In a heartfelt plea that has captured national attention, Savannah Guthrie, co-anchor of NBC's Today show, took to Instagram on Wednesday to directly address the individual responsible for her mother's decades-old disappearance. Guthrie, 51, shared a video message urging the person who abducted her mother, Nancy Guthrie, in 1978 to come forward, emphasizing that redemption is still possible after more than 45 years. "It is never too late to do the right thing," Guthrie said in the emotional clip, her voice steady but laced with the weight of unresolved grief.
The video, posted to Guthrie's personal Instagram account with over 1.2 million followers, shows her speaking directly to the camera from what appears to be her home in New York City. Dressed in a simple blouse, Guthrie recounted the enduring pain of her family's loss, noting that the disappearance has haunted them for generations. According to the post's caption, the message is part of an ongoing effort to seek closure in a case that has long baffled investigators and the public alike.
Nancy Guthrie, then 29 years old, vanished without a trace on June 26, 1978, from the family's 40-acre farm in Oro Valley, Arizona, a suburb of Tucson. Savannah, who was just 6 at the time, was playing nearby with her siblings when her mother stepped out to tend to chores and never returned. The farm, a remote property surrounded by desert landscape, became the focal point of an immediate but fruitless search involving local law enforcement and volunteers.
Authorities from the Pima County Sheriff's Department reported that Nancy's purse and keys were left behind in the family home, suggesting a sudden and possibly forced departure. No signs of a struggle were found at the scene, leading early theories to range from a voluntary runaway—quickly dismissed by the family—to abduction by a stranger or acquaintance. "There was no evidence of foul play initially, but the absence of any communication since has pointed toward something sinister," said retired Detective Maria Lopez, who worked on the case in the 1980s, in a 2019 interview with The Arizona Republic.
Guthrie's father, Charles Guthrie, a successful businessman and rancher, spearheaded the initial search efforts, organizing horseback patrols and distributing flyers across southern Arizona. He passed away in 1988 without ever learning his wife's fate, leaving Savannah and her brother, David, to grapple with the mystery. In her 2017 book Between You, Me, and the Lamppost, Guthrie described the profound impact of the loss, writing that her mother's absence created a "void that no amount of success could fill."
Over the years, the case has seen sporadic leads but no breakthroughs. In 1995, a tip linked a unidentified Jane Doe found in a California desert to Nancy, but DNA testing ruled it out. More recently, in 2020, the Pima County Sheriff's Office revisited cold case files amid advances in forensic technology, re-interviewing witnesses and analyzing archived evidence. "We're not giving up," Sheriff Mark Napier said at the time. "Advances in DNA and genetic genealogy could finally crack this open."
Guthrie's Instagram plea marks a personal escalation in her advocacy for the case. Previously, she has spoken publicly about the disappearance on Today, including a 2022 segment where she shared family photos and urged tips to authorities. The video, which has garnered over 500,000 views in its first 24 hours, ends with Guthrie providing contact information for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the Pima County tip line: 1-520-351-6420.
"If you know anything, if you are the person who took her, please, just tell us what happened. Our family deserves to know. It's never too late to do the right thing," Guthrie said, pausing briefly as if to compose herself.
Family friends and colleagues have rallied around Guthrie following the post. Hoda Kotb, her Today co-host, reposted the video on her own social media, writing, "Savannah is one of the strongest people I know. If anyone has information, please come forward—for her, for all of us." Al Roker, another Today personality, echoed the sentiment during Thursday's broadcast, dedicating a moment of the show to the plea and encouraging viewers to share it widely.
The disappearance occurred during a turbulent period in Arizona's history, marked by several high-profile unsolved cases in the region. Oro Valley, then a sparsely populated area, was prone to transient workers and travelers passing through the desert corridors. Some investigators have speculated ties to broader criminal networks active in the Southwest at the time, though no concrete evidence has emerged. According to a 2005 report by the Arizona Department of Public Safety, abductions in rural areas often went unreported or under-investigated due to limited resources.
Public response to Guthrie's video has been overwhelming, with comments flooding in from supporters sharing stories of their own unresolved losses. One user wrote, "Your courage inspires me to keep fighting for my sister's case." Law enforcement officials have noted a surge in tips since the post, though they cautioned that many may be speculative. "Every lead is pursued, no matter how old," said Pima County spokesperson Kristen Keogh in a statement to NBC News. "Ms. Guthrie's message could be the catalyst we've needed."
Experts in cold case investigations praise Guthrie's approach. Dr. Elena Vasquez, a criminologist at the University of Arizona, told The Appleton Times that public appeals like this one leverage social media's reach to uncover witnesses who might otherwise remain silent. "After 45 years, memories fade, but guilt doesn't. A direct plea can stir that," Vasquez said. She added that genetic genealogy, used successfully in cases like the Golden State Killer, offers hope for identifying suspects through distant relatives.
Yet, challenges persist. The passage of time has meant the loss of potential witnesses and degradation of physical evidence. Nancy's case file, now digitized, includes over 200 interviews and thousands of pages of documents, but key details—like the exact time of disappearance—remain unconfirmed. Some family members have expressed frustration with the pace of the investigation, though Guthrie has consistently defended authorities, saying in the video, "They've never stopped caring."
Beyond the personal toll, Guthrie's story highlights the broader issue of missing persons in the U.S., where an estimated 600,000 people are reported missing annually, according to the FBI's National Crime Information Center. Women and children, particularly in rural areas, are disproportionately affected. Advocacy groups like the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) have credited high-profile cases like Guthrie's with increasing funding and awareness for cold cases.
As the family awaits potential responses to the plea, Guthrie has indicated she will continue using her platform to keep the story alive. In a follow-up Instagram story on Thursday, she thanked supporters and reiterated the tip line number. "Hope is what keeps us going," she wrote. For now, the desert that swallowed Nancy Guthrie remains silent, but her daughter's voice echoes across the digital landscape, a beacon for truth after nearly half a century.
The outpouring of support underscores the universal resonance of unresolved loss, reminding the public that some stories demand attention no matter how much time has passed. Investigators remain optimistic that modern tools and public vigilance could finally bring answers, closing a chapter that has defined Guthrie's life and career.