Nancy Guthrie’s close friend is as distraught over her mysterious disappearance as you’d imagine.
“This is like living in a nightmare! And torture for this family! 💔,” Mary Tate Engels — who lives in Tucson, Ariz., and is in the same book club as Guthrie — wrote in a Facebook comment Thursday morning.
Engels’ remark was in response to a pal who noted that the situation is “so alarming” and getting “scarier by the day.”
In other comments, Engels stressed that she and Guthrie’s loved ones are extremely “concerned” over the “heartbreaking” ordeal.
She also described the missing 84-year-old as a “dear person.”
The exchanges took place beneath a photo Engel posted Tuesday that showed a religious statue in front of a large stained-glass window inside a church.
“We are praying for your safe return!” she captioned the picture in part.
Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, has not been seen or heard from since Saturday night.
Nancy went to dinner with her daughter Annie Guthrie and Annie’s husband, Tommaso Cioni, who then dropped off his mother-in-law at her Catalina Foothills home — where she lives alone — between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m.
At around 11 the next morning, a parishioner at Nancy’s church called her family to let them know that she did not attend that morning’s service, which was unusual.
The family then went to Nancy’s house to look for her and called 911 at around 12:15 p.m.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said he and investigators — which now includes local, state and federal law enforcement agencies — believe Nancy was abducted in her sleep and “harmed” in the process.
A trail of apparent blood was seen just outside her front door, and a doorbell camera that had been mounted near the entrance was also missing.
Though Nancy is mentally sound, she has mobility issues. She also has high blood pressure as well as cardiac issues and wears a pacemaker.
The medication Nancy is required to take daily — along with her cellphone, wallet, keys and car — were all left behind.
Alleged ransom notes demanding millions as well as details about what Nancy was wearing and items in her home were sent to two different news organizations, though their authenticity have not been verified.
In a gut-wrenching Instagram video uploaded Wednesday night, Savannah, Annie and their brother, Camron, publicly pleaded with their mom’s purported captor for her safe return.
At the time this story was published, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department had not identified a suspect or person of interest in the case.
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