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How the use of AI and ‘deepfakes’ play a role in the search for Nancy Guthrie
Nancy Guthrie’s daughter Annie’s home is seen Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz.
Caitlin O’Hara/AP
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Caitlin O’Hara/AP
The search for Nancy Guthrie continues after she disappeared from her home in Tucson, Ariz. two weekends ago, and imposter kidnappers have swarmed.
Law enforcement has said they’ve received several ransom notes from people claiming to have the mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie. Savannah and her siblings, Annie and Camron, have been posting videos to social media pleading for Nancy Guthrie, 84, to be returned home, and have asked for proof of life before any ransom is paid.
“We are ready to talk. However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated,” Savannah Guthrie said in one video and asking for proof that her mother was still alive.
As artificial intelligence becomes more advanced and commonplace, it can be difficult to know what’s real and what’s not, which has complicated the search for Nancy Guthrie, according to law enforcement. But just how difficult is it?
AI can ‘make up just about anything’
Before the days of artificial intelligence, proof of life could be easily established by having a hostage take a picture holding a newspaper of the day, or talking on the phone, said Joseph Lestrange, who worked in law enforcement for 32 years and now trains law enforcement agencies on identifying artificially generated content.
Now, someone can ask a language learning model to mimic someone’s voice or likeness in photos, videos and audio, known as “deepfakes.” The models can also devise fake documents, like passports, Lestrange said.
“You give it the right prompts, it can pretty much make up just about anything,” Lestrange said.
At federal agencies, digital evidence is usually sent to digital forensics labs. Examiners there can judge the authenticity of a piece of evidence using clues such as its location data or pixels. The tools they use are “very effective,” Lestrange said, but it takes time for them to draw conclusions.
“Time is usually of the essence in these kidnapping cases, especially in the current case we’re talking about, where the poor woman has some health problems,” he said. “So these investigators are really in a challenging situation at this point.”
Local and state agencies also may not have access to the same kind of tools, while scams are becoming more complex, and fast, Lestrange said.
Lestrange said some agencies are more willing than others to embrace how artificial intelligence is used. This can start to be corrected if emerging AI companies collaborate with law enforcement to “develop products that make sense,” so law enforcement isn’t “just relying on the vendors to tell them what they need,” he said.
How to protect yourself from AI scams and deepfakes
Although artificially generated content and deepfakes rely on digital tools, human interference and judgement is still a good way to tell if something is off, said Eman El-Sheikh, the associate vice president of the University of West Florida Center for Cybersecurity.
“First, calm down and slow down, because a lot of times scammers will try to create a fake sense of urgency in order to get their way before the other people can figure out that this is a fake,” she said.
While on the call, you can say something that you know your loved one is likely to respond to in a certain way. Or you can hang up and call your loved one directly to verify the issue, El-Sheikh said.
People who use social media should avoid publishing sensitive information, such as passwords, addresses and phone numbers, she said. It’s also important to keep details regarding your home private, such as when you’re leaving the house, or that you live alone.
Also, make sure to review the privacy settings on your apps, and toggle the permissions according to your comfort level, she said.
“It’s very important for everybody in the digital world to be very intentional about what information they say online, and about protecting their privacy.”
But Lestrange notes that anything you post or share about yourself online can be used against you, even if you’re careful.
“It’s really a very different world today,” he said.
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U.S. service members killed in refueling aircraft crash in Iraq identified as Ohio National Guard members and Florida-based crew
Six U.S. service members who were killed in a military refueling aircraft crash over Iraq last week have been identified as members of the Ohio Air National Guard and Florida-based crew members.
The Department of Defense on Saturday identified them as:
- Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Indiana
- Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio
- Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio
- Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Alabama
- Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington
- Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky
Koval, Angst and Simmons were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Columbus, Ohio.
Klinner, Savino and Pruitt were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.
Simmons’ mother, Cheryl Simmons, recalled to CBS affiliate WBNS Friday the moment uniformed officers arrived at their home to deliver the news.
“When he opened the door he said, ‘Oh no,’ and I jumped up and ran in there and they were lined up out on the porch,” she told the station. “‘You got to be kidding me.’”
The six serviced members died on March 12 when an aerial refueling aircraft taking part in operations against Iran crashed in western Iraq. The KC-135 aircraft went down near Turaibil, which is along the Iraqi-Jordanian border, an Iraqi intelligence source told CBS News.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised them as “American heroes.”
Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the crew was on a combat mission but flying over friendly territory when the crash happened. The incident is under investigation, the Defense Department said.
