The Pima County Sheriff’s Office is searching a residence about two miles from Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson-area home in connection with her disappearance.
"Law enforcement activity is underway at a residence near E Orange Grove Rd & N First Ave related to the Guthrie case," the Pima County Sheriff's Office said late Friday night. "Because this is a joint investigation, at the request of the FBI - no additional information is currently available."
Authorities have not confirmed whether anyone has been detained or taken in for questioning.
Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie, has been missing for nearly two weeks. She was reported missing Feb. 1, and authorities believe she was taken from her home against her will.
The investigation has intensified in recent days. Earlier Friday, the sheriff’s office said DNA was collected from Nancy Guthrie’s home. Authorities also recovered gloves about two miles away and are analyzing them to determine whether they match those worn by a masked man seen on surveillance video outside her house on the morning she was abducted.
Images of that individual were released on Tuesday. The man, who appeared to be armed, was seen in the early morning hours of Feb. 1 attempting to cover Guthrie’s doorbell camera. It was disabled minutes later, the sheriff's department said.
Hours after the images were released, a man was taken into custody during a traffic stop south of Tucson. He was released after being questioned by investigators.
Authorities have also been investigating ransom notes sent to multiple news organizations, including KGUN, the Scripps television station in Tucson. The initial note demanded millions of dollars in Bitcoin by Feb. 9 in exchange for Guthrie’s release. That deadline passed without any payment being made. The FBI has still not said whether the ransom demand was legitimate.
On Thursday, authorities increased the reward for information leading to a resolution of the case to $100,000.
