Elizabeth Smart has urged the public not to give up hope that Savannah Guthrie’s missing mother, Nancy Guthrie, could still be found alive.

More than five months after the 84-year-old vanished from her home near Tucson, Arizona, Elizabeth said the absence of definitive answers meant people should continue supporting both the investigation and Nancy’s family.

“I would remind people that we don’t know all the details,” the kidnapping survivor and child safety advocate told E! News.

Elizabeth said she hoped investigators knew more than had been released publicly and were continuing to make meaningful progress behind the scenes.

“There is still reason to have hope that she is alive,” she added, noting that Nancy’s remains have not been found. “We shouldn’t give up until we find her.”

Elizabeth’s words carry particular weight after her own widely publicised ordeal. She was abducted from her Salt Lake City bedroom at the age of 14 in June 2002 and held captive for nine months before being rescued in March 2003.

She has since become a prominent advocate for victims and their families, founding the Elizabeth Smart Foundation and campaigning for child-abduction prevention, survivor support and stronger safety legislation.

Nancy was last seen at her Catalina Foothills home on the evening of January 31. She was reported missing the following day after failing to attend a church service as expected.

Investigators believe she was taken against her will. Surveillance footage released by the FBI showed an armed and masked individual appearing to interfere with the camera outside her front door during the early hours of her disappearance.

Interest in the case intensified again after crime journalist Briana Whitney read portions of two purported ransom notes during a July 22 episode of the Crime Junkie podcast.

One alleged message claimed Nancy was frightened but safe and demanded millions of dollars in Bitcoin in exchange for her release. A second communication reportedly claimed she had died soon after being taken.

However, the notes should not be treated as verified evidence. Reuters reported earlier in July that federal investigators had determined the communications were not genuine and were not sent by anyone connected to Nancy’s disappearance. The investigation itself remains active.

Amid the speculation and conflicting information, Elizabeth appealed for compassion towards Savannah and her siblings, who have repeatedly asked anyone with knowledge of their mother’s fate to come forward.

She stressed that even a detail that appears insignificant could ultimately prove important to investigators.

“We should have all the compassion and grace for the entire Guthrie family,” Elizabeth said, urging anyone who may have witnessed something unusual to report it.