The Catalina Foothills, a desert community just north of Tucson, Arizona, isn’t the sort of place where these things happen. But it’s now the focus of a crime that’s mystifying America.
A long line of TV reporters from all over the world are positioned outside Nancy Guthrie’s home, an expansive red brick bungalow set back from the road on a large plot, bordered by cacti and yucca shrubs.
Private security stand guard on the driveway.
It’s from this house that detectives believe 84-year-old Nancy was snatched in the dead of night.
She is the mother of Savannah Guthrie, one of the country’s best known TV hosts, and the pair have often appeared on screen together.
As the search for her enters a sixth day, police have no suspect and no person of interest.
They did confirm blood found on the front porch of the house belonged to Nancy. They are also treating a ransom note sent to two news organisations seriously.
The note made reference to an Apple Watch worn by Nancy and a floodlight outside the house.
“The ransom note that was distributed to the media did make a demand for 5pm today, and if a transfer wasn’t made, then I think a second demand was for next Monday,” Heith Janke, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Phoenix division, said.
Family renew emotional plea
Camron Guthrie, Savannah’s brother and Nancy’s son, made a new appeal from the family, released on social media at the exact time of that 5pm deadline.
“Whoever is out there, holding our mother, we want to hear from you,” he said, staring directly at the camera.
“We haven’t heard anything directly. We need you to reach out, and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward, but first we have to know that you have our mum.
“We want to talk to you, and we are waiting for contact.”
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Neighbours in shock – and increasing security
People in the usually sedate neighbourhood where Nancy lives are stunned by this apparent kidnapping.
An elderly couple walk past her house, the man holding a giant staff, to ward off feral pigs he tells me. That’s the biggest danger here, usually, he says.
But now local people are reviewing their own security.
“I do know that there’s some people looking at their own security for their homes,” said Laura Gargano, whose house backs on to Nancy’s. “If they have them, maybe they’re enhancing them or if they don’t, they’re installing them.
“I had been to [Nancy’s] house before about a year, a year-and-a-half ago, and she’s a very sweet woman, very nice, she welcomed me right into her home.”
Cindy Matte, who lives a few streets away, believes Nancy was targeted because of her daughter’s high profile.
“I definitely think that, yeah,” she said. “That’s what I told my friends who are afraid for me to walk in this neighbourhood. I’m like ‘my family doesn’t have any money. They’re not gonna come after me for any reason’.”
A sign on the pavement at the end of Nancy’s driveway reads: “Dear Guthrie Family, your neighbors stand with you.”
In a place where they speak with collective pride about Savannah Guthrie, the TV star who was raised here and became one of its most successful exports, someone may hold the clue to finding Nancy.
