STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
"Today" show host Savannah Guthrie has released another video pleading for her mom's return.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: We are at an hour of desperation, and we need your help.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The video was posted on Monday evening, around the time of a deadline outlined in a ransom message. Nancy Guthrie was last seen on Saturday, January 31, in Tucson.
INSKEEP: NPR's Bill Chappell is following this story, which really has captured the attention of a lot of people across the country. Bill, good morning.
BILL CHAPPELL, BYLINE: Hi. Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: Does this video - I mean, it really is touching to watch this video. It really catches you. Does it give you any new information?
CHAPPELL: It is wrenching. And in it, you know, Savannah Guthrie just pleads for the public's help in finding her mother. She says her family's now in the second week of a nightmare.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GUTHRIE: No matter where you are - even if you're far from Tucson - if you see anything, if you hear anything, if there's anything at all that seems strange to you, that you report to law enforcement.
CHAPPELL: And Guthrie also thanks people for their prayers and support. This is the fourth public appeal the family's made for Nancy Guthrie to be returned to them, but it didn't tell us much new information.
INSKEEP: I guess we should note here - it could be that nothing is going on, nothing is being learned or something is happening in law enforcement that is not clear to us that we will learn later. Sometimes these cases evolve that way. What do we know, based on public information, about progress by law enforcement?
CHAPPELL: Right. There are multiple local and federal agencies that have helped to try to find Nancy Guthrie, but we don't have a sense they're any closer to doing that. And several local media outlets in the Tucson area and TMZ have reported receiving ransom messages. At least one of those evidently included details about the scene at Guthrie's house. The FBI says it takes those messages seriously, but it's not said definitively that it's sure one of those messages came from people who took Nancy Guthrie. The FBI did say last week it's investigating a ransom note that included demands with that deadline of Monday. But in her message, Savannah Guthrie did not mention paying a ransom. And on Monday also, the FBI told news outlets it wasn't aware of any, quote, "continued communication between the Guthrie family" and the suspected kidnappers.
INSKEEP: Oh. So the implication is there's been no follow-up to these supposed ransom notes. Has anything changed since this deadline last night?
CHAPPELL: I mean, not that we can tell. Around that time, the sheriff's department issued a statement really similar to what we've seen from them before. It said investigators haven't identified suspects or persons of interest or vehicles that were connected to Nancy Guthrie's disappearance. You know, last week, the police really were emphasizing electronic analysis of things like cameras and cell phones and license plate readers. But the latest statement from the sheriff's department really echoes Savannah Guthrie's message, which - they're asking anybody who might have information to call the FBI or the sheriff's department. The FBI also has a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to getting Nancy Guthrie back or to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearing.
INSKEEP: NPR's Bill Chappell. Thanks so much.
CHAPPELL: Sure thing, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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