Sheriff searching for Savannah Guthrie’s missing mom calls lack of video a disappointing setback

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The sheriff investigating the apparent abduction of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother said Friday he was frustrated that a camera at Nancy Guthrie ‘s home wasn’t able to capture images of anyone the day she went missing.

Investigators have found that the home’s doorbell camera was disconnected early Sunday and that software data recorded movement at the home minutes later. But Nancy Guthrie did not have an active subscription, so none of the footage was able to be recovered.

“It is concerning, it’s actually almost disappointing because you’ve got your hopes up,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told The Associated Press in an interview at the department’s headquarters. “OK, they got an image. ‘Well, we do, but we don’t.’”

The frantic search for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie has entered a sixth day. Authorities have not identified any suspects or ruled anyone out, Nanos said at a news conference Thursday.

Authorities think she was taken against her will from her home just outside Tucson over the weekend. DNA tests showed blood on Guthrie’s front porch was a match to her, Nanos has said.

The sheriff said Thursday that investigators have not given up on trying to retrieve footage from the home.

“I wish technology was as easy as we believe it is, that here’s a picture, here’s your bad guy. But it’s not,” Nanos told the AP. “There are pieces of information that come to us from these tech groups that say ‘this is what we have and we can’t get anymore.’”

Concern about Nancy Guthrie’s condition is growing because authorities say she needs daily medicine that’s vital to her health. She was said to have a pacemaker and dealt with high blood pressure and heart issues, according to sheriff’s dispatcher audio on broadcastify.com.

“Her conditions, I would imagine, are worsening day by day” Nanos said. “She requires medication. And I have no way of knowing whether they’re getting that medication to her.”

The sheriff acknowledged that investigators are not sharing everything they know about what happened.

“That’s not how we do police investigations. There has to be some control of your case,” Nanos said, noting that authorities have shared more as the case proceeded.

The sheriff said he had no new information about purported ransom letters sent to some media outlets, saying that the FBI is handling that side of the investigation.

The FBI has said it is taking the notes seriously. Brooke Brennan from the FBI’s Phoenix office said Friday there was no new information to share.

Savannah Guthrie, the longtime host of NBC’s morning show “Today,” and her two siblings released an emotional video message Wednesday to her mother’s kidnapper, saying they were ready to talk but wanted proof their mom was alive. Camron Guthrie repeated the family’s plea in a video posted Thursday.

“Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven’t heard anything directly,” he said.

It’s unclear if all of the ransom notes were identical. Heith Janke, the FBI chief in Phoenix, said details included a demand for money with a deadline that passed Thursday evening and a second deadline for Monday if the first one wasn’t met. At least one note mentioned a floodlight at Guthrie’s home and an Apple watch, Janke said.

The kidnapping captured the attention of Americans, including President Donald Trump, who said he was directing federal authorities to help with the investigation.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday that federal authorities are assisting Arizona officials, but she declined to offer details.

“It breaks my heart for Savannah and for her family,” Bondi said. ___ Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, and Julie Walker in New York contributed to this report.