The reward has doubled as authorities intensify their search for Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mom, Nancy Guthrie, 18 days after she was first reported missing.

Us Weekly has learned that 88-CRIME received an anonymous $100,000 donation “allowing the program to increase the reward for this case to $102,500,” according to an update from Pima County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, February 18, which noted that dollar amount is in addition to the $100,000 being offered from the FBI.

This brings the total amount to $202,500 to any information leading to Nancy’s location or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation will not be handling the administration of any non-FBI rewards related to the case involving the Today show host’s mother, per the latest update.

This development comes after Milwaukee attorney Michael Hupy, president of Milwaukee Crime Stoppers, posted via Facebook on Monday, February 16, that he would be offering a $100,000 reward through Crime Stoppers for the arrest of the perpetrator. (It has not been confirmed that the anonymous donation to 88-CRIME was sent by Hupy, 79.)

“PCSD has received various requests for confirmation of various topics including working with Mexican authorities, utilizing polygraph tests, specific video surveillance requests, financial analysis, etc. PCSD is not confirming or releasing any details regarding those topics at this time,” the Pima County Sheriff’s Office told Us about their current efforts.

Related: Sheriff Reveals How Much Longer Nancy Guthrie Investigation Could Continue

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is sharing an update on the Nancy Guthrie investigation as the search for Savannah Guthrie’s mom continues for a third week. In a Tuesday, February 17, interview with NewsNation’s Brian Entin, Nanos was asked, “How long can this go on for, in terms of the investigation at this level?” “Because […]

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Meanwhile, investigators are currently analyzing biological evidence found at Nancy’s residence in Tucson, Arizona.

Nancy was last seen at her home after she was dropped off by family at 9:48 p.m. on January 31. Authorities believe she was “taken” while “asleep” sometime during the early morning hours of February 1.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos believes the Ozark Trail backpack worn by the unidentified suspect in newly released Nest doorbell camera footage was purchased at a Walmart.

“So we’re working with our Walmart managers all across the state to try to find out how many sales there were of that backpack in the last 20, 30 days, the last 60 days,” Nanos told NBC News. “And can we do something with that? Can we break it? Maybe we’ll find a credit card or a bank card. Maybe we’ll find a video of the guy walking in.”

The FBI described the suspect as a man that is 5-foot-9-inches to 5-foot-10-inches tall and of average build.

Related: DNA That Isn’t Nancy Guthrie’s Was Collected From Her Property, Police Say

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Authorities have found “DNA other than Nancy Guthrie’s and those in close contact to her” as the investigation into her disappearance continues. The DNA evidence was discovered and collected at her property, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department shared in a statement with multiple media outlets on Friday, February 13. “Investigators are working to identify who […]

Nanos said they’re exploring all possible clues and leads, stating that it appears the suspect filmed on Nancy’s porch appeared to be wearing a ring underneath the pair of black gloves. As of Wednesday, there have been no DNA matches for the single black glove found one and a half miles away from Nancy’s residence. DNA profiles are currently under lab analysis.

As the search for Nancy continues, Savannah, 54, issued a new video via Instagram on Sunday, February 15, pleading for the safe return of her mother, stating, “It is never too late to do the right thing.”

“We still have hope, and we still believe,” she added. “And I wanted to say to whoever has her or knows where she is that it’s never too late, and you’re not lost or alone. And it is never too late to do the right thing, and we are here, and we believe … in the essential goodness of every human being.”

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Netflix has to have a hit legal drama at all times at this point. It’s almost as if the streamer offers the same audience a fresh adjacent fix: something paced for bingeing, built on case-of-the-week momentum, and easy to drop into without homework. That’s what’s happening right now with a newly surging 10-episode crime thriller starring Melissa Roxburgh, Nick Wechsler, Patrick Sabongui, Josh McKenzie, and Sara Garcia, and it’s sliding into the exact viewing lane that The Lincoln Lawyer has owned for a while.

The show’s hook is engineered for quick addiction. It’s a manhunt procedural with an escalation engine baked in: a small, specialized team is assembled after the country’s most dangerous killers escape from a prison that isn’t supposed to exist, turning each episode into a capture mission that feeds a larger conspiracy. That structure matters on Netflix because it creates “one more episode” gravity the same way courtroom dramas do — problem introduced, pressure applied, resolution delivered, and a breadcrumb dropped for the bigger season arc.

