‘It could crack the case’: Local TV legend says Savannah Guthrie’s agonizing video appeal to kidnappers may trigger breakthrough in hunt for her abducted mother

A close friend of Savannah Guthrie has told the Daily Mail that the TV anchor’s ‘courageous’ and gut-wrenching appeal to mother Nancy’s captors could crack the case.

Retired local TV legend Lupita Murillo – who is also close to the abducted 84-year-old – added of the near four-minute video on Instagram: ‘That must have been the hardest thing she’s ever had to do. It was heartbreaking.

‘And it was… it was very impactful. And I think that her coming forward like that, I think that will jar people’s memories, and I think it’s going to produce something out of this.’

Murillo first became close with Savannah at NBC affiliate KVOA in Tucson, Arizona, which the Today co-host joined in 1995 before reaching national stardom.

And she believes the agonizing appeal and emotional outpouring of love for Nancy in the footage will create a major breakthrough.

Cops believe Nancy was abducted from her sprawling $1million home in Tucson’s affluent Catalina Hills neighborhood sometime over late Saturday night to early Sunday morning.

Murillo welled up as she continued: ‘As a reporter, every time I talked to a family member, and they went on the air, people felt their pain and wanted to help them.

‘And that’s when, usually, the suspects were caught, or somebody says, I know who did this.

‘That took some courage on Savannah’s part. I can’t imagine what that family’s going through. They don’t have their mom. Nancy would do everything and helped everybody.

‘I believe Savannah’s faith will pull her through. And we will all get through this with prayers, prayers that will be answered. I know they will be.’

Murillo, who retired in 2024, said Nancy worked as a public information officer at the TV station in the 1980s and that’s when their friendship blossomed.

‘Nancy is amazing, she will go over and beyond for you,’ she added.

A ransom note for Nancy’s safe return is reported to have been sent to Arizona TV station KOLD 13. It is not known if it’s the same one alleged to have been sent to TMZ, which is said to have demanded millions of dollars in Bitcoin.

Savannah, 54, confronted the possibility of ransom in her video.

Seated between poet sister Annie, 56, and former fighter pilot brother Camron, 61, she looked gaunt making her desperate appeal – and extending her love to her mother ‘if you are hearing this’.

‘Our mom is a kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light. She’s funny, spunky and clever. She has grandchildren that adore her and crowd around her and cover her with kisses,’ she said.

Guthrie graciously thanked everyone across the country who have offered prayers and support before detailing her ‘beloved mom’ Nancy’s fragile state prior to her disappearance.

‘She is 84 years old. Her health, her heart is fragile. She lives in constant pain. She is without medicine; she needs it to survive. She needs it not to suffer,’ the mom of two added.

The Today show stalwart then directly addressed her mother’s possible captors, in the first public admission that she may be held for ransom.

‘We too have heard the reports about a ransom letter in the media. As a family, we are doing everything that we can,’ she said in the clip.

Guthrie then said to the potential kidnappers that ‘we are ready to talk’ but wanted proof that they weren’t potentially using fraudulent images of her.

‘We live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated. 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 through the tears,’ she said.

Guthrie then directly addressed her mother.

‘Mommy, if you are hearing this, you are a strong woman. You are God’s precious daughter, Nancy,’ she said.

‘We believe and know that even in this valley, he is with you. Everyone is looking for you, mommy, everywhere. We will not rest; your children will not rest until we are together again.’

‘We speak to you every moment and we pray without ceasing and we rejoice in advance for the day that we hold you in our arms again. We love you, mom,’ the NBC star added.

Annie and Camron Guthrie then echoed their sister’s words: ‘We love you, mom. Stay strong.’

The video was simply captioned: ‘Bring her home.’

Annie’s Italian husband Tommaso Cioni, 50, is the last person to have seen Nancy before her abduction.

He drove her four miles home from the $650,000 house he shares with Annie, after Nancy had spent the evening there enjoying a dinner and playing the tile game mahjong.

Just minutes after the video hit the platform, President Trump confirmed via a Truth Social post that he spoke with Guthrie and had heard her pleas.

The video was released while a packed candlelit vigil for Nancy at Tucson’s St Philip’s in the Hills church was taking place Wednesday evening.

It is where daughter Annie is a member and more than 300 people attended for the emotional outpouring of support.

Murillo was there and said: ‘This is so sad. But at the same time, I think people feel a sense of, we’ll ride this wave here, come together.

‘The service was very touching. You could feel the lights that were lit and could feel the warmth of the people there and why they were there.

‘They just wanted to support the family and let them know that we care and that we are praying.’

The service was led by The Rev Dr Richard Mallory of St Philip’s and The Rev Dr John Tittle, of St Andrew’s church where Nancy was a congregant.

The poignant words for the special intercessions part of the service were: ‘Most Merciful God, we pray for our sister, Nancy. Guide her, comfort and sustain her in this moment of need. Make her to know always the presence of your Holy Spirit in her life. Bring her swiftly to safety, and to those whom she loves.

‘Comfort her family, her friends, and her loved ones, especially Annie, Camron, Savannah, and their families: that their minds may be calmed, and their hearts may be stilled, and that they may have the strength to face the days ahead.’

The Daily Mail has previously reported fresh doubt over the tip off that led to alarms being raised over Nancy’s abduction.

A fellow congregant at St Andrew’s was initially reported to have alerted the Guthrie family after Nancy failed to attend a morning service on Sunday.

However, a source has told the Daily Mail that Savannah’s mom has been worshipping online since the Covid pandemic.

St Andrew’s does not have a large-scale Zoom call for online viewing, as some religious organizations do.

Instead, the church’s 9am and 10.45am services on Sundays are live-streamed and it is impossible for other participants to know who else is watching.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said a congregant called Nancy’s family at 11am on Sunday after she failed to arrive at church.

The Guthrie family rushed to Nancy’s home, arriving at 11.10am Sunday to find the mother-of-three missing. They reported her disappearance to police at 12.15pm. Her phone, wallet, daily medications and car were all still at the property.

Footage shared on Tuesday shows blood drops on the doorstep, while a doorbell camera was missing from its holder when cops arrived on the scene.

Her Apple Watch stopped synching with her pacemaker at 2am, suggesting she was taken from the home, where the device was found, around that time.

Sheriff Nanos has told the Daily Mail: ‘She did not walk away. We believe she was forced to leave that residence. It was against her will.

‘This is about an 84-year-old woman who is sick, who needs her medications, who, in the middle of the night, was taken from her bedroom.’

Lights in the common area were all on and Nancy’s front door was unlocked, but there were signs of forced entry.

A day after the abduction, Sheriff Nanos welled up when asked if he thought Nancy was still alive. He conceded the window in which she would be realistically found unharmed was closing.

Nanos told the Daily Mail separately: ‘We know she could not walk out of that house. Talking to her doctors, we know she had some physical elements that definitely limited her.

‘She is very sharp-witted, of good mind, suffers from nothing in the form of dementia or Alzheimer’s – nothing.

‘So we know she would know what was going on around here.’

No suspects have been named. Of the abductor, Nanos said: ‘It could be more than one person, we don’t know that yet.’