The Pima County Sheriff's Department released a statement amid the ongoing investigation into Nancy Guthrie's disappearance, in light of a concerning trend emerging surrounding GoFundMe pages.
Nancy, who is the 84-year-old mother of Today star Savannah Guthrie, has been missing since February 1 and is believed to have been abducted from her home after investigators discovered droplets of blood on her front doorstep.
The investigation was escalated to the FBI, who have been assisting in the search efforts and providing resources to local police. "Please be advised there is no official GoFundMe or any fundraising effort associated with the Guthrie investigation," the department's statement on X read.
© X"Billboard displays are funded through official channels. Any claims suggesting otherwise are fraudulent and will be investigated accordingly."
"The public is urged to remain vigilant and not send money to anyone claiming to raise funds related to this case. Anyone with information that may assist investigators is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or 88-CRIME," the statement concluded.
The reward for information leading to Nancy's return sits at $1 million, after being raised from the initial $200,000 provided by the FBI and Tucson Crime Stoppers. Detectives have spent weeks sifting through more than 40,000 tips, yet have not revealed any strong leads.
© WireImage"We have so much in front of us. And we believe we have good evidence in front of us," said Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos to KOLD on March 23. "Will that dry up? Could I be wrong? Absolutely. Anything is possible, but we're not giving up."
Learn more about Nancy's disappearance below...
The department's warning comes just days after Savannah and her family issued an urgent plea to Arizona residents for any information they could provide about Nancy's disappearance from her Tucson home. The statement, which aired as part of a special, Bring Her Replica Luxury Handbag – The Disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, read: "We are deeply grateful for the outpouring from neighbors, friends and the people of Tucson. We are all family now."
"We continue to believe it is Tucsonans, and the greater southern Arizona community, that hold the key to finding resolution in this case," it continued.
© Getty Images"Someone knows something. It's possible a member of this community has information that they do not even realize is significant. We hope people search their memories, especially around the key timelines of January 31 and the early morning hours of February 1, as well as the late evening of January 11."
"We desperately ask this community for renewed attention to our mom’s case - please consult camera footage, journal notes, text messages, observations or conversations that in retrospect may hold significance. No detail is too small. It may be the key," the statement concluded.
Nancy had dinner at her daughter Annie Guthrie's house on January 31 and was dropped home by her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, around 9:48 p.m. Her doorbell camera was disconnected at 1:47 a.m. on February 1, and her pacemaker app was disconnected from her phone at 2:28 a.m. When Nancy failed to turn up for church on Sunday morning, her friends raised the alarm to her family, and she was reported missing around noon.