The show in question, titled The Hunting Party, has climbed to #2 on Netflix’s U.S. Top 10 TV list as of February 18, 2026, while The Lincoln Lawyer sits at #6 on the same daily chart — a clean picture of how the audience is being redistributed in real time. That rise tracks with what you’d expect from a newly activated catalog add: the title hits the list, gets surfaced harder, and then gains momentum as more viewers sample it. And it’s not just a Netflix-only story either: the series is also charting on Prime Video at the #4 spot in Turkey this week.

There’s a Practical Reason Why ‘The Hunting Party’ Is Trending

The Hunting Party, originally aired in January 2025, is now spiking because Netflix has made it newly accessible to viewers who didn’t watch it on NBC during its original run, which changes the viewing context. The other reason is that the show’s second installment recently started airing, so it’s currently being discussed more, too. Therefore, while a weekly network procedural can feel routine, a fully available Netflix season plays like a new binge drop, especially with a recognizable lead like Melissa Roxburgh anchoring the hook.

The new season, however, isn’t yet available to stream on Netflix and will only be available once the complete season has premiered. This is exactly how Netflix treated the lead of legal drama Suits, and it worked out well.

The Hunting Party Season 2 airs new episodes weekly. The first season is available to watch on Netflix. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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Release Date

January 19, 2025

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Directors

Thor Freudenthal, Glen Winter, James Bamford, Nicole Rubio, Rod Hardy, Shana Stein, Blackhorse Lowe, Marcus Stokes, Kristin Windell

Writers

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David Loong, JJ Bailey, Jake Coburn, Keto Shimizu, Michael Jones-Morales, Paula Sabbaga, Rebecca Bellotto, Vinny Ferris

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• 

  Melissa Roxburgh

  Rebecca ‘Bex’ Henderson

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Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Love Story Episodes 1-3.

Ryan Murphy is a producer linked to never-ending controversies courtesy of his ongoing Monster anthology series, but Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette represents a far more thoughtful approach to a ripped-from-the-headlines celebrity story. There have been many films and shows centered around the Kennedy family, but Love Story explores the passionate, tempestuous marriage between John F. Kennedy Jr. (Paul Anthony Kelly) and Carolyn Bessette (Sarah Pidgeon) before their tragic deaths in a 1999 plane crash. The Kennedys were involved with many powerful figures in both Washington, D.C. and Hollywood, and Love Story depicts the brief romance between JFK Jr. and the actress Daryl Hannah, portrayed in the show by Dree Hemingway.

Due to his family’s influence and political legacy, Kennedy was encouraged to pursue a career in service of his country and completed the bar exam in New York after two unsuccessful attempts. At the same time, Kennedy was also involved in lifestyle and popular culture institutions, and began dating Hannah in the late 1980s before they split up in 1994. Hemingway admitted that the actors were encouraged not to contact the subjects they portrayed, which has remained consistent on all the anthology shows that Murphy has produced except American Crime Story: Impeachment, in which Monica Lewinsky was involved. This may have been a noble attempt to ensure that the depiction of these figures was unbiased, but it’s more problematic when the series also invents plot elements that skew the way that events are perceived.

‘Love Story’ Doesn’t Accurately Depict JFK Jr.’s Relationship With Daryl Hannah

Love Story is only focused on a condensed period of time within Kennedy’s life, meaning that it only shows the end portion of his relationship with Hannah. Despite reports that they had been happily dating within the first few years of meeting, Love Story doesn’t explore any of the affection that Kennedy and Hannah had for each other, since the series begins when their relationship is already in a downward spiral. Even when ignoring the fact that Love Story only depicts Hannah in a negative light, implying she was completely oblivious to the media attention that Kennedy had inflicted upon him, the series doesn’t grant her the depth provided to other supporting characters like Calvin Klein (Alessandro Nivola).

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Love Story‘s most glaring invention so far is the implied tension between Hannah and Kennedy’s mother, Jackie Onassis (Naomi Watts). There are conflicting reports about whether there was any friction between the two women, but Love Story assumes the worst by suggesting that Jackie’s objections prevented Kennedy from marrying Hannah. It’s also not a particularly even-sided conflict, as the series is far more sympathetic to Jackie, who is portrayed as a helpful and supportive maternal figure before her death in the third episode, “America’s Widow.”

