Nancy Guthrie Case: Disturbing New Report Prompts Emotional Appeal from Savannah Guthrie

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A new development in the case of Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother placed the NBC host in an unexpected position Tuesday morning as she reacted to the news on the Today show shortly after it became public.

On Monday, multiple media outlets reported that the second note sent to media outlets early in the Nancy Guthrie case indicated that she had died. Although the message reportedly expressed regret over her death, it did not include an apology for her alleged abduction or any demand for money in exchange for her return, according to NBC News.

The note's existence had been previously reported, but its assertion that Guthrie had died had not been publicly disclosed until now.

Guthrie, 84, was last seen Jan. 31, after which authorities say she was abducted from her home near Tucson, Ariz. She was reported missing after she failed to show up for a virtual church service at a neighbor’s house.

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“I love you guys, and I love this place,” Savannah Guthrie said Tuesday morning on Today. “This is unusual and unprecedented, to say the least, to be sitting here. I don’t have any comment on this story, and I’m not involved in our coverage, but I can’t pretend I’m not here.

“And so since I am, I want to just take the opportunity to ask people, to really to beg people to come forward,” she added. “Somebody knows something, and this is a new story today that is on your radar, but this is the life that my sister lives, that I live, that my brother lives, that our extended families live, that our children live, every day. And we are in agony. We cannot be at peace.”

Doorbell security footage from the night of her disappearance shows a mysterious individual wearing a ski mask and a backpack lurking on her porch. The individual then disables the camera. Law enforcement has not been able to identify the person, although they have said they believe the person is male.

Photo Credit: ©YouTube/Today

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. 

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