Investigators in Arizona have not yet identified a person of interest in the suspected abduction of NBC news anchor Savannah Guthrie's mother.
In the days since 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie disappeared in the middle of night from her home in Tucson, authorities have said they are investigating an alleged ransom note and believe she was taken against her will.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has issued a plea for the public to help investigators and said they were working around the clock. US President Donald Trump also ordered all federal law enforcement to help "get her mother home safely".
Officials have announced a reward of $50,000 (£36,000) for information leading to an arrest.
Today show host Savannah Guthrie, along with her two siblings, issued an emotional plea for their mother to be released, noting her poor health and that she was without her medication.
"Everyone is looking for you, mommy," she said. "Everywhere. We will not rest. Your children will not rest until we are together again."
Here is what we know about the case.
Guthrie was last seen at her home in Catalina Foothills, an affluent neighbourhood roughly six miles (10km) north-east of Tucson, on Saturday evening, when family members dropped her off around 21:30 local time.
Alarm grew on Sunday morning when members of her church noticed she was missing and notified her family.
After the family called 911, authorities began a search that soon included volunteers and federal officers from Border Patrol, which stretched into the next morning.
Homicide detectives also arrived at Nancy's home, an unusual move according to Nanos. Once inside, he said law enforcement had encountered a scene that was cause for "grave concern".
Police have said they found blood on Nancy Guthrie's porch and analyses confirmed it was hers.
On Monday, Nanos labelled the home a crime scene. When asked whether authorities were still looking for Guthrie alive, Nanos replied: "We hope we are."
Officials have warned that she may be in dire health without her medication.
She has been described as "not in good physical health", but has no reported cognitive issues, Nanos said.
In their video message, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings said: "Her health, her heart is fragile. She lives in constant pain.
"She is without any medicine. She needs it to survive. She needs it not to suffer."
While there was no initial indication that Nancy Guthrie could have been targeted because of her name, the sheriff has said "we can't dismiss that".
On Tuesday, Nanos told reporters : "We do believe that Nancy was taken from her home against her will. And that's where we're at."
The sheriff could not say whether more than one person had been involved in the alleged abduction.
In an earlier post on the Pima County Sheriff's Facebook account, the department said it was "aware of reports circulating about possible ransom note(s)", without offering specifics.
Several media outlets reported receiving a ransom note, saying they had sent the details to the police.
FBI agent Heith Janke said on Thursday that the ransom note sent to media outlets had been presented to the Guthrie family because it contained facts associated with a deadline and a monetary value.
"One talked about an Apple watch, and one talked about a floodlight. We're not going to go into specifics," Janke said. Police said one ransom note sent to the media had two deadlines: one at 17:00 on Thursday (no time zone was given) and another on Monday.
The FBI also said it had arrested a person for a fake ransom note on Thursday morning.
President Trump has called the case a "very unusual situation".
In her emotional plea, Savannah Guthrie said she and her family were aware of the ransom note as well. She addressed the potential abductor or abductors directly.
"We are ready to talk," she said, adding that, "we need to know without a doubt that she is alive and you have her… Please, reach out to us."
Authorities have urged the public to call the sheriff's office with any information, vowing to look into all leads, and discouraging the spread of misinformation.
In the social media post on Wednesday the sheriff's office said "the sharing of unverified accusations or false information is irresponsible and does not assist the investigation".
Guthrie, 54, is an American broadcast journalist who has served as the co-anchor of NBC News' TODAY since 2012. She is also the network's chief legal correspondent and a primary anchor for its election coverage. Previously, she was NBC News' White House correspondent.
Guthrie was born in Australia but when she was a toddler her family moved to Tucson, Arizona where she grew up for most of her childhood. She did not travel back to Australia until 2015, visiting with her mom Nancy and fulfilling her "lifelong dream to return", she told The Daily Telegraph.
"For my mum to come back and get to see where she used to live brings back a lot of happy memories with my dad," Guthrie told the Daily Telegraph.
Guthrie, who maintains a public stance of political neutrality, has interviewed presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump.
"Every White House tends to have an adversarial relationship with the press and that's part of what would be expected in our democracy," Guthrie reportedly said in a 2018 Skype interview with University of Arizona students, which her mother also attended.
Speaking about Trump, she added: "But I think in terms of the news cycle, the fact that you have a president who is tweeting eight different things, eight different stories, eight different things to follow up … it's like drinking out of a fire hose right now for us."
She has a law degree from Georgetown University and a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Arizona.
She has won an Edward R. Murrow Award for ethical electronic journalism and multiple News Emmys, including for an interview of Donald Trump a month before the 2020 election.
Savannah Guthrie, who hosts the Today show, has not been on air this week.
She had been due to co-host the Winter Olympics opening ceremony for NBC on Friday, but will no longer take part in coverage to focus on being with her family, NBC said.
"Our hearts are with her and the entire Guthrie family as the search continues for their mother," a spokesperson for the network said.
The FBI is investigating a note demanding ransom for the 84-year-old, and announced a $50,000 reward for information about her whereabouts.
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