CBN News

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities investigating the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie released the first surveillance images Tuesday showing a masked person with what appeared to be a handgun holster on her porch the night she went missing more than a week ago. Video released by the FBI shows the person wearing a backpack, long sleeves and pants and walking up to the door at the home of the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie. The footage shows the person trying to cover a camera near the front door with their gloved hand before putting plants in front of the camera. The images show “an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance,” Patel said on X. In the videos, the person appeared to be wearing the holster attached to their front waist area. This was the first major break in the investigation that has raised more questions than answers, including whether the 84-year-old who disappeared from her home in Arizona is still alive and comes as law enforcement and her family intensified calls for assistance from the public. Up until now, authorities have released few details, leaving it unclear if ransom notes demanding money with deadlines already passed were authentic and whether the Guthrie family has had any contact with the abductors. Savannah Guthrie posted several of the surveillance images with the caption: “We believe she is still alive. Bring her home,” and phone numbers for the FBI and county sheriff. Within minutes, the post had thousands of comments. Investigators had been hopeful that cameras at the home would turn up some evidence about how she went missing, but the doorbell camera was disconnected early Sunday. And while software data recorded movement at the home minutes later, Nancy Guthrie didn’t have an active subscription, so none of the footage could be recovered, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos had said. The new images released Tuesday were “recovered from residual data located in backend systems” after investigators had spent days trying to find images or video that may have been lost, corrupted, or inaccessible, Patel said. The announcement follows heartbreaking messages made by Savannah Guthrie and her family over the past days that have shifted from hopeful to desperate as they plead with the apparent kidnappers to hand over their mother. This image provided by the FBI shows surveillance images at the home of Nancy Guthrie the night she went missing in Tucson, Ariz. (FBI via AP) It’s also unclear if ransom notes demanding money with deadlines that have already passed were authentic, or whether the Guthrie family has had any contact with the abductors. This image provided by the FBI shows surveillance images at the home of Nancy Guthrie the night she went missing in Tucson, Ariz. (FBI via AP) Guthrie and her family have posted a series of videos over the past week, each striking a different tone. The latest message from Savannah Guthrie, in which she appeared alone, was more bleak. “We are at an hour of desperation,” she said Monday, telling the public: “We need your help.” Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will from her house just outside Tucson. She was last seen there Jan. 31 and reported missing the next day after not attending church. DNA tests showed blood on Nancy Guthrie’s front porch was a match to her, and a doorbell camera was disconnected in the early hours of Sunday morning, the sheriff has said. MORE HERE: Kathie Lee Gifford Asks Believers to 'Bombard Heaven' for Nancy Guthrie Authorities say Nancy Guthrie needs daily medication because she is said to have high blood pressure and heart issues, including a pacemaker. Investigators were in her neighborhood several times over the past few days and plan to keep working Tuesday as they expand the search and follow up on new leads, the sheriff’s department said Three days after the search began, Savannah Guthrie and her two siblings sent their first public appeal to the kidnappers, telling them “we want to hear from you and we are ready to listen.” In the recorded video, Guthrie said her family was aware of media reports about a ransom letter, but they first wanted proof their mother was alive. “Please reach out to us,” they said. Law enforcement officials declined to say whether the letters sent to several media outlets were credible but said all tips were being investigated seriously. The next day, Savannah Guthrie’s brother again told the kidnappers to reach out “so we can move forward.” “Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven’t heard anything directly,” Camron Guthrie said. Then over the past weekend the family posted another video — one that was more cryptic and generated even more speculation about Nancy Guthrie’s fate. “We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,” said Savannah Guthrie, flanked by her siblings. “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.” Up to that point, the family’s first three videos addressed the kidnappers directly. But just ahead of Monday’s deadline spelled out in a purported note, Savannah Guthrie urged people nationwide to be on the lookout “no matter where you are, even if you’re far from Tucson, if you see anything, if you hear anything.” Her turn to the public comes as much of the nation is closely following the dramatic twists and turns involving the longtime anchor of NBC’s morning show. The FBI this week began posting digital billboards in major cities from Texas to California.