‘Love Story’ Contributes to a Skewed Version of American History

Interpreting historical ambiguities may have been inevitable for Love Story, but the show’s characterization of Hannah is especially unfortunate given how over-the-top and obnoxious her portrayal is. In addition to implying that Hannah’s involvement with drug users caused stress within Kennedy’s life, the series also includes a strange moment in which she equates the death of her dog to the loss of Jackie. Beyond a larger unwillingness to contact Hannah, Love Story’s producers didn’t follow any accounts that were slightly sympathetic to her position; the show was inspired by the non-fiction novel Once Upon a Time by Elizabeth Beller and also draws from The Other Man, a memoir by Bessette’s former lover, Michael Berman (Michael Nathanson). Considering that Love Story is otherwise a very well-crafted drama show that is thoughtful in its approach to an unfortunate situation, Hannah’s highly negative portrayal feels more glaring in contrast.

Although Hannah has yet to make any public statements about the series, the real actress might not be able to change the narrative, given that Murphy has largely ignored criticisms from the subjects of his other shows. There’s no case for libel when the series states outright that some events are fictionalized, but given the frequent allusions to very specific events and dates, Love Story may give many viewers the impression that its version is mostly accurate. It’s worth noting that in the aftermath of the crash, Hannah did not show any ill will towards Kennedy or Bessette and has been praised in recent years for her advocacy on behalf of environmentalist groups. It’s a shame that her essence was reduced to a stereotype of an out-of-touch actress.

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Police in Alabama have identified human remains discovered in a coal bin as a man who vanished 38 years ago and was the subject of a long-lingering cold case.

DNA testing on the remains — which were first found in late 2004 — finally returned a hit for 21-year-old Bryant Keith Bates.

Us Weekly confirmed Bates was last seen alive on November 15, 1988, after he had left his family’s home in North East Lake for a funeral.

When he failed to return from his friend’s funeral, Bates’ relatives grew suspicious and reported him missing to the Birmingham Police Department.

Early on in the missing persons probe, his family expressed grave concerns the young man was killed intentionally.

Back on November 22, 2004, police were contacted by an exterminator, who told them he had discovered human skeletal remains buried inside a coal bin while working in the crawl space of a South East Lake rental property.

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A 4-year-old boy was found dead about two miles away from his Alabama home following his disappearance on New Year’s Eve, according to authorities. His father, Jameson Kyle Boley, was arrested on an explosives charge before the discovery of his body, NBC News reported. Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith told reporters that the charge was […]

The skeletal remains were brought to the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner’s Office for examination, and it was determined the victim was male and likely of African descent. They estimated his age to be between 17- and 30-years-old and said that he stood 5-foot-10.

Officials say that Bates was last seen wearing a pair of plaid pants with a white shirt that had blue trim — the same clothing that was found along with the skeletal remains.

A Coca-Cola brand watch and a chain necklace were also recovered, and both belonged to Bates.

An autopsy determined that Bates was shot in the head. His manner of death was deemed a homicide, and now, investigators are trying to bring his killer to justice.

Police do not have an idea at the moment how long ago Bates was killed. They also have failed to discuss any possible suspects they may have in mind.

Information about the unidentified remains was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System in 2015, but no match was found.

Three years later, a bone sample was submitted to the University of Texas Center for Human Identification (UNTCHI) for analysis, and the results confirmed the remains were those of a man. A profile was entered into the Combined DNA Index System, however, there still was no match.

Related: Skeletal Remains Found on Beach Are Identified as Former Oregon Mayor

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Then, in March 2025, officials took a bone sample and submitted it to Othram, Inc., for further analysis. The DNA profile developed from that specific analysis confirmed that the remains were of African descent and aided genealogists in developing new leads about who the man might be.

Officials claim those fresh leads were sent to the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner’s Office and allowed them to locate immediate family members of the deceased.

In Feb. 2026, officials say UNTCHI performed DNA testing of Bates and confirmed that the missing remains that were found were those of Bates.

The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office says the identification was made possible by utilizing forensic genetic genealogy analysis (FGG) and is the second positive ID using the process. Officials say they currently have 26 cases being analyzed by the FGG process.

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