“Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie is pleading for her mother’s safe return as the search for her whereabouts enters its third week.
In an emotional video posted to social media late Sunday, Guthrie issued a direct appeal to her mother’s suspected kidnapper and anyone with information about where she is being kept.
“It is never too late to do the right thing,” Guthrie said. “And we are here. And we believe in the essential goodness of every human being, that it’s never too late.”
Federal authorities investigating the disappearance said Sunday that a glove recovered about two miles from Guthrie’s house appears to match those worn by the masked person seen outside her front door the night she vanished.
The glove, found on the side of a road, was submitted for DNA testing. The FBI said it received preliminary results Saturday but is awaiting confirmation.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office said several gloves have been recovered during the investigation. No gloves were found on the property or inside the home, contrary to earlier unconfirmed reports.
Guthrie, 84, has been missing since Feb. 1. Authorities have confirmed that blood found on her front porch belonged to her. Investigators also said DNA from someone other than Guthrie or her close contacts was recovered at an unspecified location on the property.
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Last week, the sheriff’s office issued a neighborhood alert asking residents to turn over any video recorded within a two-mile radius of Guthrie’s home between Jan. 1 and Feb. 2 that could aid the investigation. Officials are interested in footage showing vehicles, traffic, pedestrians or anything unusual.
The FBI has increased the reward to $100,000 for information leading to Guthrie’s location or the arrest and conviction of her suspected kidnapper. The bureau’s Phoenix branch also released new identifying details about the suspect, including images of a black backpack believed to be in their possession.
“The suspect is described as a male, approximately 5’9” - 5’10” tall, with an average build,” the FBI statement said. “In the video, he is wearing a black, 25-liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack.”
