The mystery surrounding Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance intensified as investigators chase new leads and as her family clings to hope.

Nancy and Savannah Guthrie

Nancy has been missing for a month (Image: Getty)

Investigators searching for missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie say they are still chasing real leads after rolling out a major new strategy.

Nancy, the mom of Today show presenter Savannah Guthrie, vanished from her Catalina Foothills home near Tucson, Arizona, on January 31.

Authorities quickly confirmed her disappearance was being treated as a criminal case after surveillance footage showed a masked individual outside her home in the early hours of February 1. It comes after a mystery man who claimed he “saw Nancy 5 days ago” offered chilling new proof.

 

Blood was discovered on her porch, and a glove recovered nearby was sent for DNA testing. Investigators have also been combing through thousands of hours of surveillance footage from traffic and neighbourhood cameras. Despite weeks of intense work, no arrests have been made and no suspect has been publicly identified.

Behind the scenes, they are said to have now employed a key strategy to bring about new leads. “This is nowhere near a cold case,” CNN Chief Law Enforcement Analyst John Miller said.

Nancy Guthrie

Detectives have moved the case to Phoenix (Image: Getty)

“They still have leads that are viable that they need to get to, including new leads that came in because of the strategy of holding back the big reward until the time it was needed to re-energize the lead bucket,” he noted, referring to the $1 million reward offered by the Guthrie family on Tuesday.

Nancy’s family’s decision to release the $1 million reward – aswell as a separate $100,000 FBI reward – has already triggered a surge of new tips.

Savannah Guthrie revealed that her family is still holding out for a miracle and hopes her mother will be found alive, but she also has said that they realise it might be too late.

 

“She may already be gone, the TV host said in an Instagram post. “She may already have gone home to the Lord that she loves and is dancing in heaven.”

In recent days, the FBI has shifted some detectives back to Phoenix to focus on reviewing vast amounts of video evidence, though officials stress that agents and detectives remain on the ground in Tucson.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Office continues to dedicate resources to the case.