Nancy Guthrie case news: The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and President Donald Trump recently shared new updates on the kidnapping of ‘Today’ host Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother. This comes as the search for Nancy Guthrie entered its 20th day. No suspects have been named so far.
Guthrie was reported missing on February 1, hours after she had dinner at her daughter Annie’s residence in Tucson. Authorities believe she was taken from her home against her will by a masked, armed individual who disconnected her doorbell camera.
What did Trump say about the Nancy Guthrie case?
President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday: “Boy, it’s so crazy. It’s so bad.”
“I didn’t like when they were talking about going after the pacemaker … even before they started going after it, they’re reporting it,” he added. “If, in fact, they could do it that way, the [potential suspect] would say, ‘Well, I’m not gonna let that happen,’ right? So bad things would happen if he’s not gonna let that happen. I can’t imagine why they would have done that, just in terms of strategy.”
“We have to start reporting on other subjects also and see what happens. It’s a very sad situation.”
Back on Monday, Trump was asked whether the Department of Justice would seek the death penalty for Guthrie’s abducters. “The most, yeah — that’s true,” he responded.
Pima County’s message
Meanwhile, officials said that they are swamped with tips in the Guthrie case, but have nothing actionable.
Cecila Ochoa, dispatch manager for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, told NBC News that people have been sharing simple theories about the case.
“If you’re thinking about calling in a tip or a lead or if you have specific information regarding the case, I ask that you take a moment and think — is this tip viable, is it credible?” she said. “What we don’t want are the opinions and the thoughts and kind of wondering, ‘Are investigators doing a, b, c and d?’”
Pima County officials further added that they believe that Guthrie is alive.
FBI gives update
The FBI has received more than 20,000 tips in the investigation. DNA evidence found at Guthrie’s residence is still undergoing lab analysis, the sheriff’s department said, noting it is the same biological evidence previously recovered from the property rather than newly discovered material.
A DNA profile obtained from a glove found about two miles from the home produced no matches when entered into the FBI’s national database earlier this week.
Investigators have positively identified an Ozark-brand backpack seen in surveillance footage and are working to determine where other items worn by the suspect were purchased. Authorities previously said they were working with Walmart management to trace the backpack purchase and canvassing gun shops with the doorbell video released by the FBI.
(With Bloomberg inputs)
