What Savannah Guthrie's video plea may reveal about family's strategy in trying to bring mother Nancy home
A video appeal by "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie gives insight into the family's strategy as they desperately seek the return of their missing mother, Nancy Guthrie.
In a video posted to social media Wednesday night, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings tell their mother's possible abductor – or abductors – that they are "ready to talk" and urge: "Please, reach out to us."
Anna Schecter, the senior coordinating producer for CBS News' Crime and Public Safety Unit, said the plea could be "a Hail Mary pass" because the family hasn't established a line of communication with whoever may have taken 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie.
"This is a desperate plea to establish communication with the captors," Schecter said on "CBS Mornings" Thursday.
Schecter said the tone of Savannah Guthrie's voice stood out and that she wanted to appear trustworthy, "to say, 'I'm here to talk, we are here to listen.'"
"It was a receptive position," Schecter said. "They want to engage the captor."
The FBI would typically vet a message like this and be in on the timing of its release, according to Schecter. The video was posted four days after Nancy Guthrie was reported missing and two days after reports emerged of a possible ransom note.
The video message, Schecter said, looks like a response to that note, which Savannah Guthrie mentioned in the video.
"We, too, have heard the reports about a ransom letter in the media," Savannah Guthrie said. "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."
Schecter described it as "classic FBI tactics in a type of hostage negotiation situation," saying, "You want to establish a rapport with the captor."
Savannah Guthrie also directly addressed her mom, who she described in the video as kind, faithful, loyal and fiercely loving.
"She is funny, spunky and clever," Savannah Guthrie said. "She has grandchildren that adore her and crowd around her and cover her with kisses. She loves fun and adventure. She is a devoted friend. She is full of kindness and knowledge. Talk to her and you'll see."
Former FBI agent Katherine Schweit said the video appeal was designed, in part, to humanize Nancy Guthrie and pull on the heartstrings of whoever has her, "hoping that they understand that the family doesn't care about the money. The family cares about the person."
Schweit worked on a similar case back in 2003 where an elderly woman in Wisconsin was kidnapped, held for ransom and eventually freed after five days.
She said Thursday on "CBS Mornings" that in this case, "everybody is working as frantically as they can."
There are hundreds of people working on the case, and "we're going to hold out hope" that Nancy Guthrie is found alive, she said.