Blood was found inside the home of Savannah Guthrie's abducted mother Nancy after a kidnapper forced their way into the property, police sources say.
The disturbing new details were shared with the Los Angeles Times after the Daily Mail revealed how the 84-year-old had been abducted from her bed at her $1million home in Tucson, Arizona, late Saturday or early Sunday.
An exhaustive hunt for Nancy continues, with Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos almost bursting into tears Monday night when asked if he thinks Nancy is still alive.
Nanos welled-up after he was asked by AZFamily host Briana Whitney: 'Do you believe you are still looking for Nancy Guthrie alive at this point? That she could be held somewhere? And if so, do you believe that is local in the Tucson area, or that she's been taken somewhere?'
Nanos stumbled on his words as he said he and his deputies are 'just not going to give up hope' of finding Nancy - who officials say is frail and has been without daily medication she needs to survive.
Savannah Flies to Arizona As Hunt For Missing Mom Continues
Savannah, 54, flew to Arizona shortly after learning that Nancy had been abducted - a moment CNN reported was 'the worst phone call of her life'.
Sheriff Nanos said they did not believe Nancy had been targeted because of her rich and famous daughter, but said he could not rule out that line of inquiry.
Meanwhile, Savannah is said to be traveling with a security team. She has dropped out of hosting the Milan Winter Olympics, which begins on Wednesday.
Today - the show she hosts - led with Nancy's abduction for the second day in a row on Tuesday and shared Guthrie's request for 'prayers'.
Nancy was last seen around 9:45pm Saturday night, at the family's longtime ranch-style home in the upscale Catalina Hills neighborhood.
She was reported missing the next morning when she didn't show up at church, and when her family went to her home they found her personal belongings including her wallet, cellphone and car, but no sign of the 84-year-old.
Sources told the LA Times that there were signs of forced entry at the home.
Investigators Treating Disappearance as Possible Abduction
Nanos added that while the exact nature of Nancy's disappearance remains unknown, investigators believe they are 'looking at a possible kidnapping or abduction.'
'She did not leave on her own, we know that,' he said. 'She's very limited in her mobility.'
An NBC source told CNN that Savannah was preparing to go to Europe to cover the Winter Olympics at the time and had spent much of the last week with her children before she would make the trip.
Savannah, who only recently returned to NBC after throat surgery, is now set to remain off-air indefinitely.
On Tuesday, Nanos announced that a $2,500 reward was being issued for information leading to an arrest in Nancy Guthrie's disappearance.
He stressed that the hunt for Nancy remains a search-and-rescue operation. DNA tests have been performed but the results could take another few days.
Sheriff Warns Nancy Needs Her Medication and Pleads For Release
Nanos said that Nancy is of sound mind but that she suffers from mobility issues that mean she cannot walk more than 50 yards.
She was taken without her medication, which she requires to stay alive; depriving her of it could be fatal, Nanos warned.
The sheriff said investigators have not yet ruled out the potential abduction being a 'targeted' incident, but said evidence does not yet support that conclusion either.
'Nothing that we see is leading us that way, but we'll never dismiss anything. We'll continue to look at everything, and we'll just keep moving forward with it,' he said.
On Monday, Nanos appealed to a potential abductor while speaking with NBC.
'Just call us. Let her go. Just call us. The family will tell you, there's no questions asked here,' he said.
Savannah Guthrie Issues Prayer Plea as Search Continues
Savannah's father died of a heart attack while she was in high school, and officials said Nancy lived alone in her Tucson home.
With the search for her mother ongoing, Savannah Guthrie made a heartbreaking plea for fans to keep her family in their prayers.
'We believe in prayer. We believe in voices raised in unison, in love, in hope,' Savannah wrote on Instagram. 'We believe in goodness; we believe in humanity. Above all, we believe in Him.'
'Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant,' Savannah wrote.
She then asked her social media followers to 'raise your prayers with us and believe with us that she will be lifted by them in this very moment,' adding: 'We need you' and 'Bring her home'.
Jenna Bush Hager breaks down in tears as she reports on Savannah Guthrie's mom amid her disappearance
Jenna Bush Hager was visibly overcome with emotion as she reported on Savannah Guthrie's missing mother, Nancy. It was revealed on Monday morning that the 84-year-old mother of the Today show anchor, 54, was last seen on Saturday night near her home in Tucson, Arizona.
According to officials, aspects of the scene at Nancy's home prompted 'grave concern' and drones, a helicopter, an airplane, search-and-rescue dogs and volunteers are searching the local area.
After Sheinelle Jones read out the phone number for the tip line for the case, Bush Hager said that she hopes people will call in.
'We love Nancy,' she continued. 'I know her personally. And we want to just report, too, that she takes daily medication and she needs them for survival. She's without her medication.'
Ending her sentiments, Bush Hager added: 'We are thinking of our dearest, dearest Savannah and her whole family right now, and our prayers go out to Savannah and her entire family.'
Co-host Jones also offered her heartfelt thoughts to Guthrie and her family. She initially broke the story on the Today show alongside Craig Melvin while filling in for Guthrie.
'When Craig and I did the story, we first reported this morning and put the phone number up, we can put the number up as many times as we can, I thought this is when we're at our best as a community,' she said.
'The people in this area and in this county, if you know anything if you've seen anything no matter how small we've heard people say that before this is when people say let's call in and do what we can.'