Kidnap survivor Elizabeth Smart had hopeful words for the Guthrie family on how to navigate the traumatic uncertainty surrounding Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance nearly four weeks ago.
Keeping hope alive is essential, albeit difficult, she told “Ladygang” podcast hosts Keltie Knight, Becca Tobin and Jac Vanek, noting it indirectly kept her alive by keeping the search alive. The publicity surrounding Smart’s case allowed a passerby to recognize her captors, which led to the teen’s rescue nine months after she’d been abducted.
“I know what law enforcement will tell you,” Smart, now 38, said on Thursday’s episode of the podcast. “If a person disappears and they’re not found within the first 24 to 48 hours, the chances of their survival drop down to almost 0%. I mean, it’s almost like they’re dead.”
Nancy Guthrie was last seen by her family between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31, and was reported missing the next day. The nation has been fixated on the search for the 84-year-old, who’s the mother of “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. Nancy has a pacemaker and needs daily medication, putting her survival in doubt.
In her most recent public plea, Savannah acknowledged that her mother may be dead, while appearing to balance that with hope she may still be alive. That dovetailed with Smart’s message.
“We can’t give up, because if that was the mentality around my case, then I wouldn’t be here today,” Smart said. “I mean, I did come back, and there are other victims who do come back. And so even though every passing day feels like we’re losing more and more hope, or seems like it’s less likely that she’ll be found, I think we just have to remind ourselves that we can never give up.”
That spirit extends to anyone who may have seen something that was “off,” Smart said, urging them to “just pick up the phone” and call law enforcement.
Investigators have fielded thousands of tips about Nancy Guthrie’s case in the past month. On Tuesday, the family offered a $1 million reward for her return, probably in hopes of appealing to someone in the kidnapper’s orbit to come forward, a security expert surmised to CNN.
“We need everybody’s help. We need everyone to keep their eyes open,” Smart said. “Someone will see something. Someone does know something.”
