Police in the US have made the haunting suggestion that the 84-year-old mother of a popular TODAY host may have been kidnapped from her bed in the middle of the night.
Concerns were first sparked when Nancy Guthrie, the mother of TODAY co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing last weekend from her home in Arizona.
Physical frailties mean that Nancy was unlikely to have wandered off herself, and now, the local Sheriff's department have confirmed that her home is a 'crime scene', with no reported sightings of the elderly woman since late on Saturday (31 January).
Pima County Sheriff Nanos has now suggested that its likely that a 'crime has been committed', with a manhunt launched following alarming claims that Nancy could have been forcibly taken from her own bed.
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Sheriff Nanos told PEOPLE: "At this point, investigators believe she was taken from the home against her will, possibly in the middle of the night.
"Taken against her will includes possible kidnapping or abduction."
Nanos went on: "We have an 84-year-old woman who went to bed Saturday night and come Sunday morning, she's gone.
"We know, at least we believe, and I believe we know, she did not walk out of that home on her own."
While it isn't unheard of for someone more elderly to become confused and wander off, the Sheriff and family all note that Nancy is 'sharp as a tack' and knows exactly what's going on, which only makes her disappearance more concerning.
Nanos added: "She is really just as sharp as a tack. And that too is concerning that here you have this lady who's got all her wits about her, she knows what's going on.
"So yeah, somebody came into that home, and I believe took her out there without her permission. It was against her will."
The Sheriff also confirmed that police are now reviewing video footage and potential DNA evidence in an attempt to discover exactly what happened to the 84-year-old, who was first reported missing on Sunday after a friend noticed she wasn't at church.
Nanos added: "What we have done is we have taken what we believe is biological DNA type evidence, and we are submitting it to our labs, crime labs ... Basically, they'll do a rapid search."
Naturally, Savannah was absent from Monday's TODAY show as she deals with the family crisis, and her co-anchor Craig Melvin paid tribute to her during the broadcast.
"We want to get right to what is a deeply personal story for us, Nancy Guthrie, Savannah’s beloved mother, has been reported missing in Arizona," he said.
In a statement to the show, Savannah added: “On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers, and messages of support.
"Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom.
"We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.”
Topics: US News, True Crime
James Moorhouse