Nancy Guthrie kidnapping: DNA confirms blood found at home belongs to Savannah Guthrie's mother — 10 updates

Arizona investigators believe the elderly mother of well-known U.S. television news anchor Savannah Guthrie, who was kidnapped from her home, may still be alive and at large four days after the abduction. Authorities said Thursday that no suspects have yet been identified, according to a report by Reuters.

2. Authorities said Guthrie was last seen on January 31, when family members dropped her off at her home near Tucson after dinner. Relatives reported her missing around midday the following day.

3. Because her mobility is extremely limited, she could not have left her home unassisted, leading investigators to conclude early on that she was the victim of a kidnapping, Reuters reported.

4. At a press conference on Thursday, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos shared new details from the investigation, confirming reports that DNA testing showed blood found on the front porch steps of the home belonged to Guthrie.

5. Nanos said in a separate CNN interview that he immediately assigned his homicide detectives to the case, an unusual step given that there was no body. He said he based his decision on initial details from the scene that he found "alarming." “They described a scene to me that just disturbed me,” he said, without elaborating.

6. An investigative timeline showed that the victim’s doorbell camera was disabled and the app monitoring her pacemaker was disconnected from her phone line in the early hours of Sunday morning, when authorities believe she was abducted.

7. Five days into the search, investigators have not yet obtained proof of life, or identified a suspect or "person of interest," Nanos told reporters, but added, "Right now, we believe Nancy is still out there. We want her home." Asked whether he feared she was dead, Nanos acknowledged he did, but added, “We operate from a position that until we know, she's out there, she's alive, and we're going to continue thinking that way until we find her.”

8. The FBI on Thursday offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.

9. FBI special agent Heith Janke said a purported ransom letter sent to various media outlets this week was being treated seriously, but he said there had been no further communication from anyone claiming to hold Guthrie.

10. "In a normal kidnapping case, there would be contact by now," Janke said. The letter, whose authenticity had yet to be conclusively determined, set a 5 p.m. Thursday deadline for payment of a ransom, with a second deadline for next Monday, Janke added, declining to give further details. Authorities provided no further updates as the initial deadline lapsed.

(With inputs from Reuters)