Tensions are high across the United States following President Trump’s announcement of a significant development in the search for a well-known TV anchor’s missing mother.

Authorities intensified their investigation at the Arizona residence of the 84-year-old missing woman, Nancy Guthrie, on Friday night after receiving a second ransom note. This case has captured national attention.

Nancy Guthrie is the mother of Savannah Guthrie, the highly paid anchor of NBC’s popular ‘Today’ morning show, who was scheduled to lead the network’s primetime coverage of the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony on Friday night.

This chilling real-life mystery has captivated amateur detectives and puzzled local law enforcement, who have faced criticism for allegedly mishandling the case. Guthrie vanished without a trace in the early hours of last Sunday.

Evidence found at the scene includes a trail of blood on her doorstep, a missing Ring doorbell, and ransom notes sent to TMZ and the local Tucson station KOLD-TV.

In an emotional appeal, Savannah Guthrie pleaded for her mother’s safe return, addressing the potential abductors: “We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen.”

Nancy Guthrie has become a familiar face to millions of Americans with her daughter regularly talking about her on-air and filming footage at the isolated desert home in Tucson which Savannah has called ‘my place of safety and refuge.’

America is on edge after President Trump announced a ‘definitive’ breakthrough in the case of a beloved TV anchor’s missing mother.

Investigators seen at Nancy Guthrie’s home on Friday evening 

President Trump waded into the case late Friday to say that a ‘definitive’ suspect may have been identified.

He said: ‘I think we’re doing very well. Meaning we have some clues that I think are very strong and we could have some answers coming out very soon. 

‘We have some things that will come out reasonably soon from the DOJ (Department of Justice) or FBI or whatever which could be definitive. ‘A lot of things have happened in regard to that horrible situation in the last couple of hours.’

Savannah, whose father died in 1988 when she was 16 has called her mother ‘my rock and foundation.’

The elderly widow’s pacemaker ‘detached’ from her Apple watch around 2am local time last Sunday morning.

She had been to dinner at the home of Savannah’s elder sister Annie,56, and son-in-law Tommaso Cioni, 57, four miles away from her house before Cioni dropped the elderly woman back to her remote pounds 1.2 million home.

Mr Cioni said he saw his mother-in-law enter her home through the garage before driving off.

The alarm was raised last Sunday morning when Mrs Guthrie failed to turn up at church.

Ransom notes were sent to tabloid website TMZ and local TV station KOLD-TV in Tucson demanding ‘millions’ in Bitcoin by Thursday at 5pm.

Police have described the ransom notes as ‘credible and detailed’ saying: ‘There is a level of sophistication and detail in there.’

A police source added that the notes contained a ‘critical and serious serious deadline for Monday.’

Late Friday it was revealed a second ransom note had been received by KOLD-TV which prompted police to swarm Mrs Guthrie’s house with heat-seeking equipment.

Images showed police on the roof of the property and using flashlights to search the cactus-filled desert landscape around it.

Sources told CNN footage of a suspicious car had been obtained from a local garage.

Mary Coleman from KOLD TV, told CNN that the second note which arrived on Friday via an encrypted server ‘seemed like it might be in response to some of the pleas from the family.’

Forensics teams were seen arriving at the home on Friday evening, soon after law enforcement acknowledged a second letter had been sent to a local news outlet claiming to be from Nancy’s abductors 

An FBI forensics team descended on Nancy’s home Friday evening, and aerial images taken by the Daily Mail show teams unloading gear at the home to seize new evidence

Ms Coleman said: ‘There is a lot of credible information in there. I would no describe this as a ransom note. I would call it a response to the videos the family put out.’

The case has sent amateur sleuths into overdrive with some suggesting it must be an ‘inside job’ by someone with close ties to the Guthrie family.

More than 2,000 social media sites have been created to discuss the case.

One woman wrote: ‘Clearly someone knew this was Savannah’s mom and she’s frail and elderly and needs heart medication and was an easy target.

‘Maybe it was a worker who knew she was vulnerable but connected to one of the most famous women in America?’

Others have suggested the kidnapping could be a burglary gone wrong or even a crazed stalker.

One executive from NBC told the MoS: ‘Normally the world of television is cutthroat but everyone loves Savannah and everyone knows Savannah loves her mum.

‘No-one can believe this is really happening. I think most people assumed Nancy had somehow wandered off when she first went missing. Even the police bungled it. They took the crime tape down and only put it back up when a journalist took pictures of blood drops on the doorstep.

‘President Trump called Savannah personally. That’s how beloved she is.

‘Her mother has become part of her on-air personality. Savannah talks about her love for her mother all the time. She went back and filmed a segment with her mum fairly recently. There’s been a lot of support and a lot of soul-searching. 

‘We hope nothing that went out on air contributed in any way to this horrendous nightmare that Savannah and her family are going through. We are all praying for a swift resolution and we are praying Nancy is found alive.’