In an emotional television interview that aired Thursday, March 26, 2026, TODAY show anchor Savannah Guthrie revealed she believes at least some of the ransom notes sent to her family following her mother’s disappearance are genuine—while condemning those responsible for sending fake demands during her family’s nightmare.
The 54-year-old journalist sat down with former co-anchor and close friend Hoda Kotb for a two-part interview addressing the abduction of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, who vanished from her Tucson, Arizona home in the early morning hours of February 1. The case has now stretched beyond 50 days with no suspects publicly named, despite an active FBI investigation and chilling doorbell camera footage of a masked, armed individual.
Guthrie shared her assessment of the various ransom demands that flooded in after her mother’s disappearance. “I believe the two notes that we received that we responded to, I tend to believe those were real,” she told Kotb in the Thursday broadcast, adding that most of the other notes, in her understanding, are not authentic.
Law enforcement confirmed that at least one ransom note was fabricated. Hawthorne, California resident Derrick Callella, 42, was arrested and charged with transmitting a fake ransom demand in February, adding cruel deception to an already devastating situation for the Guthrie family.
Guthrie did not hold back her contempt for those exploiting her family’s tragedy, saying during the interview that anyone who would send a fake ransom note “really has to look deeply at themselves.”
The 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie was last seen Friday, January 31. She regularly gathered with friends and neighbors to watch church services online on Sunday mornings. When she failed to appear at a friend’s home Sunday morning, February 2, the friend called Nancy’s daughter Annie, who lives nearby. The family reported her missing that day, and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department quickly determined Nancy had been taken from her home against her will.
The investigation took a chilling turn when the FBI released doorbell camera footage showing a masked and armed individual. Guthrie described seeing the footage as “absolutely terrifying,” sharing the haunting observation that she cannot imagine that masked figure was who her mother saw standing over her bed—”it’s too much.”
Beyond the ransom notes, Guthrie also addressed the painful conspiracy theories that emerged online suggesting family involvement in Nancy’s disappearance. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos publicly stated February 16 that the Guthrie family had been “100% cooperative” and were cleared as suspects “in the first few days.”
Still, the online speculation left deep wounds. Guthrie called the rumors “unbearable” and “pain upon pain,” defending her siblings fiercely and emphasizing that no one took better care of their mother than her sister and brother-in-law, and no one protected her more than her brother.
Kotb, who left TODAY in January 2025 after 17 years but returned to fill in during Guthrie’s absence, described her colleague’s state as “a tortured limbo” and called witnessing the interview gut-wrenching. She noted Guthrie’s remarkable composure under unbearable circumstances, observing both “a desperation and also a steeliness” about her friend.
Savannah Guthrie has been absent from her hosting duties since her mother’s disappearance, though she briefly returned to the TODAY studios in New York March 5 and plans to resume her role at some point. For now, her focus remains on finding her mother.
The Guthrie family recently issued a statement urging the Southern Arizona community to review security footage, text messages, and personal records from three critical dates: January 11, January 31, and the early morning hours of February 1. Investigators believe January 11 may have been a trial run or scouting mission by the perpetrator.
“We continue to believe it is Tucsonans, and the greater Southern Arizona community, that hold the key to finding a resolution in this case,” the family said in their Sunday, March 22 statement. “Someone knows something. It’s possible a member of this community has information that they do not even realize is significant.”
The family has posted a $1 million private reward for information leading to Nancy’s safe return. The FBI is offering an additional $100,000 reward. Despite the passage of time and the lack of public updates, law enforcement emphasizes the investigation remains active.
Authorities urge anyone with information to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900, or 88-CRIME. The family’s plea is simple but desperate: someone needs to come forward.
The second part of Guthrie’s interview with Kotb was scheduled to air Friday, continuing to shine a national spotlight on a case that has gripped Tucson and the nation for nearly two months.
