Savannah Guthrie Posts Video, Fights Tears While Telling Mom’s Kidnappers: ‘We Need to Know Without a Doubt that She Is Alive and That You Have Her’

Savannah Guthrie posted an emotional video to her Instagram on Wednesday evening in which she and her two siblings, Annie and Cameron, addressed the kidnapper of her 84-year-old mother.

“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. “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. 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.”

The 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie went missing in Arizona over the weekend and was last seen on the evening of Jan. 31 at her house in Catalina Foothills. She was classified by police as a “missing vulnerable adult” because of her age.

On Monday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office announced that Nancy’s disappearance was being treated as a crime after finding “very concerning” evidence in her house. “I believe she was abducted, yes,” Sheriff Chris Nanos told CBS News. “She didn’t walk from there. She didn’t go willingly.”

Nanos said on Sunday night that Nancy had “no signs of cognitive issues” and is “very alert” and of “very sound mind.”

Savannah Guthrie was not on air on “Today” Monday morning, but gave a statement to her co-hosts asking for the public’s help in locating her mother. She also took to Instagram later in the day to ask for prayers.

“We believe in prayer. We believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope. We believe in goodness. We believe in humanity. Above all, we believe in Him,” she wrote in the caption of her post. “Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant. Raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment. We need you.”

On Tuesday night, TMZ reported that it had received an alleged ransom note “demanding payment for the release of Nancy Guthrie” in Bitcoin. The Pima County Sheriff’s Office said in response: “We are aware of reports circulating about possible ransom note(s) regarding the investigation into Nancy Guthrie. We are taking all tips and leads very seriously. Anything that comes in, goes directly to our detectives who are coordinating with the FBI.”