Nancy Guthrie Still Missing Nine Months Later as Sheriff Says She Was Alive When Taken From Her Arizona Home

Nearly nine months after Nancy Guthrie vanished from her home near Tucson, Arizona, investigators still do not know where she is, and no one has been arrested in connection with her suspected abduction.

The 84-year-old mother of "Today" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie has been missing since Feb. 1. Now, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, whose department is leading the investigation alongside the FBI, says he believes she was alive when she was taken from her home.

The sheriff's assessment offers a rare window into the direction of an investigation that has produced few public answers. It suggests authorities have not ruled out that the case began as an abduction rather than a killing inside the residence.

Speaking on the Buckmaster Show, a Tucson radio program, Nanos did not say what he believes happened to Guthrie after she was taken. He also did not identify any suspects or describe new evidence.

A case that has defied resolution

Guthrie was last seen at her Tucson-area home on Jan. 31 and was reported missing the following day. Within days, the case drew national attention, both because of her daughter's prominence and because of a series of ransom notes that appeared to come from the person or people responsible.

Despite surveillance images, DNA testing and months of work by a joint team of sheriff's investigators and FBI agents, authorities have not identified a suspect. No body or burial site has been found.

The Guthrie family is offering a $1 million reward for information, and the FBI is offering up to $100,000.

Nanos has repeatedly rejected suggestions that the investigation has stalled.

"This one's far from being cold, and we'll continue to work it," he told CBS News earlier this year.

The ransom notes

The ransom notes have been among the most closely watched and most confusing elements of the case.

The first note arrived a day after Guthrie was reported missing. It was sent to the tip line of KOLD-TV, a CBS affiliate in Tucson, and was addressed to Savannah Guthrie. The note demanded $4 million in bitcoin and warned that the amount would rise if not paid by a deadline. It also included details about Guthrie's home and belongings, which led investigators to treat it as credible.

A second note arrived four days later. That message dropped the ransom demand and claimed that Guthrie had died shortly after she was taken. Authorities have not verified that claim.

Investigators believe both notes were written by the same person or group and that they were sent from the same masked internet address.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department released both notes to the public in late July, hoping someone might recognize the author's distinctive writing style.

The release followed criticism of the sheriff's earlier public comments. In an interview with CBS News the day before the notes were made public, Nanos said he had nothing indicating Guthrie was dead and that he did not have any note. The second note, which his department released a day later, claimed she had died.

Savannah Guthrie said in March that she believed the notes were authentic and that the family had responded to them.

Doubts about a later letter

Not every message tied to the case has been treated as genuine.

Nanos previously cast doubt on a ransom letter authorities received in June. Speaking on the Buckmaster Show at the time, he suggested it was likely the work of someone seeking to exploit the case.

"I think the FBI has done a number of arrests for false or fake ransom notes," Nanos said.

"It's a shame that that happens, but I think we're looking at another one of those today," the sheriff added.

High-profile disappearances often attract hoaxes, false tips and fraudulent demands, which can drain investigative resources and add to families' distress. Federal authorities have prosecuted people in other cases for sending fake ransom demands.

Why the sheriff's view matters

The sheriff's belief that Guthrie was alive when taken narrows, at least in his view, how the crime began. It suggests investigators are working on the theory that she was removed from her home rather than killed inside it.

That distinction can shape where investigators focus, including on how she might have been transported, where she may have been held and who could have had the opportunity and means to carry out the abduction.

But the sheriff's comments also leave the central question unanswered. Without a suspect, a confirmed motive or physical evidence of what happened after she left her home, Guthrie's fate remains unknown.

Retired FBI officials have publicly questioned how the investigation's media strategy has been handled, including the timing of the ransom note release and the sheriff's shifting public statements.

A family's long wait

For the Guthrie family, the months since February have been marked by public appeals and private uncertainty.

Savannah Guthrie, who has co-anchored NBC's "Today" show for more than a decade, has used her public platform to urge anyone with information to come forward. She marked the six-month anniversary of her mother's disappearance in August with another appeal for help.

Cases involving older adults who disappear from their homes are uncommon, and those involving apparent ransom demands are rarer still. Investigators have said the combination of a ransom demand, a claim of death and the lack of a body has made this case unusually difficult.

How to help

Authorities continue to ask anyone with information about Guthrie's disappearance to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or the Pima County Sheriff's Department.

Investigators have said that even small details, including unusual activity near Guthrie's home in late January or early February, or familiarity with the writing style in the ransom notes, could help move the case forward.

For now, nearly nine months after she vanished, the search for Nancy Guthrie and for those responsible continues.