Trump Says Guthrie Kidnappers to Face Death Penalty If She’s Not Returned Alive

By Zachary Stieber

The people who kidnapped the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie will face the death penalty if she is not alive, President Donald Trump said on Feb. 16.

Trump told the New York Post that the abductors would face “the most severe” consequences if Nancy Guthrie is found dead.

After being asked if that meant federal prosecutors would seek the death penalty, the president said, “yeah, that’s true.”

Federal law gives prosecutors the ability to seek the death penalty in kidnapping cases that result in the death of any person. Kidnapping also becomes a federal crime under a number of other circumstances, including if the kidnapping lasts for more than 24 hours.

Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen on the evening of Jan. 31 in Catalina Foothills, a community of about 52,400 just outside Tucson in Arizona. Relatives say she had dinner with them before being driven home.

Her garage door opened around 9:48 p.m. that night and closed approximately two minutes later.

Officials say that early on Feb. 1, Nancy Guthrie’s doorbell camera was disconnected. At 2:12 a.m., the camera detected movement, and about 15 minutes later, her phone’s heart pacemaker application was removed.

When Nancy Guthrie did not show up to church that Sunday, family members reported her missing.

Officials recently released images and videos showing a person wearing a mask and gloves outside the residence on the same day Nancy Guthrie vanished. They have described the person as having an average build, standing 5-foot-9-inches to 5-foot-10-inches tall, and wearing a 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker backpack.

A $100,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to Nancy Guthrie being located or the arrest and conviction of a suspect.

A spokesperson for the FBI told The Epoch Times on Feb. 15 that officials found a glove near the home, that the glove contained DNA, and that the glove appeared to have been worn by the suspect seen in the pictures and videos.

Most other gloves located by authorities came from searchers who discarded them while they were searching for Nancy Guthrie, according to the bureau.

Savannah Guthrie, 54, said in a video on Sunday that people behind her mother’s disappearance should do the right thing.

“It’s been two weeks since our mom was taken, and I just wanted to come on and say that we still have hope, and we still believe,” Savannah Guthrie said in the video, which she posted on Instagram. “And I wanted to say to whoever has her or knows where she is, that it’s never too late. And you’re not lost or alone. And it is never too late to do the right thing. … We believe in the essential goodness of every human being, and it’s never too late.”

Jack Phillips and Aldgra Fredly contributed to this report.