Authorities Looking for Nancy Guthrie ‘Still Operating’ on Belief She ‘Is Alive’ 11 Days Into Search

Savannah Guthrie’s mother was reported missing on Feb. 1 and has not been seen since Jan. 31

Nancy Guthrie on Wednesday, April 17, 2019Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

Nancy Guthrie has been missing since Sunday, Feb. 1

On Wednesday, Feb. 11, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed to PEOPLE that authorities are still operating on the belief that Nancy is “alive”

The FBI’s Phoenix office previously announced that “numerous FBI agents are conducting an extensive search” in the geographic areas related to the investigation

Authorities are still operating as if Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother, Nancy Guthrie, is still alive, 11 days into their search.

On Wednesday, Feb. 11, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told PEOPLE that the investigation “is still operating” on the belief “that Nancy is alive.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Phoenix office said in an X post that “numerous FBI agents are conducting an extensive search along multiple roadways in the Catalina Foothills area related to the Nancy Guthrie investigation.”

Nancy GuthrieSavannah Guthrie/Instagram

Nancy, 84, was last seen on the evening of Jan. 31, when she was dropped off at her home in Arizona at around at 9:48 p.m. after having dinner with her daughter Annie Guthrie and her son-in-law. Her family reported her missing the next day at around 12:03 p.m. after being alerted that she did not did not meet up with friends for a church livestream.

Authorities believe she was kidnapped in the early morning hours of Sunday, Feb. 1. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos also previously confirmed that blood found on the exterior porch of Nancy’s home matches her DNA.

On Tuesday, Feb. 10, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and FBI Director Kash Patel posted images and videos on X, showing an “armed subject” in connection with the disappearance. They can be seen wearing gloves and a mask over their face.

“Working with our partners — as of this morning, law enforcement has uncovered these previously inaccessible new images showing an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance,” Nanos wrote in a statement.

Savannah, 54, reshared the images on Instagram moments later.

“We believe she is still alive. Bring her home,” she wrote in the caption. “Anyone with information, please contact 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department 520-351-4900.”

She followed it up with a second post of a video clip with the caption: “Someone out there recognizes this person. We believe she is still out there. Bring her home.”

Since Nancy went missing, several media outlets have received alleged ransom notes from her potential kidnappers. An initial deadline was reportedly set for 5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5, and a second for 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 9.

That day, Savannah posted a video to her Instagram to share “a few thoughts as we enter into another week of this nightmare.”

“I just want to say first of all, thank you so much for all of the prayers and the love that we have felt — my sister, my brother and I. And that our mom has felt,” she said. “Because we believe that somehow, someway, she is feeling these prayers and that God is lifting her in this moment and in this darkest place.”

“We believe our mom is still out there,” Savannah continued. “We need your help. Law enforcement is working tirelessly around the clock, trying to bring her home, trying to find her. She was taken and we don’t know where. And we need your help.”

The Today anchor and her two siblings have made several pleas on social media for the potential kidnapper or kidnappers to return their mom. On Feb. 4, they posted an Instagram video asking for proof of life.

On Saturday, Feb. 7, they shared another emotional video on Instagram, saying, “We will pay.”

The FBI is urging anyone with tips or leads to call 1-800-CALL-FBI in addition to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office number, 520-351-4900.