As the search for the missing 84-year-old grandmother approaches its second week, little new information has been released in several days.
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Key Takeaways
- A black glove—the same color as one worn by a masked individual seen outside Guthrie’s home near Tucson—was discovered Wednesday about 1.5 miles from the home of Savannah Guthrie’s mother, according to the New York Post.
- The Post’s Georgia Worrell, who witnessed authorities pick up the glove and bag it for evidence, told CNN “it had just been discarded on the side of the road.”
- A second glove was also found, according to CBS News, which could mark a significant breakthrough in the investigation that has seen nationwide interest and 18,000 tips since Feb. 1, the day after Guthrie was last seen.
- A man, Carolos Palozelos, was detained Tuesday and questioned in connection to Guthrie’s disappearance, but he was released from custody with no charges filed, and he told NBC News he had no involvement in the disappearance: “I felt like I was being kidnapped, bro. They didn’t tell me anything.”
- The sheriff’s office—working in conjunction with the FBI—has not held a press briefing on the investigation since Feb. 5 and said Wednesday it would address the media “should a significant development occur.”
Does Nancy Guthrie Have Health Concerns?
At 84 years old, Guthrie remains “sharp as a tack,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told NBC News, but has mobility issues and requires daily medication. Authorities said Guthrie has a pacemaker, but it stopped syncing with her smart phone in the early morning hours of Feb. 1, shortly before she was reported missing. Guthrie does not have any cognitive deficits, Nanos said, and is said to be “very alert, of sound, good mind.”
What Has Savannah Guthrie Said About Her Mom’s Disappearance?
Savannah Guthrie, a co-anchor on the NBC News morning show “Today,” said in a Monday video posted on Instagram that she and her siblings believe their “mom is still out there.” She called her mother’s disappearance a “nightmare,” pleading for the public to help in the case: “She was taken and we don’t know where. And we need your help.” Savannah Guthrie previously said the family will pay a ransom for the safe return of their mother, saying it’s “the only way we will have peace.” She described her mother as a “a kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light.”
What Do We Know About The Ransom Notes?
Multiple news outlets, including local outlet KGUN 9 received alleged ransom notes with a list of monetary demands and deadlines, though two deadlines have now passed. TMZ reported Wednesday someone sent its staff an email offering to give up the identity of the abductor for 1 bitcoin, saying “time is more than relevant,” but the legitimacy of the message is unclear. The price of bitcoin, as of Thursday, is about $67,000, an increase in the $50,000 reward offered by the FBI. Charles Latibeaudiere, co-executive producer at TMZ, told NewsNation the recent message was “was clearly different and clearly not from the same person who wrote the ransom note that we got last week,” noting the information was passed on to the FBI.
Video Leads To Surge Of Tips
After the release of a figure that showed a masked individual outside Guthrie’s home the morning she was last seen, the sheriff’s office said it received 4,000 tips in a span of 24 hours. The video, which was shared alongside a series of photos, shows a person who appeared to be armed with a holstered weapon on their waist. Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe told CNN it is “highly probable that this person also has facial hair, at least to include a mustache, maybe more than that.”
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This story was originally published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
