The "J" Pack: The family and friends of US moguls star Jaelin Kauf are back at the Winter Games

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Perched in the snow-covered Italian Alps, Patti Sherman-Kauf fondly remembers how, four years before, in another valley and a world away in Wyoming, she glowed with pride watching a line of headlights approach in the middle of the night.

Those cars were full of family and friends coming to gather around a television and watch her daughter, freestyle skier Jaelin Kauf, compete in moguls at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. Bedlam broke out in the bar owned by her father when Jaelin won the silver medal.

“It was a line, at 1:30 in the morning, snaking through the valley up to the bar for the watch party,” Sherman-Kauf recalled. "There were like 150 people there watching in this little bar. Being able to watch it on TV with all our friends and family, that was amazing.”

But, she told The Associated Press, nothing compares to breathing in the frosty alpine air, standing at the foot of a ski course and cheering on Jaelin as she shows her speed, agility and aerial stunts at the 2026 Winter Olympics, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic had stopped her loved ones from accompanying her to China.

In Livigno, Sherman-Kauf is joined by Jaelin’s father and brother, and about 30 more people who had also been at that bar back in Alta, Wyoming, right on the Idaho border. Besides that hard-core group waving “J" for Jaelin signs, there were dozens more family members of Team USA skiers, most decked out in red-while-and-blue caps, coats, scarves and sweaters. And everybody cheered for everyone, regardless of the country they represented.

"Freestyle is a big family,” Sherman-Kauf said, taking a moment to give her daughter a hug before she joined her teammates atop the slope.

Jaelin’s long-standing motto is “deliver the love.”

That reminder to just embrace what she does, despite the outcome, is there written on her helmet.

On Tuesday, Jaelin was on the receiving end of that love delivery.

“I could see all the Js waving from up in the start gate and could hear them cheering for me down here. I love having them around. They give me so much energy,” Jalein said after completing her qualifying run.

Turns out that the 29-year-old, who made her Olympic debut in 2018 with her family there to support her, is going to need some more of those positive vibrations to keep her quest for another medal alive.

A costly bobble on her qualifying run wrecked her score, which is based on a skier’s execution of those hip-swiveling “turns” used to navigate the bumpy slope, along with the difficulty of two acrobatic jumps, and the time. She finished 27th of 29 riders, missing out on the top 10 who advanced to the final.

On Wednesday, she will need to be among the top 10 skiers of the 20 who failed to advance the day before. The final is later the same day.

“The plan for tomorrow is to just put down some my runs,” Jaelin said. “Obviously, you know, like going for gold out here.”

Jaelin, who has a world championship title in dual moguls and over 50 World Cup podiums, has been here before.

She even has moguls in the blood.

Both Sherman-Kauf and Jaelin’s father, Scott Kauf, are multiple-time champions in the freestyle discipline from the 1980s and ’90s.

Now, at an active 62, Sherman-Kauf said “you couldn’t pay me to get on this course,” while craning her neck to look up at the huge slope where her daughter and the other skiers pound their way down the back-breaking, knee-bending bumps only interrupted by the two ramps where they launch into twisting leaps.

But will she still give her daughter some advice for the do-or-die second round of qualifying on Wednesday?

Never.

“A hug and have fun is all,” Sherman-Kauf said. “It’s her thing and not ours, because she gets a lot of, ‘Oh, your parents were skiers,’ and that’s all great, the history and all that, but this is her thing, right?

"We’re not Olympic medalists."

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

A stuffed monkey is seen on the backpack of United States' Jaelin Kauf before the women's freestyle skiing moguls qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Friends and family hold signs in support of United States' Jaelin Kauf before the women's freestyle skiing moguls qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

United States' Jaelin Kauf competes during the women's freestyle skiing moguls qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

United States' Jaelin Kauf looks on during the women's freestyle skiing moguls qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Friends and family hold a sign for United States' Jaelin Kauf before the women's freestyle skiing moguls qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The heartbreaking messages made by “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie and her family have shifted from hopeful to desperate as they plead with the apparent kidnappers to hand over their missing mother.

More than a week into the search for Nancy Guthrie, there are more questions than answers about who abducted the 84-year-old from her home in Arizona and whether she is still alive.

Authorities have released few details, leaving it unclear if ransom notes demanding money with deadlines already passed were authentic and whether the Guthrie family has had any contact with the abductors.

Guthrie and her family have posted a series of videos over the past week, each striking a different tone. The latest message from Savannah Guthrie, in which she appeared alone, was more bleak.

“We are at an hour of desperation,” she said Monday, telling the public: “We need your help.”

Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will from her house just outside Tucson. She was last seen there Jan. 31 and reported missing the next day after not attending church. DNA tests showed blood on Nancy Guthrie’s front porch was a match to her, and a doorbell camera was disconnected in the early hours of Sunday morning, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said.

Adding to the urgency is that authorities say Nancy Guthrie needs daily medication because she is said to have high blood pressure and heart issues, including a pacemaker.

Investigators were in her neighborhood several times over the past few days and plan to keep working Tuesday as they expand the search and follow up on new leads, the sheriff’s department said.

Three days after the search began, Savannah Guthrie and her two siblings sent their first public appeal to the kidnappers, telling them “we want to hear from you and we are ready to listen.”

In the recorded video, Guthrie said her family was aware of media reports about a ransom letter, but they first wanted proof their mother was alive. "Please reach out to us,” they said.

Law enforcement officials declined to say whether the letters sent to several media outlets were credible but said all tips were being investigated seriously.

The next day, Savannah Guthrie’s brother again told the kidnappers to reach out "so we can move forward.”

“Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven’t heard anything directly,” Camron Guthrie said.

Then over the past weekend the family posted another video — one that was more cryptic and generated even more speculation about Nancy Guthrie's fate.

“We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,” said Savannah Guthrie, flanked by her siblings. “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”

Up to that point, the family's first three videos addressed the kidnappers directly.

But just ahead of Monday's deadline spelled out in a purported note, Savannah Guthrie urged people nationwide to be on the lookout “no matter where you are, even if you’re far from Tucson, if you see anything, if you hear anything.”

Her turn to the public comes as much of the nation is closely following the dramatic twists and turns involving the longtime anchor of NBC’s morning show.

The FBI this week began posting digital billboards in major cities from Texas to California.

Connor Hagan, a spokesperson for the FBI, said Monday that the agency wasn’t aware of ongoing communication between Guthrie’s family and the suspected kidnappers. Authorities also had not identified any suspects or persons of interest, he said.

“Someone has that one piece of information that can help us bring Nancy home,” he said.

Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio.

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

A small vigil grows near Nancy Guthrie‘s house, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

A woman walks her dog past a Pima county sheriff's vehicle parked in front of Nancy Guthrie's home on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

A member of the Pima county sheriff's office walks around Nancy Guthrie's home on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)