Expert scrutiny grows as Savannah Guthrie family offers $1M reward in Nancy Guthrie disappearance
The daughter’s public plea has drawn fresh analysis from media commentators and security figures, and the word "expert" has surfaced around interpretations of a new Instagram appeal as the family announces a reward. Savannah Guthrie’s post and video renewed the hunt for her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, and prompted a spike in tips and outside commentary.
Savannah Guthrie’s Instagram appeal, timing and the $1 million reward
On February 24, Savannah Guthrie posted a new appeal on Instagram related to Nancy Guthrie’s suspected kidnapping case, and she also published a video just before 9 a. m. Tuesday. In her caption she wrote, "Someone knows how to find our mom and bring her home, " urged anyone with information to contact the FBI, and announced a family reward of up to $1 million for Nancy Guthrie’s recovery.
Family statements: prayers, hope and a brother’s plea
In the video a visibly emotional Savannah Guthrie asked the public to keep her mother in their thoughts and said, "Please keep praying without ceasing. " She added, "We still believe. We still believe in a miracle. We still believe that she can come home, hope against hope, " and quoted a sister saying, "We are blowing on the embers of hope. " She also said, "We also know that she may be lost. She may already be gone. "
Camron Guthrie, Savannah’s older brother, said in an Instagram video, "Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We need you to reach out. " The family plans to donate $500, 000 to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and Savannah Guthrie said, "We know there are millions of families that have suffered with this kind of uncertainty. " Michelle DeLaune, the chief executive of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, called the family’s donation "very generous" and said, "It’s a tremendous opportunity to raise the visibility of many cases that otherwise would not be receiving this type of attention. "
Investigative leads: footage, blood evidence, a glove and no arrests
Investigators have pointed to doorbell camera footage that shows a masked, armed suspect near the Tucson home where Nancy Guthrie disappeared. Authorities have not identified a suspect in the case. The FBI released doorbell camera images and videos of an armed and masked man outside Guthrie’s house on the morning she disappeared; two law enforcement Monday that one of the images was captured earlier.
Officials confirmed the blood found on Nancy Guthrie’s porch belongs to her. Investigators recovered a glove about two miles away that reportedly contained DNA, but that DNA did not produce a match in federal databases. Early statements from the Pima County Sheriff’s Office said investigators believe Guthrie was "taken from the home against her will, possibly in the middle of the night and that includes possible kidnapping or abduction. " Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos previously said all members of the Guthrie family have been cleared as possible suspects and added that to "suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is cruel. " He also said, "The Guthrie family are victims, plain and simple. "
Expert reaction and media commentary
Megyn Kelly focused on one part of Savannah Guthrie’s public plea, saying the anchor's wording revealed something new. Kelly highlighted the line, "It’s day 24 since our mom was taken in the dark of night from her bed, " and said, "No one has ever said that before. " James Hamilton, the founder of Hamilton Security Group, agreed with Kelly’s reading and told Kelly, "I think she was literally that Savannah knows something that we didn’t know, and now we do know that she was taken from her bed. " Kelly also questioned the timing of the family’s reward, saying, "There is also the possibility that the reason somebody close to Savannah talked her out of offering a million dollars early on is they thought somebody might come out of the woodwork and point the finger at them. "
Reward effects, tips and strategic decisions
By Tuesday night, roughly 12 hours after the family reward was made public, more than 750 calls had come in to the FBI’s tip line, a senior law enforcement official said. A source close to the family said the Guthries were prepared to offer a cash reward from the beginning of the investigation but were advised that doing so might overwhelm the infrastructure set up to field leads. That source said the family decided to offer the reward after careful consultation and coordination with law enforcement.
The source said the reward does not hinge on an arrest or prosecution, only on Nancy Guthrie’s recovery, and that the $1 million can be split if there is more than one valid claim. Former FBI supervisor Jason Pack said the family’s reward suggests a strategic pivot: "There are some people who were close to what happened, that know what happened, that now have a decision to make, and that decision was really, really ratcheted up by this reward that Savannah and her family offered. "
Other items that appeared alongside coverage
The page that carried coverage also included several unrelated items: a note that the S&P 500 was on track for double-digit earnings growth with more than half of companies having reported fourth-quarter results so far; a reviewer who picked up both HD and 4K versions of a product to test televisions; promotions listing discounts on nearly all iPads and up to $150 off a MacBook Air; attention on a fourth-quarter corporate earnings report for Nvidia due after the closing bell on Wednesday; guidance for the "sandwich generation" on caregiving costs; a style editor’s wish list of denim, sweaters and shoes for February; and a primer on Ethereum as a component of modern digital portfolios.
