Savannah Guthrie became visibly emotional during Tuesday’s live broadcast of “Today” after fresh reports said a ransom note allegedly from her missing mother’s kidnappers claimed her mother had died.
Speaking from behind the NBC morning show desk nearly five months after her mother disappeared, Guthrie told viewers she had no formal comment on the case and was not participating in the network’s coverage, but said she could not ignore the situation while on air.
She used the moment to make a public plea, asking anyone with information to come forward and saying, “Somebody knows something.”
Two separate notes were reportedly sent to Guthrie’s family and to media organizations within days of Nancy’s Feb. 1 abduction from her home in Tucson, Arizona.
According to an earlier report by Air Mail, the first message said Guthrie was “safe but scared” and demanded $4 million in Bitcoin in exchange for her release.
A second note, however, included the disturbing allegation that Nancy — who depended on daily medication for a serious heart condition — had died and was buried in a natural area, ABC News reported.
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“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 everyday,” Savannah said Tuesday.
She added that her family remains “in agony” and unable to find peace, saying that despite her efforts to appear on television each day with a smile, she could not let the moment pass without asking the public for help.
Investigators close to the case told CBS News Monday the notes are believed to be sent from the same person or group of people from the same digital IP address.
Savannah released a heartbreaking video on social media on Feb. 7, soon after the second note was received.
“We received your message and we understand,” Savannah said at the time.
“We beg you now to return our mother to us,” she said in the clip. “This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
