Federal and local authorities continue to investigate the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie, as the search enters its seventh day.
According to officials, no suspects have been publicly identified at this time. Law enforcement has resumed searches in Guthrie's Tucson-area neighborhood, while the FBI has announced a $50,000 reward for information that could lead to her safe return.
Investigators are also examining the authenticity of a message sent Thursday to Tucson television station KOLD. An anchor at the outlet said the message included sensitive details related to the case but did not contain a demand or deadline. Authorities have not confirmed whether the note is directly connected to Guthrie's disappearance.
Officials believe Guthrie may have been abducted from her home last weekend. Police have stated that blood found on her porch was confirmed to be hers, and that a front-door security camera is missing. Motion was reportedly detected around 2 a.m. Sunday-around the same time Guthrie's pacemaker last registered a signal.
As the search continues for Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie, the veteran journalist has publicly leaned on a faith that long predates the current crisis-one she says has sustained her through life's most painful and uncertain moments.
Savannah Guthrie Turns to Faith and Prayer Amid Ongoing Investigation
While the situation has drawn national attention, Guthrie's response has reflected a pattern familiar to those who have followed her personal journey: a consistent reliance on prayer, Scripture, and hope rooted in Christian faith.
Faith formed long before the crisis
Years before her mother's disappearance, Guthrie spoke openly about the role faith has played in shaping her life. In her 2024 bestselling book, Mostly What God Does, she credits her parents with raising their family in a home where belief in God was central.
One of her earliest memories, she wrote, involved family baptisms at church-moments that cemented faith as a shared foundation. After the death of her father while she was still in high school, Guthrie has recalled how her mother became the spiritual anchor of the family, modeling resilience and trust in God amid grief.
"The greatest gift my mother gave me was faith and belief in God," Guthrie said during a past Mother's Day segment on Today, reflecting on how her mother's example shaped her outlook.
Faith tested and strengthened in adulthood
As Guthrie entered adulthood and pursued a demanding career in journalism, she has acknowledged seasons of doubt and discouragement. In her book, she describes early professional setbacks-including losing her first reporting job shortly after moving across the country-as moments that forced her to confront fear and uncertainty.
Rather than weakening her faith, Guthrie says those experiences reshaped it. "I learned to trust God not because the terrible thing never happened," she wrote, "but because it did."
Throughout those years, she noted that her mother gently but persistently encouraged her to return to prayer, often gifting her devotional journals as a reminder to stay grounded in her walk with God.
Faith in the present moment
In the wake of Nancy Guthrie's disappearance, those long-held beliefs have taken on renewed urgency. A day after the news became public, Guthrie asked followers to pray, writing that she believed prayer could lift her mother "in this very moment."
In a later video message addressed directly to her mother, Guthrie referenced Psalm 23, a passage she has said has accompanied her throughout life. "Even in this valley," she said, "we believe He is with you."
Authorities continue to investigate the case, and law enforcement agencies have offered a reward for information leading to Nancy Guthrie's safe return. No suspects have been publicly identified.
For Guthrie, the crisis has become a lived expression of beliefs she has articulated for years-that faith is not an escape from suffering, but a source of hope within it. As her family waits for answers, she continues to point toward prayer, perseverance, and trust that light can still be found in the darkest valley.
