Trump says death penalty on the table for Nancy Guthrie abductors if she isn’t returned alive

In an interview with the New York Post on Monday, President Donald Trump said that he would instruct the Department of Justice to seek the death penalty for those responsible in the Nancy Guthrie case if the 84-year-old mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie is killed.

He said that the abductors would face "very, very severe—the most severe" federal consequences if Guthrie is found dead, and when asked if that meant the DOJ would pursue the death penalty, Trump said, "The most, yeah, — that’s true."

Guthrie was reported missing by her family on February 1 after being seen the night prior. The search for Guthrie has now entered its third week, with the FBI revealing over the weekend that a glove likely matching those seen being worn by a person in doorbell camera footage released by authorities has been found, and that it had been submitted for DNA testing.

The FBI has raised its reward for information in the case to $100,000. The suspect seen in footage and photos released by the agency is described as being "male, approximately 5’9” - 5’10” tall, with an average build. In the video, he is wearing a black, 25-liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack." The FBI has received tens of thousands of tips related to the case so far.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has denied reports that Guthrie’s disappearance was related to a burglary gone wrong. "This is somebody who disappeared from the face of the Earth, and now we have a camera that says here’s the person who did this," he said.

Nanos also pointed to the unclear motivation and said that nothing of significant value was taken from the home. “That’s what makes me say this is a kidnapping. The motivation for it is where we get stuck, right?” Nanos added. “Is it for money? I mean, we had the one demand where they asked for money. But is it really for money, or is it for revenge for something?”