Sheriff in Nancy Guthrie Case Believes He Knows Exactly Why She Was Targeted

The sheriff leading the charge in the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance believes the 84-year-old mother of TODAY show journalist Savannah Guthrie was “targeted.”

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos appeared on NBC News on Thursday, where he spoke vaguely about the suspected motive of Guthrie’s abductor or abductors and warned people to stay vigilant.

“We believe we know why he did this, and we believe that it was targeted, but we, we can’t, we’re not 100% sure of that,” the sheriff said, adding, “And so it’d be silly to tell people, ‘Yeah, don’t worry about it. You’re, you’re not his target.’ Don’t think for a minute that because it happened to the Guthrie family, you’re safe. No, keep your wits about you.”

Pushed on what the motive was, Nanos said, “From day one, we had some strong beliefs about what happened, and those beliefs haven’t diminished.” He wouldn’t go into specifics, citing the integrity of the case, but added, “We have our beliefs. Everybody else has theirs.”

Nancy was reported missing on Feb. 1 after being seen by family members the evening before. Investigators believe she was abducted from her home in Tucson, Ariz., and have released doorbell camera images and footage of a masked suspect seen tampering with the security system prior to Nancy’s abduction.

No suspects have been named. The Guthrie family has offered up a $1 million reward for information that leads to Nancy’s recovery.

“We still believe. We still believe in a miracle. We still believe that she can come home, hope against hope,” Savannah said on Instagram while announcing the reward last month. “As my sister says, we are blowing on the embers of hope.”

“We also know that she may be lost. She may already be gone. She may have already gone home to the Lord that she loves and is dancing in heaven with her mom and her dad and with her beloved brother, Pierce, and with our daddy,” she continued. “If this is what is to be, then we will accept it. But we need to know where she is. We need her to come home. For that reason, we are offering a family reward of up to $1 million for any information that leads us to her recovery.”

Encouraging people with information to call the FBI tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), Savannah urged, “Someone out there knows something that can bring her home. Somebody knows, we are begging you to please come forward now.”