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NEWS
Donald Trump said Nancy Guthrie must be returned alive.
Feb. 16 2026, Published 1:28 p.m. ET
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President Donald Trump isn’t ruling out the death penalty in the case of Savannah Guthrie‘s missing mom.
The Republican leader told the New York Post on Monday, February 16, that whoever is responsible for kidnapping Nancy Guthrie must release her unharmed or they will face the “most severe” penalties.
In a brief phone interview with the newspaper, President Trump said he would instruct the Justice Department to seek the death penalty if the 84-year-old mother of NBC’s popular Today show host is killed.
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Death Penalty Is on the Table
President Donald Trump threatened Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper(s) with death.
President Trump said Nancy’s abductors would face “very, very severe — the most severe” consequences if she is found dead after being abducted from her home outside Tucson on February 1.
When asked if his threats included the death penalty, the POTUS answered: “The most, yeah — that’s true.”
While the death penalty is legal in Arizona, many of the 109 inmates on the state’s death row have been there for decades, with just two executions carried out since 2022.
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The FBI has clashed with Arizona law enforcement on handling the disappearance.
Though the POTUS cannot unilaterally bypass judicial processes, they can order the Attorney General to prioritize capital punishment for federal crimes.
Trump signed an Executive Order on January 20, 2025, to restore and expedite federal capital punishment, aiming to lift the moratorium set by the Biden administration.
This isn’t the first time the president has weighed in on the mysterious disappearance, stating that he is directing all available federal resources to the case. President Trump called Savannah on February 4 to offer support, noting they have generally “got along well” despite past public disagreements.
Savannah Guthrie Begs Kidnappers to ‘Do the Right Thing’
Savannah Guthrie appealed to her mother’s kidnapper on Instagram.
Investigators recently recovered a glove containing the DNA profile of an unknown male approximately two miles from her home. This glove appears to match one worn by a masked suspect seen in surveillance footage tampering with her doorbell camera.
Authorities revealed they are looking for a man of average build — between 5’9″ and 5’10” — who was carrying a black Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack, which is sold exclusively at Walmart.
Savannah has released multiple emotional videos, most recently on Sunday, February 15, appealing directly to her mother’s captor to “do the right thing.”
“It is never too late to do the right thing,” she said on Instagram.
The FBI has doubled the reward for information leading to her return to $100,000.
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