BREAKING: Trump threatens death penalty if Nancy Guthrie isn’t returned alive” See more details here…

(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump is warning those responsible for the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie to release her unharmed or face the “most severe” federal consequences.

In a phone interview with the New York Post on Monday, Trump said he would direct the Department of Justice to seek the death penalty if Guthrie is killed.

The most, yeah — that’s true,” Trump said when asked whether that meant capital punishment.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – MAY 04: Australian-born presenter, Savannah Guthrie poses alongside her mother Nancy Guthrie during a production break whilst hosting NBC’s “Today Show” live from Australia at Sydney Opera House on May 4, 2015 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage)

He added that Guthrie’s captors would face “very, very severe — the most severe” consequences if she is found dead, the New York Post said.

Guthrie was last seen the night of Jan. 31 and reported missing on Feb. 1. The search for the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie has now entered its third week.

‘A real maze’: Path traced from Nancy Guthrie’s home to found glove

Arizona currently has 109 prisoners on death row. The state carried out three executions in 2022 following a nearly eight-year hiatus brought on by criticism that a 2014 execution was botched and because of difficulties obtaining drugs for execution.

Meanwhile, authorities are awaiting DNA results from a glove found near Guthrie’s home.

An FBI spokesperson told NewsNation that a recovered glove “appears to match the gloves of the subject in the surveillance video.” The agency has entered the “unknown male profile” into CODIS, the bureau’s national DNA database. According to the FBI spokesperson, this process typically takes 24 hours from when the bureau receives DNA.

Sheriff in Nancy Guthrie case denies tension with FBI

Guthrie is believed to have been abducted, and investigators are scrutinizing messages that have been sent to media outlets, possibly from kidnappers, at least one of which made a bitcoin ransom demand. Separately, TMZ has received a series of communications from a person claiming to know who the kidnapper is; that individual has demanded a $100,000 cryptocurrency payment.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday it has received nearly 18,000 calls to its tip line.

On Friday, a SWAT operation by the sheriff’s office 2 miles from Guthrie’s home led to three people being detained. No arrests were made, law enforcement later announced.