1 MINUTE AGO: Savannah Guthrie announces urgent $500,000 donation, our family “is not alone in our loss”…

Savannah Guthrie has pledged to donate $500,000 to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children as the search for her mother enters its fourth week

Savannah Guthrie in the Feb. 24 Instagram video; Savannah and mother Nancy Guthrie.Credit : Savannah Guthrie/Instagram (2)

Savannah Guthrie has pledged to donate $500,000 to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children as the search for her mother enters its fourth week.

In a new video posted to Instagram on Tuesday, Feb. 24, the Today show co-host announced the NCMEC donation and family reward of $1 million for the recovery of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, who was kidnapped from her Tucson, Ariz., home in the middle of the night on Feb. 1.

“We also know that we are not alone in our loss,” Savannah, 54, said, noting that “millions of families” endure similar uncertainty, which she said prompted the donation.

“We are hoping that the attention that has been given to our mom and our family will extend to all the families like ours who are in need and need prayers and need support,” she added.

A spokesperson for NCMEC confirmed to PEOPLE that the Guthrie family has pledged a $500,000 donation to the organization.

The journalist also said her family has been “fearing for [Nancy] and aching for her and most of all just missing her,” adding that while they still hold hope, they have also acknowledged the possibility that her mother may be dead.

“We also know that she may be lost, she may already be gone,” Savannah said. “She may already have gone home to the Lord that she loves and is dancing in Heaven… and if this is what is to be, then we will accept it. But we need to know where she is. We need her to come home.”

She added that, with regard to her mother, her family still believes “in a miracle.”

Nancy and Savannah Guthrie.Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and FBI have said they believe Nancy was kidnapped by an armed man seen in surveillance footage appearing to tamper with Nancy’s doorbell camera on Feb. 1. She was last seen by family the night before.

That person has not been identified, but is described by the FBI as a “male, approximately 5’9” – 5’10” tall, with an average build.” In the video, the person is wearing a “black, 25-liter ‘Ozark Trail Hiker Pack’ backpack,” according to a post on X.

A spokesperson for the PCSD told PEOPLE on Thursday, Feb. 19 that investigators are “not ruling out that that was the only person involved.” Nancy’s whereabouts remain unknown.

Since Nancy disappeared, multiple alleged ransom notes have been sent to local media stations demanding the Guthrie family pay multi-million dollar sums by a set deadline. Those deadlines — Feb. 5 and Feb. 9 — have since passed and it remains unclear if the family has made a payment.

The investigation has also been complicated by “mixed” DNA recovered from inside Nancy’s home. In an interview published Feb. 21, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told NBC News that the samples contain genetic material from more than one person, making it harder for authorities to process them through databases.