'We need your help': US anchor Savannah Guthrie issues fresh plea for missing mother as search enters second week

Guthrie, 54, best known for co-hosting NBC's breakfast programme Today, has begged for her 84-year-old mother Nancy to be brought back home after she went missing on January 31.

It comes after two alleged ransom notes were sent to US media, which included a demand for millions of dollars in Bitcoin to be made by Monday, February 9.

In a video shared on her Instagram page, which has a following of 1.6 million accounts, Guthrie said her family are in the “darkest place.”

Read more: Police investigate 'vehicle of interest' in search for missing mother of TV host Savannah Guthrie

“We believe that somehow, someway, she is feeling these prayers and that God is lifting her, even in this moment, in this darkest place.”

Pleading with anyone who might have information about her mother, Guthrie added: “We believe our mom is still out there.

“We need your help.”

She called on anyone who sees anything “strange” to report it to police, “no matter where you are, even if you’re far from Tucson.”

It comes after she, alongside her two siblings, made a plea earlier on in the week to the captors for proof of life.

"We want to hear from you, and we are ready to listen," Savannah said.

An investigation was launched following the disappearance of Nancy from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on January 31.

The FBI in nearby Phoenix has appealed for information and offered a reward of up to 50,000 US dollars (£36,723) for any details that could lead to the recovery of Nancy or the arrest of anyone involved in her disappearance.

Since then, US media outlet TMZ received a ransom note from the alleged captor; however, police have still not been able to verify whether the notes are real or provide any proof of life.

FBI Phoenix's Special Agent in Charge, Heith Janke, said at a press conference last week that there were two deadlines outlined in the note: the first was February 5, with the second deadline set for Monday.

Another note was received by Tucson news outlet KOLD on Friday.

News anchor Mary Coleman, who saw the note, told CNN that she was told by Pima County Sheriff's Department that it did not have "the same IP address, but it appears the sender used the same type of secure server to hide their IP address".

Coleman, who has seen both notes, added that she believes the sender(s) made an effort to include details that will help prove to investigators that it was sent by the same person or people who issued the first note.

The Sheriff's Department said investigators are inspecting the information in the new message to confirm whether it is real.

The FBI and the Pima County Sheriff's Department have not publicly named any suspects.