Elizabeth Smart Urges Hope in Nancy Guthrie Case 25 Weeks After Tucson Abduction

Kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart has renewed calls for public vigilance in the case of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old who vanished from her Catalina Foothills residence in Tucson, Arizona, 25 weeks ago. Smart stressed in a recent interview with E! News that investigators should not abandon hope, noting the absence of physical evidence of harm. “I want to remind people that there isn’t a body, so there is still reason to have hope that she is alive and that we shouldn’t give up until we find her,” the 38-year-old said.

Nancy Guthrie, mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie, was forcibly taken from her home in the early morning hours of February 1, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. Security footage from her Nest doorbell camera captured images of a masked intruder at her door that morning, which the FBI and Google subsequently released to the public in hopes of generating leads.

Smart expressed confidence that law enforcement may be developing investigative leads beyond what has been disclosed publicly. A purported ransom note and follow-up message claiming Guthrie’s death have emerged, though investigators have not authenticated either document. DNA testing results and other forensic findings remain undisclosed as the investigation continues.

Smart, who was herself abducted at knifepoint in 2002 at age 14 from her Salt Lake City home by Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, was recovered nine months later after the public identified her captors. She urged anyone with information to contact authorities without hesitation. The combined reward for information now exceeds $1.2 million from law enforcement, Crime Stoppers, and the Guthrie family, with the FBI’s tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI and Tucson’s Crime Stoppers at 520-88-CRIME accepting anonymous reports.