The pastor of Nancy Guthrie’s church led his congregation in prayer for the safe return of NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother, who has been missing for 10 days. “Lord God, here we are, in the valley of the shadow,” Pastor John Tittle began, a reference to Psalm 23. “And we turn to You, Lord, in our hour of need and we cry out for mercy. God, we pray that, out of darkness, Light will shine. And so we pray, we pray for Nancy’s rescue, we pray for her release, we pray that she would be brought safely home.” Listen to the latest episode of “Quick Start”  He continued, “Jesus, You told us, ‘The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.’ And so God, we beseech You, deliver us from evil. Lord, we gather together as Your people, we come together and we look to You in prayer, prayer for protection over Nancy in this moment — body, mind, and soul. And her family, send Your angels to surround her and to minister to her and her family in this moment.” Tittle went on to ask God that Nancy Guthrie would “sense deep in her soul our prayers and our love for her” and that “the peace that passeth all understanding would guard the hearts and the minds of Nancy and her family,” a reference to Philippians 4:7. Tittle offered the prayer during the Sunday service at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Arizona, where Nancy Guthrie has been a member for about 30 years. The pastor petitioned God for wisdom for local and national law enforcement authorities searching for Nancy Guthrie, who was ostensibly kidnapped sometime between 9:45 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31, and early morning Sunday, Feb. 1. The family was made aware of the octogenarian’s disappearance after concerned friends didn’t hear from Nancy Guthrie, who was supposed to show up for a gathering to watch a livestream of Good Shepherd New York, Savannah Guthrie’s church in New York City. “Lord, we ask that You would soften the hearts of those who are responsible, that they might come forward and do what is humane and what is right,” Tittle prayed. “We pray for mercy, for grace, to prevail. And we pray all this in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace who is our crucified and our riseon Lord. Amen and amen.” Tittle’s Sunday prayer came just before the deadline for an alleged ransom demand passed. Neither the FBI nor the Pima County Sheriff’s Office publicly verified the authenticity of the note, which was sent to three different media outlets and demanded $6 million in bitcoin, according to NBC News. On Monday, Savannah Guthrie posted a downtrodden video to her Instagram account, thanking all those who have been praying for her mother and family. “We believe our mom is still out there,” she said. “We need your help. Law enforcement is working tirelessly, around the clock, trying to bring her home, trying to find her. She was taken and we don’t know where, and we need your help. So I’m coming on just to ask you not just for your prayers but no matter where you are — even if you’re far from Tucson — if you see anything, if your hear anything, if there’s anything at all that seems strange to you, that you report [it] to law enforcement. We are at an hour of desperation. And we need your help.” Savannah Guthrie’s pastor appeared on NBC’s “Today” on Tuesday morning, describing the well-known anchor’s mother as a “strong woman” who is “fiercely loving.” “Prayer opens up possibilities in our own hearts,” said Good Shepherd Pastor Michael Rudzena. “Leaving a door open for hope is a way to fight against that fatality.” Please continue to pray for the Guthrie family in this tragic situation.

A pastor and author who has investigated more than 1,000 near-death experiences (NDEs) believes there’s definitive evidence that many of these experiences are authentic. John Burke, co-author of “Imagine the God of Heaven Devotional: 60 Reflections on the Heart of God from the Bible and Near-Death Experiences” with his wife, Kathy, told CBN News he was once a skeptic. “Not only did I not believe in near-death experiences, I didn’t believe in Jesus or God,” he said. “Many … decades ago, my dad was dying of cancer and someone gave him the very first research that coined the term near-death experience.” Burke said this came in the form of a book, which he ended up reading. At the time, Burke wanted evidence — and the book provided just that: stories of people who were clinically dead and resuscitated. Among the stories, he noticed many of those experiencing NDEs claimed to have seen Jesus. “That really began my whole faith journey, because so many saw Jesus,” he said. “I was like, ‘I better be open to the Bible.’ So I started reading, and studying the Bible, came to faith.” That was the start not only of Burke’s faith journey, but also his foray into NDEs. Over time, his intrigue bloomed into an investigation of 1,500 real-life cases. His previous book, “Imagine the God of Heaven,” was a hit and sparked much conversation about these important stories. “What I write about is how the commonalities really do relate to the Bible and what the Bible’s expectation of heaven, of hell, of God,” Burke said. His wife, Kathy, told CBN News she had a very different faith trajectory and can’t remember a time when she wasn’t a believer. “Scriptural truths have always been a big part of my life, and I’ve enjoyed being able to stand on them,” she said. “And I know they’re solid.” NDE’s left her deeply intrigued, with Kathy explaining that, though she believes the truth of Scripture is enough, these stories offer a fresh perspective and have revitalized her faith. “It just has really given me a fresh perspective and revitalized my faith, and the the power of my faith, and the power of God in really amazing ways,” she said. John expressed some of the most fascinating reflections he has had after exploring these stories — particularly the types of people who claim to have experienced NDEs. “The thing that I like to point out is that many of these people that I’ve interviewed and write about, they were CEOs, they were spine surgeons, commercial airline pilots, bank presidents, lawyers,” he said. “They don’t need money, and they have nothing to gain by making up crazy, wild stories about dying and going to heaven and seeing Jesus, and yet, they consistently say it was the most real thing that ever happened to them.” John said these stories inspire people all over the world, and he believes God is using these journeys to help illuminate Scripture and point people back to Him. Kathy mirrored these reflections. “I also think that it reminds us that things are not hopeless,” she said. “God has not changed, and He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever, and so we have to keep our focus on Him, and we can still find that peace, and joy, and love, and goodness radiated because we’re His image bearers.” It should be noted, though, NDEs aren’t embraced as legitimate experiences by the secular world and even some Christians. In fact, critics are often vocal about their opposition to these stories. “God operates in more mystery than I think sometimes we’re willing to allow in the church and in our box of theology,” John said. “And God doesn’t feel any need or constraint to the box we try to put him in.” He continued, “What we’re trying to do … in these books is help people see, ‘No, it’s not against what God’s been saying in Scripture all along — it actually aligns.'”