The disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, mother of NBC Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, has entered its fifth day with no suspects and mounting alarm after investigators confirmed her brother-in-law Tommaso Cioni was the last person to see her alive.

Nancy Guthrie was dropped off at her Tucson home by Tommaso Cioni, husband of Savannah’s sister, around 9:45 p.m. on Saturday, January 10, following a family dinner. Cioni told police he watched her enter the house, wave goodbye, and close the door before driving away. When Savannah’s sister checked on Nancy the next morning, the home was eerily silent. The front door was unlocked — unusual for Nancy — and her bedroom showed signs of disturbance: bed unmade, window slightly ajar, and small spatters of what appeared to be dried blood on the floor near the nightstand.

Police arrived within the hour and quickly declared the scene suspicious. Forensic teams found additional blood traces in the hallway and on a doorknob, along with a broken picture frame on the floor and a single overturned lamp. No forced entry was visible at first glance, leading investigators to believe Nancy may have opened the door to someone she knew — or was taken by surprise after someone gained access.

A detail that “didn’t sit well” with detectives, according to sources close to the investigation, was the positioning of Nancy’s slippers. They were neatly placed by the bed as if she had gotten up briefly in the night, yet the rest of the room suggested chaos. “It looked staged,” one investigator reportedly told colleagues. “Like someone wanted it to appear she left willingly, but the blood tells a different story.”

Cioni has cooperated fully, providing phone records, dashcam footage from his car, and consenting to a search of his vehicle. He told police he returned home to Phoenix after dropping Nancy off and has not spoken to her since. Savannah Guthrie, who has been absent from the Today show since January 11, issued a brief statement through NBC: “Our family is heartbroken and desperate for answers. We are cooperating with authorities and asking for privacy while we search for my mother. Please, if anyone has seen her or knows anything, come forward.”

The case has gripped the nation, with #FindNancyGuthrie trending and thousands sharing childhood memories of watching Savannah on television. The Guthrie family has been flooded with support, but the lack of suspects after five days has fueled anxiety. Police have released a description of Nancy — 5’4″, 140 pounds, gray hair, last seen wearing a light blue nightgown — and are reviewing doorbell cameras, traffic footage, and cell tower data from the area.

Investigators are particularly interested in any vehicles seen near the home between 10 p.m. Saturday and 6 a.m. Sunday. They have appealed for dashcam footage from drivers on nearby routes and are following up on reports of a dark-colored SUV seen idling in the neighborhood around 11 p.m. Saturday.

For Savannah Guthrie — a familiar face to millions — the private nightmare has become painfully public. Her husband Michael Feldman told NBC News the family is “trapped in agonizing uncertainty,” clinging to hope that Nancy wandered away in confusion due to mild cognitive impairment. “She’s strong. She’s tough. If anyone can survive out there, it’s my mother-in-law,” he said. “We just need to find her.”

As Tucson temperatures drop and leads grow colder, the chilling detail of those cryptic words Nancy spoke hours before — “They’re coming for me tonight… I can hear them in the walls” — continues to haunt investigators and the public alike. Was it confusion? A warning? Or something far more sinister?