Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother Nancy Guthrie is “still alive.”
Nancy, 84, was last seen at her $1 million Tucson, Arizona home when her daughter, Annie Guthrie and Annie’s husband, Tommaso Cioni dropped her off around 9:45 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31.
Nanos told Page Six that Nancy was taken from her home “against her will” in the middle of the night.
Sheriff Nanos said he believes Nancy is still alive and present.
“We have nothing else to go on but the belief that she is here,” Nanos said in a new interview with NBC’s Liz Kreutz. “She’s present. She’s alive, and we want to save her.”
Nanos probably has reason to believe she’s alive because her pacemaker is still sending data to her doctor’s office.
Nanos previously said her pacemaker disconnected from her Apple Watch around 2 a.m. on Sunday.
Pacemakers are devices implanted under the skin that sends electrical impulses to the heart to maintain a regular heart rhythm.
The pacemaker communicates remotely with the doctor’s office to help the staff monitor the patient’s heart. The pacemaker can also indicate that a patient has died.
Sheriff Nanos said in a press conference on Tuesday that authorities are working “hundreds of leads” in the case, but no suspect has been identified.
Investigative reporter Ashleigh Banfield said Nancy’s son-in-law Tommasso Cioni was a suspect. Tomasso is married to Nancy’s eldest daughter, Annie Guthrie.
The FBI served a search warrant at Annie’s Tucson home on Tuesday.
Banfield said “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie was in Annie’s home during the 2-hour search. Savannah is reportedly staying with Annie and her husband.
Law enforcement officials, including FBI agents and local sheriffs, were seen leaving Annie’s home with evidence bags.
Officials didn’t comment on what they found, but Banfield quoted an unidentified police source who said two surveillance cameras were found smashed inside Annie Guthrie’s home.
