Search for missing mother of ‘Today’ show host Savannah Guthrie enters 5th day
Savannah Guthrie and mother Nancy Guthrie on Thursday, June 15, 2023. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The urgent search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, has entered its fifth day, as her children continue to plead for her safe return.
Nancy Guthrie is believed to have been abducted in her sleep from her Arizona home early Sunday, authorities said. No suspect or person of interest has been identified in the case, and authorities do not know where she is or whether she was targeted, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department is set to hold a briefing on the case at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her home in the Catalina Foothills area, north of Tucson, on Saturday night, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. Her family reported her missing on Sunday around noon local time after she failed to show up to church, authorities said.
Savannah Guthrie and her siblings made an emotional plea for their mother’s return in a video message posted to social media on Wednesday.
“Everyone is looking for you, Mommy, everywhere,” Savannah Guthrie said in the video message. “We will not rest. Your children will not rest until we are together again.”
Nancy Guthrie is described as having some physical ailments and limited mobility, but does not have cognitive issues, according to the sheriff. She takes medication that if she doesn’t have in 24 hours, “it could be fatal,” Nanos said.
“Our mom is our heart and our home,” Savannah Guthrie said in the video. “She is 84 years old, 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.”
The FBI is helping in the investigation. The agency is sending additional agents and experts to Pima County to help reinforce efforts on the ground and to aid local investigators, sources told ABC News on Wednesday.
The sheriff’s department said it is reviewing possible ransom notes as part of the investigation. ABC Tucson affiliate KGUN said it received one of the letters, which it forwarded to law enforcement. Officials say they are investigating if any of these letters are legitimate.
Addressing reports of a ransom letter, Savannah Guthrie said Wednesday, “As a family, we are doing everything that we can. We are ready to talk. However, 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.”
Anyone with information is urged to call 911 or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.
Tyler Robinson, 22, the suspect in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, appears before Judge Tony Graf of the 4th District Court via a video confrerence call during a hearing on September 16, 2025 at the Fouth Judicial District Courthouse in Provo, Utah. (Scott G Winterton – Pool/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, is set to make his first in-person court appearance on Thursday.
Kirk was shot and killed in the middle of his outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10. The 31-year-old was the founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, and the Utah Valley event marked the first stop of his “The American Comeback Tour,” which invited students on college campuses to debate hot-button issues.
Robinson, 22, allegedly fled the scene of the shooting, prompting a massive manhunt. Robinson surrendered to authorities on the night of Sept. 11.
Robinson has been charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child.
He made two previous court appearances, but the first was virtual and the second was audio-only.
He has not entered a plea. He could face the death penalty if convicted of aggravated murder.
(NEW YORK) — Airline disruptions continued across the U.S. on Thursday morning, with at least 989 flights canceled before about 5 a.m. ET, according to tracker FlightAware, as officials warned that it may take days for airports to get back up to speed.
It could take up to a week for air travel to return to normal operations after the government shutdown ends, Airlines for America President and CEO Chris Sununu said at a press briefing Wednesday afternoon.
The Federal Aviation Administration froze flight reductions on Wednesday that were initially set to increase on Thursday, as the number of canceled flights in the United States has steadily decreased this week.
The FAA issued an emergency order on Wednesday evening freezing the flight reductions at its current level of 6%.
Under a prior order, airlines had been required to reduce operations at 40 “high-impact airports” by 8% by Thursday and by 10% by Friday. The new order means those reductions will no longer increase.
With Thanksgiving just two weeks away, Sununu said he doesn’t see any impacts lasting into the holiday season.
“I don’t think any flights over the Thanksgiving week have actually been canceled yet. I think the airlines have been pretty tight working with the FAA looking a few days out to be sure,” said Sununu. “We’re still a good week plus away from that Thanksgiving week. There’s still plenty of time to make sure that everything over the Thanksgiving week goes off as originally planned.”
However, consumer confidence in travel declined during the shutdown and a survey by the American Hotel and Lodging Association found that nearly 20% of Americans have canceled or changed their Thanksgiving travel plans.
“Our poll has shown that that consumer confidence has impacted travel, and concerns about that have led to some changes with what we’re seeing is that 75% have lost or spent money as a result, already because of being affected negatively by travel and future intentions,” President and CEO of American Hotel and Lodging Association Rosanna Maietta said.
The 6% flight reductions will remain in place “as the FAA continues to assess the situation and determines when airlines and systems can safely and gradually return to normal operations,” the Department of Transportation said.
The order comes after more than 900 flights were canceled Wednesday in the U.S. as of approximately 8 p.m. ET, with departures from the busy hubs of Chicago, Denver and Atlanta leading the list of the most cancellations, according to FlightAware.
Brian Walshe during the murder trial of Ana Walshe on December 9, 2025. (Photo by Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
(DEDHAM, Mass.) — The jury began deliberations on Friday in the murder trial of Brian Walshe, a father of three accused of killing and dismembering his wife.
The Massachusetts man is accused of killing his wife, 39-year-old Ana Walshe, around New Year’s Day in 2023. He pleaded guilty last month, ahead of the trial, to lying to police following her disappearance and improperly disposing of her body, though he denies he killed his wife and has pleaded not guilty to murder.
