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President Donald Trump reached out to NBC’s “Today” host Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday, expressing his support as the search for her missing mother continued. Nancy Guthrie, aged 84, has been missing from Tucson, Arizona, for four days. This update was shared by Fox News, and NBC News anchor Tom Llamas mentioned the presidential call on air shortly afterward. Llamas stated that Trump used the opportunity to extend his heartfelt support to Savannah and her family during this challenging time.
Trump Announces Additional Fed Support For Search
Prior to the call, Trump had announced additional federal resources to aid in the search efforts. Speaking from the Oval Office, he indicated his intention to personally reach out to Savannah, acknowledging the “terrible” circumstances. “I’m going to call her later on, I think it’s a terrible thing,” Trump remarked, adding that the situation was “very unusual.” Nancy Guthrie disappeared after dining with her daughter on Saturday night and was reported missing when she did not attend church the following morning. Police investigations revealed troubling signs, including a blood trail from her doorway and the removal of her doorbell camera, suggesting a possible abduction.
The investigation took a dramatic turn on Tuesday when media outlets TMZ and local station KOLD reported receiving ransom notes that demanded millions in Bitcoin for Nancy’s safe return. Authorities have yet to verify the authenticity of these notes. As of Wednesday, the search had not resulted in any leads or arrests. Despite this, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos remains hopeful, stating on NBC that he believes Nancy is still alive. “We have nothing else to go on but the belief that she is here,” Sheriff Nanos affirmed. “She’s present. She’s alive, and we want to save her.”
He noted that his department is taking all tips and leads very seriously. ‘The leads we’ve got coming in are critical to us. They’re valuable, and we’re sharing those with the FBI and others,’ Nanos said. Nanos said the last people to see Nancy alive before she vanished were her daughter Annie and husband Tommaso Cioni, who she had dinner with on Saturday night. Exclusive Daily Mail images showed Annie and Tommaso looking tense as they wereseen for the first time on Tuesday evening, with Annie trying to hide her face from passersby.
Expert Says More Than One Suspect May Be Involved
Savannah is believed to be staying with them at her home. FBI agents visited the property around 2:30pm MT on Tuesday as they continue to investigate the kidnapping of Savannah and Annie’s mother Nancy. They left after two hours. Without any suspects named by authorities, former NYPD hostage negotiator Wallace Zeins speculated that the raid could have been pulled off by a coordinated group of criminals. ‘I believe the possibility of more than one person,’ Zeins told CNN. ‘She’s 150 pounds, 5 foot 5, waking up in the middle of the night, not in the best of health — can’t walk or run, so I would think there’s more than one person involved in this particular crime.’
The law enforcement expert said although no suspects have been identified, reported ‘ransom notes’ sent to TMZ and local Tucson outlet KOLD may be a gift to investigators by offering new clues. While noting that authorities have not verified the legitimacy of the notes, Zeins said that if they are legitimate, they can provide forensic evidence that could lead to the culprit. He added that the notes reportedly made demands for payment through Bitcoin, and that ‘tells you that it’s some type of group that knows what Bitcoin is all about, and social media, and they know the system.’ Zeins said if the notes were written by hand they can offer DNA evidence, whereas ‘if it was on a computer, then that helps also because the FBI is so good at what they do when it comes down to electronic surveillance and electronic stuff of that nature.’
