Savannah Guthrie's family renews plea to mother's kidnapper, while sheriff says they have no suspect

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie's brother on Thursday renewed the family's plea for their mother's kidnapper to contact them, hours after an Arizona sheriff said investigators don't have proof Nancy Guthrie is alive but believe “she's still out there.”

“Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven’t heard anything directly,” Camron Guthrie said in a video posted on social media.

“We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward,” but first the family needs to know the kidnapper has their mother, he said, echoing a statement his famous sister read the day before.

Five days into the desperate search for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, authorities have not identified any suspects or persons of interest, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said.

Authorities think she was taken against her will from her home in Tucson over the weekend. DNA tests showed blood found on Guthrie’s front porch was a match to her, the sheriff said.

“Right now, we believe Nancy is still out there. We want her home,” Nanos said at a news conference earlier Thursday. He acknowledged, however, that authorities have no evidence she’s OK.

Investigators said they are taking seriously notes seeking ransom that were sent to some media outlets.

It's unclear if all of the notes were identical. Heith Janke, the FBI chief in Phoenix, said details included a demand for money with a Thursday evening deadline and a second deadline for Monday if the first one wasn't met. At least one note mentioned a floodlight at Guthrie's home and an Apple watch, Janke said.

“To anyone who may be involved, do the right thing. This is an 84-year-old grandma,” Janke said.

At least three media organizations reported receiving purported ransom notes, which they handed over to investigators. Authorities made an arrest after one ransom note turned out to be fake, the sheriff said.

A note e-mailed Monday to the KOLD-TV newsroom in Tucson included information that only the abductor would know, anchor Mary Coleman told CNN.

“When we saw some of those details, it was clear after a couple of sentences that this might not be a hoax,” she said.

The sheriff said it’s possible Nancy Guthrie was targeted, but if she was, investigators don’t know if that’s because her daughter is one of television’s most visible anchors.

Authorities say any decision on whether to fulfill ransom demands ultimately is up to the family.

A day earlier, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings released a message to her mother’s kidnapper, saying they are ready to talk but want proof their mom is still alive. There's been no response to their pleas so far.

Investigators gave a more detailed timeline from the hours after Nancy Guthrie was last seen Saturday night. She was eating dinner and playing games with family members before one of them dropped her off at her home in a upscale neighborhood that sits on hilly, desert terrain, the sheriff said.

About four hours later, just before 2 a.m. Sunday, the home’s doorbell camera was disconnected, Nanos said. But Guthrie did not have an active subscription, so the doorbell company was unable to recover any footage.

Software data recorded movement at the home minutes later, the sheriff said, acknowledging that the motion could have come from an animal.

Then at 2:28 a.m. the app on Guthrie’s pacemaker was disconnected from her phone.

Guthrie was reported missing shortly before noon Sunday after she didn’t show up at a church.

While she is able to drive and her mind is sharp, the sheriff said she has difficulty walking even short distances. She also requires daily medicine that's vital to her health, he has said.

A sheriff’s dispatcher said during the search Sunday that Guthrie has high blood pressure, a pacemaker and heart issues, according to audio from broadcastify.com.

Investigators searched in and around Guthrie’s home again for several hours Wednesday.

Authorities are bringing more resources and people into the investigation, and the FBI announced Thursday it was offering up to $50,000 for information. A day earlier, President Donald Trump posted on social media that he was directing federal authorities to help where they can.

The kidnapping has attracted the attention of the American public, much like other famous abductions in U.S. history.

Savannah Guthrie has hosted “Today” — NBC’s flagship morning show — for more than a decade and had been set to co-anchor the network’s coverage of Friday’s opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics. For now, she's staying close to her mother's home.

She joined her two siblings in an emotional plea on social media Wednesday to say they're ready to talk to whoever sent the ransom notes.

“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. Please reach out to us,” she said while fighting off tears.

With her voice cracking, she addressed her mother directly, saying the family was praying for her and that people were looking for her. She was flanked by Camron and their sister, Annie.

“Mamma, If you’re listening, we need you to come home. We miss you,” Annie Guthrie said.

This story has been corrected to show that the sheriff said it’s possible Nancy Guthrie was targeted, not that investigators have believed from the beginning that she was targeted.

Billeaud reported from Phoenix and Seewer from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed.

