
Law enforcement agencies and volunteers searched for Guthrie all day Sunday, and into the night, he said, pleading for people to call in with any information.
“What I really need is, I need this community to step up and start giving us some calls, let us know you’ve seen something,” Nanos said.
The hosts of the “Today” show addressed Guthrie’s disappearance on Monday morning’s episode and shared a statement from Savannah Guthrie.
“Our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom,” she stated.
A spokesperson for the show told HuffPost earlier Monday that the Guthrie family was “working closely” with authorities to find her.
Guthrie appeared on “Today” about three months ago when her daughter did a segment in Tucson.
“It’s so wonderful,” the host’s mom said of her decision to plant roots in Tucson. “Just the air, the quality of life is laid back and gentle.”