This picture, taken a position in northern Israel, shows an Israeli Air Force fighter jet flying over the border area with southern Lebanon on March 13, 2026.
Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images
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Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump said on Friday the U.S. military had “totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island.”
In a Truth Social post Friday evening, Trump added that “for reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the island.” The president warned that if Iran “or anyone else” interfere with the passage of ships in the Strait of Hormuz, “I will immediately reconsider this decision.”
Kharg Island sits 15 miles off Iran’s coast and is critical to Iran’s oil infrastructure and the country’s economy. Roughly 90 percent of Iran’s export crude oil passes through the island.
On his way to Mar-a-Lago in Florida shortly before his post, Trump told reporters, “The situation in Iran is going very well. A lot of big hits today, a lot of big wins today.” Asked how long he thinks the war would last, he said, “I can’t tell you that. I mean, I have my own idea, but what good does it do? It will be as long as it’s necessary. They’ve been decimated. The country — their country’s in bad shape. The whole thing is collapsing.”
Earlier on Friday, the U.S. military had said that all six crew members were killed when a KC-135 refueling aircraft went down in Iraq, raising the American death toll after two weeks of war with Iran.
The news came as President Trump and his defense secretary touted the success of what they call Operation Epic Fury but complained about negative media coverage of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that joint U.S.-Israeli military strikes have hit more than 15,000 targets and injured the new Iranian supreme leader.
President Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said the U.S. is “totally destroying” Iran’s regime, militarily and economically.
A woman looks at a building where an apartment was targeted by an Israeli airstrike in the Burj Hammoud area on the northern outskirts of Beirut on March 14, 2026.
Ibrahim Amro/AFP via Getty Images
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Ibrahim Amro/AFP via Getty Images
Iranian and Lebanese health officials and Israeli authorities reported more than 1,300 people killed in Iran, 773 people in Lebanon and 12 civilians in Israel, as well as two Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon. Wednesday’s aircraft crash over Iraq brings the U.S. military death toll to 13, seven of whom were killed by enemy fire. Eight U.S. service members are severely injured, according to the Pentagon.
The humanitarian toll also deepened as the total number of people displaced by the fighting in Iran and Lebanon reached into the millions.
Here are further updates about the conflict.
To jump to a specific coverage topic, click on the links below:
U.S. casualties | More war ahead
U.S. casualties rise and additional Marines head to Mideast
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Friday all six crew members died when their refueling aircraft went down over Iraq.
CENTCOM, which oversees the military’s Middle East operations, initially reported an unspecified incident involving two aircraft Thursday. It said the U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft was lost in western Iraq, while the other landed safely. It is investigating the circumstances but confirmed the “loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”
That brings the U.S. military death toll to 13, seven of whom were killed by enemy fire, according to the Pentagon.
NPR has also confirmed that an additional 2,200 U.S. Marines are heading to the Middle East.
The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit based in Okinawa, Japan, aboard the USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship, will join an armada of ships taking part in the Iran war, a source told NPR on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The source did not specify what role the Marines will play.
The deployment was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
— NPR’s National Security Desk
Officials brace for an end without a deal — and the risk of a “war routine”
A senior official in the region, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations, told NPR they expected the war to last at least another week, and that Israeli leaders increasingly believe the U.S. and Israel will end the war unilaterally, without a negotiated agreement. In such a scenario, the official said, Iran and allied groups, including the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Houthi rebels in Yemen, could establish a new normal of intermittent fire at Israel, prompting repeated Israeli retaliation.
The official said that kind of tit-for-tat exchange would leave Israelis living with an intolerable “war routine” even if the intensity of the conflict fades.
The official also said Israel is not ruling out an expanded ground operation in southern Lebanon, but described Israel as holding back so far from striking broad civilian infrastructure, largely because the U.S. sees Lebanon as a partner.
— Daniel Estrin, Carrie Kahn
Arezou Rezvani contributed to this report from Erbil in Iraq’s Kurdish region.
new video loaded: Michigan Synagogue Attacker Killed Himself During Gunfight, Officials Say
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transcript
Michigan Synagogue Attacker Killed Himself During Gunfight, Officials Say
The man who rammed his truck into a Michigan synagogue on Thursday killed himself during a firefight with security guards, law enforcement officials said.
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At approximately 12:20, Ghazali’s vehicle gets jammed between hallway walls and he begins firing through the windshield of his vehicle. At some point during the gunfight, Ghazali suffers a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. In the bed of the truck, we found large quantities of commercial-grade fireworks and several jugs of flammable liquid we believe to be gasoline, some of which has been consumed in the fire.
By Jackeline Luna
March 13, 2026
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