The FBI raised the reward to $100,000 on Thursday for information leading to the whereabouts of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, as investigators pursued new tips and continued searching near her Tucson-area home.
The reward increase came as authorities released updated details about a suspect caught on recovered camera footage near the home, including a closer focus on a black Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack. The case has drawn national attention and a flood of public leads, while local and federal agencies pressed for evidence that could help identify who took Guthrie and where she was taken.
Investigators say Guthrie was last seen late Jan. 31 after a family dinner, when relatives dropped her off at her home in the Catalina Foothills area near Tucson. Authorities believe she was taken against her will in the early hours of Feb. 1, after security systems around the home showed unusual activity overnight. In days since, teams have searched desert brush, roadsides and nearby neighborhoods, and have asked residents to provide any camera footage that might show a person or vehicle moving through the area at key times.
On Thursday, the FBI said a suspect seen in the recovered video appeared to be a man about 5-foot-9 to 5-foot-10 with an average build. The agency released photos of the type of backpack it says the suspect wore: a black, 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack. The FBI said the updated description followed forensic analysis of the doorbell-camera footage. The bureau said it has received more than 13,000 tips since the case was reported and urged anyone with helpful information to come forward.
The recovered footage, described by authorities as showing an armed, masked person, became a turning point in a case that had produced few public details early on. Investigators said the person appeared at Guthrie’s front door and tried to interfere with the camera around the time she is believed to have been taken. In the days after the images were shared more widely, tip lines surged, and officers briefly detained a man during a traffic stop south of Tucson. That man, Carlos Palazuelos of Rio Rico, later told reporters he had nothing to do with the case and wanted his name cleared. Authorities confirmed a person was detained and later released, without naming him as a suspect.
Authorities have said the case is being treated as a criminal investigation and that Guthrie’s home has been processed as a crime scene. Investigators have pointed to physical evidence collected at and near the home, including blood found on the porch that officials said was confirmed through DNA testing to belong to Guthrie. Officials have also said Guthrie had limited mobility and required daily medication, raising concern about how long she could survive without care. As the search continued this week, investigators said they recovered several items of evidence, including gloves, which were being analyzed.
Public attention has also been fueled by messages claiming to involve ransom demands. Authorities and news outlets have reported that at least two purported ransom notes surfaced after Guthrie vanished, with deadlines that later passed. Investigators have said they were reviewing the authenticity of messages and have not publicly described proof that Guthrie is alive. In one related case, an Arizona man named Derrick Callella, 42, was accused of sending a fake ransom note to the family, according to reports of court proceedings. Prosecutors said he allegedly sent text demands and made a brief call to a family member. He was released before trial after a court appearance, the reports said.
As the probe widened, questions also emerged about how local and federal teams were working together behind the scenes. A U.S. law enforcement official told Reuters that the FBI sought access to key physical evidence to process it at the FBI’s crime lab in Quantico, Virginia, but that Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos insisted on using a private lab in Florida. The official said the dispute could slow the FBI’s ability to assist in the case. Nanos disputed accounts that his agency was blocking the FBI, telling a local TV station that the sheriff’s department wanted all viable evidence sent to the same laboratory for testing.
The Guthrie family has made repeated public appeals for help, posting videos and messages that mix hope with urgency. Savannah Guthrie wrote in one post that the family would not give up, sharing old family footage of her mother smiling with her children. In earlier messages, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings asked anyone with even a small detail to report it to investigators, and they addressed whoever took their mother directly, saying they wanted her returned and asked for proof she was alive if money was being demanded.
For neighbors in the Catalina Foothills, the search has brought a steady presence of law enforcement and media to normally quiet streets. Residents have described seeing agents combing desert vegetation and knocking on doors, while investigators requested video from doorbell cameras and neighborhood apps for dates spanning weeks around the disappearance. Authorities have said the goal is to build a clearer picture of who came and went near the home overnight and whether anything was discarded along nearby roadways.
As of Friday, Feb. 13, authorities had not announced an arrest in Guthrie’s disappearance and had not publicly said they had located her. Investigators said they were continuing to process evidence and follow leads, with the backpack and recovered video remaining central clues as the search moved forward.
Author note: Last updated Friday, February 13, 2026.