Here are the key developments in the weekslong search for Nancy Guthrie

By Danya Gainor, Chelsea Bailey, Karina Tsui, CNN

(CNN) — The search for missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, has stretched into a third, anguished week, with mounting pressure on investigators and a family grappling with uncertainty.

Nancy Guthrie was last seen on January 31, before she was apparently kidnapped, disappearing from her secluded home in Arizona’s Catalina Foothills without her phone or critical medications.

The long days since she vanished have been marked by disturbing twists: purported ransom notes demanding millions of dollars, an intensive investigation, emotional video pleas from Nancy Guthrie’s children begging for the return of their mother, and video of an armed, masked person tampering with the doorbell camera at Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home.

The latest on where things stand

• DNA analysis: DNA on gloves found 2 miles from Nancy Guthrie’s Arizona home does not have any matches in the national database known as CODIS, and doesn’t match DNA found at Guthrie’s home, either, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos says.

• Family not suspects: Nancy Guthrie’s adult children and their spouses are not suspects in her February 1 disappearance from her home, the sheriff says, calling any suggestion otherwise “cruel.”

• No leading theory: Authorities say they believe the 84-year-old was removed from the home against her will. But investigators still have no leading theory about a motive, according to a source.

• Tip lines: If you have information that could help investigators, you can call 1-800-CALL-FBI or 520-351-4900. You can also submit information at tips.fbi.gov.

Timeline of key events

Tuesday, February 17

The Pima County sheriff announces Tuesday afternoon that DNA tested from gloves found near Nancy Guthrie’s house does not have any matches in the national database known as CODIS, and doesn’t match DNA found at the 84-year-old’s home, either.

DNA found at her Tucson property is still being analyzed, Nanos says, adding that nothing in the investigation has any matches in CODIS.

CODIS is the FBI-managed Combined DNA Index System, a national database that holds more than 19 million offender profiles, according to the agency

Monday, February 16

The sheriff’s department clears all Guthrie family members – including siblings and spouses – as possible suspects in the 84-year-old’s disappearance in a Monday afternoon statement.

Nanos’ statement puts an end to online speculation throughout the weekslong search for Nancy Guthrie about her family’s possible involvement.

“The family has been nothing but cooperative and gracious and are victims in this case,” Nanos says in the statement posted on X. “To suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is cruel.”

Sunday, February 15

A glove found near Nancy Guthrie’s home appears to match those worn by the suspect captured in doorbell camera footage outside her house the morning she disappeared, the FBI says in a statement.

The glove, containing DNA, is one of “approximately” 16 that investigators found near Nancy Guthrie’s home, most of which the FBI says belonged to searchers who discarded them while working in the area.

Meanwhile, in a video posted to Instagram, Savannah Guthrie shares a new message to the possible kidnappers of her mother.

“It’s never too late and you’re not lost or alone, and it is never too late to do the right thing,” Savannah Guthrie says.

The “Today” show anchor says she and her family are still hopeful. “We still have hope and we still believe,” she says.

Friday, February 13

As neighbors tie yellow ribbons around trees in Nancy Guthrie’s neighborhood in solidarity and hope for her safe return, a local official tells CNN investigators have received more than 30,000 tips from the public so far.

Later Friday, authorities conduct an operation at a residence roughly 2 miles from Nancy Guthrie’s home, the sheriff’s department says.

No arrests are made, though one man is questioned and released, with law enforcement believing him not to be the kidnapper, a law enforcement official tells CNN. More than a dozen vehicles, including those from SWAT and forensics, are seen at the location.

Local authorities and the FBI are also at a second location near where law enforcement activity is underway.

Authorities are seen at the site investigating a gray Range Rover in a parking lot of a restaurant.

Thursday, February 12

As the search for Nancy Guthrie enters its 12th day, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department asks neighbors to submit video footage that includes cars, traffic, people or pedestrians — and anything they feel may be out of the ordinary or important for law enforcement to review.

Later in the day, the FBI releases a description of the person seen in footage captured by Nancy Guthrie’s doorbell camera, and the agency raises the reward for information to $100,000.

The suspect is described as male, approximately 5’9” – 5’10” tall and having an average build. The backpack he was wearing in the video is identified as a black, 25-liter “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack.”

Savannah Guthrie also shares a touching tribute to her mother on social media.

The video features a short clip of a young Savannah Guthrie and her sister, Annie Guthrie, smiling at the camera while handing their mother flowers, as well as a photo of the three siblings and their mother.

“We will never give up on her,” Savannah Guthrie captions the post.

Wednesday, February 11

Thousands of tips for investigators to pore over are generated after the February 10 release of surveillance photos.

TMZ reports the media outlet received a “bizarre letter” from someone purporting to know Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper.

Harvey Levin, the outlet’s founder, tells Fox News the person who sent the email demanded a single bitcoin in exchange for information about the kidnapper.

CNN has not been able to independently verify the existence or authenticity of the note.

Meanwhile, CNN speaks to Carlos, the man detained February 10 by law enforcement, outside his home in Rio Rico, Arizona. He says investigators told his family he’d been stopped as a result of an anonymous tip that came after surveillance photos of the suspect were released Tuesday.

Tuesday, February 10

The FBI releases new images and video from a camera at Nancy Guthrie’s house, showing a person wearing a mask.