Ana Walshe’s body has not been found.
After deliberating for nearly four hours on Friday following closing arguments, the jurors were dismissed for the day without a verdict. They are set to resume their deliberations Monday morning.
Prior to the closing arguments, Judge Diane Freniere told the jury during instructions that they will be able to choose to convict on second-degree murder, not just the first-degree murder charge the prosecution has argued for and includes the element of premeditation.
During the trial’s opening statements last week, defense attorneys said Brian Walshe found his wife dead in bed on New Year’s Day in 2023 and then panicked and lied to police as they investigated her disappearance — but maintained he did not kill her.
Brian Walshe allegedly killed and dismembered his wife, then disposed of her remains in dumpsters, according to prosecutors. The internet history on his devices on Jan. 1, 2023, included searches such as “best way to dispose of a body,” “how long for someone to be missing to inherit,” and “best way to dispose of body parts after a murder,” prosecutors said.
Defense attorney Larry Tipton argued the Commonwealth hadn’t proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Brian Walshe — whom he described as a “loving father and loving husband” — killed his wife or there was any motive to do so.
Positing what might account for the “unspeakable” internet searches and how someone could “dispose of the body of the woman that he adored,” Tipton said, “Could it be something that was sudden, something that was unexpected, something which was unbelievable, something that only a medical examiner would understand, have knowledge of, but not a man like Brian Walshe?”
Tipton conceded there’s evidence Brian Walshe lied and disposed of a body, but argued there was nothing proving that he planned to harm his wife. He claimed the internet search on murder came six hours after his wife died and “upsetting” searches about dismemberment and “cleaning up” do not point to a plan but rather his “disbelief.”
“Why is a man searching now if he had intended to kill his wife?” Tipton asked the jurors. “Where is the evidence of premeditation in thousands of pages of records?”
At the start of the Commonwealth’s closing argument, prosecutor Anne Yas told jurors, “Ana Walshe is dead because he murdered her,” while pointing toward Brian Walshe in the courtroom.
She argued Ana Walshe didn’t die of natural causes — but Brian Walshe killed her and then disposed of her body to hide the evidence.
“The defendant did not want anyone to find Ana’s body and to know how she died, so the defendant bought cutting tools at Lowe’s and Home Depot and he cut up Ana’s body — the woman that he claimed to love — and he threw her into dumpsters,” she said.
Yas argued the evidence shows Brian Walshe intended to kill his wife and was “methodical” — that his claims he misplaced his phone for two days around New Year’s Eve “allowed him to carry out his plan” and have an explanation for police as to why he hadn’t been in contact with her. She said he had a list when he was shopping at Lowe’s.
Yas said their marriage was in “crisis,” and they had been having arguments about Ana Walshe being away from the family due to her job in Washington, D.C. She also claimed Brian Walshe knew his wife was having an affair, which the defense has denied.
“Please do not allow the defendant’s self-serving act of dismembering and disposing of Ana’s body let him get away with this murder,” Yas said.
She urged jurors to use their “common sense” while they deliberate, and that they will “see that the evidence shows there is only one verdict” — guilty of the premeditated first-degree murder of Ana Walshe.
The defense rested on Thursday without calling any witnesses. Freniere noted in court on Thursday that it appeared that Brian Walshe would testify in his defense, based on the defense’s opening statement. Though he ultimately waived his right.
Evidence presented during the two-week trial in Dedham included surveillance footage of a man believed to be Brian Walshe buying tools and other supplies at a Lowe’s on Jan. 1, 2023. A receipt showed that items, including a hacksaw, utility knife, hammer, snips, Tyvek suit, shoeguards, rags and cleaning supplies totaling $462 were purchased with cash.
Additional surveillance footage presented in court showed someone throwing out trash bags at dumpsters on multiple days in early January 2023.
Several blood-stained items recovered from dumpsters by investigators — including a hacksaw, a piece of rug, a towel and hairs — and an unknown tissue were linked to Ana Walshe through DNA testing, a forensic scientist from the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory testified during the trial.
Blood was also found in the basement of the family’s rental home in Cohasset, another forensic scientist with the crime lab testified.
Ana Walshe was reported missing by her employer on Jan. 4, 2023. Brian Walshe told police at the time that she had a “work emergency” at her job in D.C. and left their Cohasset home on New Year’s Day, according to video of his interview shown in court.
At the time, Brian Walshe and their three children were living in Massachusetts while he was awaiting sentencing in a federal fraud case after pleading guilty to a scheme to sell counterfeit Andy Warhol paintings.
Ahead of the murder trial, Brian Walshe admitted to lying to police amid her disappearance and improperly disposing of her body. His defense said during opening statements that he panicked after finding her dead in bed, calling her death sudden and unexplained.
Jurors heard testimony, including from a D.C. man with whom Ana Walshe was having an affair, that the mother of three was upset about being away from her young children so much — who were 2, 4 and 6 at the time — and that there was stress in the marriage. The defense maintained that the couple were happy.
