Today show host acknowledges reports of alleged ransom letter and calls for safe return of 84-year-old mother online

Today show host Savannah Guthrie, along with her siblings Annie and Cameron, has published a video statement calling for the safe return of their 84-year-old mother Nancy Guthrie, who was reported missing on Sunday.

In a video posted to Instagram on Wednesday, the siblings said that their mother is in poor health and is without her medication. Savannah Guthrie also acknowledged reports about a reported ransom letter from alleged kidnappers.

“She’s 84 years old. Her health, her heart, is fragile. She lives in constant pain. She is without any medicine. She needs it to survive, and she needs it not to suffer,” Guthrie said.

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“We, too, have heard the reports about a ransom letter in the media. As a family, we are doing everything that we can. We are ready to talk,” she said. “However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated. We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen.”

Nancy Guthrie was last seen by her family at her house near Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday night, and was reported missing the following afternoon after a family member received a call from a member of her church saying that she wasn’t there.

The Pima county sheriff, Chris Nanos said he could not rule out foul play.

At a Sunday night news conference, Nanos said that Nancy Guthrie was last seen around 9.30pm on Saturday at her home. Search and rescue teams were supported by volunteers and border patrol and the homicide team was also involved, Nanos said, adding that it was not standard for the homicide team to get involved in such cases. At a Monday morning briefing, the sheriff declared: “We do in fact have a crime scene,” and suggested she did not leave by herself.

No further details on the investigation have been released as of Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. Annie Guthrie referred to their mother as “our beacon” in the Instagram video and pleaded for her to return home.

“The light is missing from our lives, Nancy is our mother, we are her children, she is our beacon,” she said. “We are always going to be merely human, just normal human people who need our mom. Mama, mama, if you’re listening, we need you to come home. We miss you.”