Sheriff Addresses Whether There’s Ongoing ‘Threat to the Public’ After Nancy Guthrie’s Kidnapping

Savannah Guthrie and mother Nancy Guthrie.Credit : Don Arnold/WireImage

An Arizona sheriff addressed concerns of whether there is a wider threat to the public after the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Feb. 3, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said investigators do not believe the disappearance poses an ongoing danger to the public, but said authorities are continuing to follow all leads.

“Well, we have crime in Tucson all the time, right? Like any city, and so there, when you say a threat to the public, is there somebody out there who’s kidnapping elderly people in the middle of the night every night? We’ve not heard that,” he told reporters.

“We don’t believe that’s the case,” Nanos added. “We do believe that Nancy was taken from her home against her will, and that’s where we’re at.”

Nanos also said investigators do not know her whereabouts at this time and are unsure how many people may have been involved in her kidnapping.

The sheriff’s comments Tuesday follow a Monday press conference in which he said investigators believe a crime occurred, describing the scene at Nancy’s home as more of a “crime scene” than a “search mission.”

Nancy was last seen at her residence in Catalina Foothills, north of Tucson, Ariz., on Saturday, Jan. 31.

Earlier on Tuesday, law enforcement confirmed that DNA evidence found at the home belongs to Nancy. Nanos declined to comment on the nature of that DNA evidence when asked about it during Tuesday’s press conference.

Nancy’s disappearance was first reported on the morning of Sunday, Feb. 1, after a friend from her church noticed she was not at service and called one of her adult children. The relative then went to her home to check on her and called 911, Nanos previously said.

The sheriff told PEOPLE on Monday, Feb. 2 that although Nancy had no cognitive issues, her physical mobility was “quite limited” for a variety of reasons, making it highly unlikely that she wandered off.

The PCSD is now offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information related to Nancy’s disappearance. Officials are appealing to the public for “any video or photograph information” from the scene near her home.

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Savannah, 54, and her family, who the sheriff says are cooperating with authorities, remain in Arizona as the investigation continues. In a message shared on Instagram late Monday, she urged her followers to pray for her mother’s safe return.

She wrote, in part, “thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant. raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900. People are encouraged to call 88-CRIME or 520-882-7463. All calls remain anonymous. They can also use the mobile app P3TIPS or visit 88crime.org.