The home of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, is seen from above, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Caitlin O'Hara)

Nancy Guthrie's daughter Annie's home is seen Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Caitlin O'Hara)

Members of the press work in the neighborhood near the home of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Caitlin O'Hara)

The home of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, is seen from above, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Caitlin O'Hara)

A sign of solidarity from neighbors at Nancy Guthrie's home Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Caitlin O'Hara)

The home of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, is seen from above, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Caitlin O'Hara)

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos updates media on the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of "Today" host Savannah Guthrie, in Tucson, Ariz., on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Sejal Govindarao)

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos speaks at a news conference, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz., to provide updates in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie. (AP Photo/Sejal Govindarao)

Law enforcement officers are present outside the home of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of "Today" host Savannah Guthrie, near Tucson, Ariz., Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Sejal Govindarao)

FILE - Savannah Guthrie arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

This image provided by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, shows a missing person alert for Nancy Guthrie. (Pima County Sheriff’s Department via AP)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A new Tennessee law has eased up on two longstanding financial hurdles for people with felony sentences who want their voting rights back, including a unique requirement among states that they must have fully paid their child support costs.

The Republican-supermajority Legislature approved the Democratic-sponsored change, which now lets people prove they have complied for the last year with child support orders, such as payment plans. The legislation also unties the payment of all court costs from voting rights restoration.

Advocates for years have sought various changes to Tennessee’s voting rights restoration system at the statehouse and in court. They say loosening these two rules marks the biggest rollback of restrictions to voting rights restoration in decades.

“This is huge and this is history,” said Keeda Haynes, senior attorney for the advocacy group Free Hearts led by formerly incarcerated women like her.

Most Republicans voted for it and Democrats supported it unanimously. The law took effect immediately upon Republican Gov. Bill Lee's signature last week.

“I think people are at a point where they want to just remove the barriers out of the way and allow people to be fully functional members of society,” said Democratic House Minority Leader Karen Camper, a bill sponsor.

In 2023 and early 2024, the state decided that the system did require going to court or showing proof of a pardon, not just a paperwork process, and that gun rights were required to restore the right to vote. Election officials said a court ruling made the changes necessary, though voting rights advocates said officials misinterpreted the order.

Last year, lawmakers untangled voting and gun rights. But voting rights advocates opposed some of the bill's other provisions, such as keeping the process in the courts, where costs can rack up if someone isn't ruled indigent.

Easing up on the financial requirements uncommonly split legislative Republicans. For instance, Senate Speaker Randy McNally voted against it, while House Speaker Cameron Sexton supported it, noting that people aren't getting forgiveness on making their payments.

“They need to continue paying that, and as long as they do, then there’s a possibility (to restore their voting rights)," Sexton said. "I really think that’s harder for people to argue against than maybe what something else was.”

Republican Rep. Johnny Garrett, who voted no, said in committee his vote would hinge on whether “there still can be an (child support) arrearage owed beyond that 12 months.”

For some, backed-up child support payments could reach hundreds or thousands of dollars, and court costs could be hundreds or thousands more, said Gicola Lane, Campaign Legal Center's Restore Your Vote community partnership senior manager.

Advocates credited their narrowed focus, omitting goals such as automatic restoration of rights, no longer tying restitution payments to voting rights, or offering a path for certain people to restore their right who are permanently disenfranchised, including those convicted of voter fraud or most murder charges.

The bill passed the Senate last year and the House this year.

Lawmakers gave the child support requirement final passage in 2006 within an overhaul bill that also created a voting rights restoration process outside of court. Critics said the child support rule penalized impoverished parents.

Democrats were then narrowly hanging onto legislative leadership in both chambers. Republicans held a slim Senate majority but GOP defectors voted for a Democratic speaker.

Last year marked the dismissal of a nearly five-year-old federal lawsuit over Tennessee’s voting-rights restoration system. Free Hearts and the Campaign Legal Center represented plaintiffs in the long-delayed case, which saw some election policy changes along the way.

Roughly 184,000 people have completed supervision for felonies and their offenses don't preclude them from restoring their voting rights, according to a plaintiffs expert’s 2023 estimate in the lawsuit. About one in 10 were estimated to have outstanding child support payments, and more than six in 10 owed court courts, restitution or both, the expert said.

Both Republican and Democratic-led states have eased the voting rights restoration process in recent years. Some states have added complexities.

In Florida, after voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2018 restoring the right to vote for people with felony convictions, the Republican-controlled Legislature watered that down by requiring payment of fines, fees and court costs.

Voting rights are automatically restored upon release in nearly half of states. In 15 others, it occurs after parole, probation or a similar period and sometimes requires paying outstanding court costs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Maine and Vermont, people with felonies keep their voting rights in prison, the NCSL says.

Ten other states including Tennessee require additional government action. Virginia ’s governor must intervene to restore voting rights of people convicted of felonies. In some states, including Tennessee, certain conviction types render someone ineligible.

However, Virginia lawmakers this year have passed a proposed state constitutional amendment to ask voters whether they want automatic voting rights restoration after someone is released from prison. Kentucky lawmakers have proposed a similar change for voters' consideration that would automatically restore voting rights after certain completed sentences, including probation.

FILE - The Tennessee Capitol is seen, Jan. 22, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)