Blood found inside home of Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, source says

A little bit of blood was found inside the Arizona home of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, whose disappearance is being investigated as a crime, a law enforcement source familiar with the case told CBS News.

It is unclear whose blood it is, but it is being tested. Investigators and analysts combed through Guthrie’s Tucson, Arizona, home in search of clues to the 84-year-old’s disappearance. During a news conference Tuesday, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said the house was turned back over to the family Monday.

When asked about the blood, Nanos said evidence collected from the home was still being processed and that none of it pointed toward a suspect so far.

“I’m not saying there’s blood inside that house or outside that house,” Nanos told reporters. He said he couldn’t provide details about what was collected from the home.

Investigators believe Guthrie was abducted from her home in the middle of the night over the weekend, Nanos told CBS News. Nanos told reporters Tuesday the search was ongoing.

“We don’t know where she is,” the sheriff said.

Nanos said it wasn’t clear how many people took Guthrie. “It could be one, it could’ve been more, I don’t know,” he said.

Asked if the perpetrators may have taken a security camera from the front of the home, he said investigators were looking into that.

Nanos was asked if a ransom demand had been made for Guthrie. “We’re following all leads,” the sheriff said. He also said, “That’s all I can tell you. We’ve got hundreds of leads.”

Nanos said investigators hadn’t determined whether Guthrie was targeted or if the abduction was random. “We’re going to assume both sides of that,” he said.

Jon Edwards, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s office in Tucson, said the bureau was working with the sheriff’s department and providing support, including obtaining information from cell towers. He renewed a call for people to contact authorities if they saw anything in Guthrie’s Catalina Foothills neighborhood Saturday night or Sunday morning.

“We are looking at this from every angle, but we need your help,” Edwards said. 

The sheriff has dismissed the possibility that Guthrie, who lives alone, may have wandered away from her home because he said she doesn’t have any cognitive issues and her mobility is limited.

Authorities have been searching for Guthrie since Sunday. She was last seen at her home Saturday night, but no one knew she was missing until she didn’t show up for church the next morning, Nanos said.

Guthrie takes daily medication, adding additional urgency to the search. Asked if investigators were looking for someone who was still alive, Nanos said, “We hope we are.”

Savannah Guthrie asked people on social media Monday to pray for her mother.

“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,” she said on Instagram. “Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. we need you.”

An official told CBS News that 88-Crime, an Arizona-based, non-profit program that works with law enforcement to help solve crimes, is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for “information leading to the arrest of the person or persons involved in the disappearance.”

Nancy Guthrie’s family has asked residents near her home to review their security footage from over the weekend, especially between the hours of 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Sunday. When CBS News asked Nanos about the time frame, he said the department is starting with a narrow window and will expand outward.

“Keep looking. You never know what you’ll see,” Nanos told CBS News. “Maybe it’s just a pair of headlights. But if you see something that just doesn’t seem right in that neighborhood, please let us know. We can come and download all your digital evidence and take a look at it ourselves.”