Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday that he doesn’t believe it would be the best course of action for the FBI to take over the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie in Arizona but added that federal investigators are providing as much help as possible.
“We are working as hard as we can with the state and local law enforcement in every area, and that means not only providing assistance with manpower, but any sort of forensic assistance,” Blanche told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” “And so we’re going to continue to do that. Whether we come in with sharp elbows and take it over, that’s not necessarily the right thing to do for her or for anybody, but making sure that it’s done right and making sure that this investigation is being conducted the way that it should be is something that we’re doing.”
Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “TODAY” show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was first reported missing on Feb. 1 in Tucson, Arizona, in a case that has drawn national attention.
Nancy Guthrie has remained missing since then, and authorities in Pima County have publicly offered few concrete leads in their investigation. Early on, national and local authorities deemed the case an abduction, and videos released by the FBI from Guthrie’s doorbell camera showed a masked and armed man outside her home shortly before she disappeared.
Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that local and state authorities have continued to lead the case since it was opened in February, with the FBI assisting in certain areas as needed.
In February, just days after her mother’s disappearance, President Donald Trump spoke with Guthrie to offer every available form of assistance from federal law enforcement.
“I spoke with Savannah Guthrie, and let her know that I am directing ALL Federal Law Enforcement to be at the family’s, and Local Law Enforcement’s, complete disposal, IMMEDIATELY,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post at the time.
On Sunday, Blanche said that he did not have an update on the investigation to share publicly, adding: “I’m sorry to say that because I wish I had an update, and I know that this type of case is heartbreaking, especially when it plays out nationally like this one has.”
Most recently, at the end of July, authorities in Arizona sought to generate new leads in the case by releasing two ransom notes they believe were sent by Guthrie’s kidnappers shortly after her disappearance. Earlier that month, a California man pleaded guilty to sending a false ransom note in the wake of Guthrie’s disappearance.
The FBI is offering up to a $100,000 reward for information in this case, while Savannah Guthrie in February offered up to $1 million in exchange for the recovery of her mother.
In an interview in June, Savannah Guthrie told fellow “TODAY” co-anchor Jenna Bush Hager about what it was like to return to work at NBC News in April following the disappearance of her mother and the subsequent investigation.
“It’s really hard to come back,” she said at the time. “I’ve been trying so hard to hold it together, and I promise I will.”