The images show “an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance,” according to a post on FBI Director Kash Patel’s X account.

Shortly after the images and videos are released, Savannah Guthrie shares them to her social media accounts.

“Someone out there recognizes this person,” she writes. “We believe she is still out there. Bring her home.”

Later Tuesday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department announces it has detained a person for questioning in the case after pulling them over “during a traffic stop” in Rio Rico, around 60 miles south of Tucson, near the US-Mexico border. Hours later Wednesday morning, the person is released.

Separately, Patel says the agency is looking at “persons of interest” in the case without saying who might be under suspicion.

Monday, February 9

Days after several media outlets received purported ransom letters demanding millions in bitcoin for Nancy Guthrie’s return, a second deadline mentioned in one of the notes passes Monday at 5 p.m.

Hours before the deadline, around 1:30 p.m., Savannah Guthrie posts another video to social media, this time appealing to the public instead of her mom’s alleged captor, asking for assistance.

“We are at an hour of desperation, and we need your help,” the “Today” show host says, telling people to report anything “strange” to law enforcement.

Sunday, February 8

Just before 11 a.m. Sunday, investigators are seen examining the septic tank near Nancy Guthrie’s property after police were notably absent from her home Saturday. Video shows investigators moving around a long stick in the tank, at times repeatedly jabbing it, and using a flashlight to peer inside.

Meanwhile, CNN affiliate KGUN, which received one of the ransom notes sent to some media stations, reports new details from the letter: The purported abductor demanded $6 million and threatened Nancy Guthrie’s life if the 5 p.m. Monday, February 9, deadline isn’t met.

Saturday, February 7

On the one-week mark of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, her three children say to her possible captor in a new social media video: “We will pay.”

“We received your message, and we understand,” Savannah Guthrie says in the video. “We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”

Hours after the new video of the siblings, law enforcement officials are seen at the home of Annie Guthrie. They leave shortly after 10:30 p.m. with a bag and one deputy sheriff is seen wearing blue latex gloves.

Friday, February 6

CNN affiliate KOLD receives a second purported ransom note on Day 6 of the search. The news station says it forwarded the message, along with the IP address from which the note originated, to law enforcement. The new note includes sensitive information but no deadline, according to an anchor at the news outlet.

Later in the evening, gloved investigators are seen buzzing over Nancy Guthrie’s property, placing evidence markers and climbing onto the flat, stark white roof of her home. Agents peer into bushes and scour the ground as a car that appeared to be Nancy Guthrie’s is towed away.

Thursday, February 5

Camron Guthrie, Savannah Guthrie’s brother, issues another plea in a video posted on social media at 5 p.m. as the first deadline given in the purported ransom note passes.

“Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you,” he says. “We haven’t heard anything directly. We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward.”

The FBI, now jointly working the case with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, announces a $50,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie “and or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.”

Wednesday, February 4

In their first emotional video posted to Instagram, Savannah Guthrie – flanked by Annie Guthrie and Camron Guthrie – pleads for her mother to come home on Wednesday evening, four days after her disappearance.

“We need to know without a doubt that she’s alive and that you have her,” Savannah Guthrie says in response to the reports of ransom notes. “We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please reach out to us.”

Law enforcement activity suddenly increases Wednesday early evening as detectives perform a “follow-up” at Nancy Guthrie’s home, the sheriff’s department says. Fresh crime scene tape wraps around the length of the house — and is taken down within a matter of hours.

Tuesday, February 3

On the third day of the search for Nancy Guthrie, several media outlets, including TMZ and CNN affiliates KGUN and KOLD, receive the first purported ransom letters demanding millions of dollars in bitcoin for her return.

One note includes a first deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday, February 5, and a second deadline for Monday, February 9.

Sunday, February 1

Hours after Nancy Guthrie was reportedly home from dinner with family, her home doorbell camera is disconnected at 1:47 a.m., and about 25 minutes later, surveillance camera software detects movement. At 2:28 a.m., data from Nancy Guthrie’s pacemaker app shows the device is disconnected from her phone.

More than nine hours later, at 11:56 a.m., the family realizes she’s missing when checking on her at home.

A person close to the family later tells CNN Nancy Guthrie typically spends her Sundays watching virtual church services with friends at a nearby home. When she did not arrive Sunday morning, her friends alert the Guthrie family.

Relatives call 911 at 12:03 p.m. to report her missing, and Pima County Sheriff’s Department patrols arrive by 12:15 p.m.

Investigators scour the scene, finding blood on the front porch that is later confirmed to be Nancy Guthrie’s.

“There’s still more items that have been submitted. We just haven’t got them back yet,” the sheriff would later say on February 5. “In the meantime, we’re not just sitting on our haunches waiting. We do have a number ofleads coming in.”

Saturday, January 31

Nancy Guthrie joins her family for dinner and game night Saturday evening, Ubering to her older daughter Annie Guthrie’s nearby home around 5:32 p.m. Hours later, her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, drives her home. Nancy Guthrie’s garage door opens at approximately 9:48 p.m. and closes at 9:50 p.m.

“It is that time we assume that Nancy’s home and probably going to bed,” Nanos would say at a news conference a few days after her disappearance.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the timeframe that residents are being asked to share footage from on January 31. The alert did not specify whether it was morning or night.

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