Law enforcement investigating the disappearance of American morning show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother sealed off a road near Nancy Guthrie’s home in Arizona late on Friday night.
A parade of sheriff’s and FBI vehicles, including forensics vehicles, passed through the roadblock that was set up about 3.2 kilometres from the house.
The two agencies also tagged and towed a Range Rover SUV from a Culver’s restaurant parking lot.
The FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department deputies process evidence from a Range Rover. (Reuters: Rebecca Noble)
The restaurant is just over 3km from Nancy Guthrie’s home.
The activity took place at the same time the sheriff’s office closed a road just north of the Guthrie home.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed on Saturday that a federal court-ordered search warrant was executed at the home on Friday in connection with the Guthrie case.
The warrant was based on a lead the agency had received. No arrests were made.
A traffic stop was also conducted, and while someone was questioned, no arrests were made, the sheriff’s office said.
No additional information was released on Saturday.
Authorities sealed off a road near Nancy Guthrie’s Arizona home. (Reuters: Rebecca Noble)
Ms Guthrie, 84, was reported missing on February 1.
Authorities say her blood was found on the front porch of her Tucson-area home.
Purported ransom notes were sent to news outlets, but two deadlines for paying have passed.
Savannah Guthrie and her siblings have made several pleas via social media videos directly addressing the suspected kidnapper, saying they were prepared to pay a ransom for their mother’s return.
Authorities have expressed concerns for Ms Guthrie’s health because she needs daily medication.
The very unusual factor in the Nancy Guthrie case
She is said to have a pacemaker and has dealt with high blood pressure and heart issues, according to sheriff’s dispatcher audio on broadcastify.com.
Investigators have studied surveillance video, sorted through thousands of tips and submitted DNA and other evidence for laboratory analysis.
The FBI said it had collected more than 13,000 tips since February 1, the day Ms Guthrie was reported missing.
The sheriff’s department, meanwhile, said it had taken at least 18,000 calls.
On Tuesday, authorities released footage showing an armed, masked person at Guthrie’s doorstep on the night she was abducted.
The videos — less than a combined minute in length — gave investigators and the public their first glimpse of who was outside Guthrie’s home in the foothills outside Tucson.
Experts say the video could contain a mountain of clues.
AP