Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of TODAY show host Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing on February 1 and authorities are yet to find her. They believe she was taken from her Catalina Foothills home near Tucson, Arizona, the night before.
It has been over a month since Guthrie disappeared and neither the Pima County Sheriff's Department, nor the FBI have announced any suspects in the case. They have also not managed to locate Guthrie.
Amid this, Ann Burgess, a criminologist shared her theories about the Guthrie case. Notably, Burgess' work inspired David Fincher's Netflix series Mindhunter, which deals with killers like Charles Manson and the BTK killer.
What expert said about Nancy Guthrie case
Burgess noted burglary was not likely to be the motive. The expert added that this was because the suspect was seen with a backpack and if burglars hurt or kill anyone on property, they tend to flee rather than taking a ‘hostage’.
Meanwhile, Daily Mail reported that one possibility was that Guthrie was kidnapped by a celebrity stalker. Savannah, in a 2024 memoir, had written about a 'kidnapping' game she'd play with her cousins as children. The publication noted that the Guthrie kidnapping might have been staged by a stalker to get Guthrie's attention. However, it noted the drawbacks to this theory was that it was unlikely a ‘deranged stalker’ would get away with a high profile crime like this, or that they'd have an accomplice.
Notably, Burgess had earlier explained that it would be ‘extremely difficult for one person to have got her out and into a car on their own,’ hinting at an accomplice.
Ex-FBI gives chilling motive update in Nancy Guthrie case
Meanwhile, former FBI special agent Harry Trombitas spoke to Yahoo about the possible motive in the Guthrie case. He noted that the money or ransom motive appeared to be less likely at that point.
“There’s too much involved. There are too many ways people can get caught,” he said. The former law enforcement official also noted that kidnappings for ransom had gone down over the years.
He went on to explain “[The motive] could be for revenge of some type, anger or it could be for a third purpose that we’re just not even aware of.”
As the search for Guthrie continues, Savannah is reportedly back in New York to be with her husband and kids, though she's not yet returned to the TODAY show despite expressing interest. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has cleared Savannah's name along with those of brother Camron and Annie, and brother-in-law Tommaso Cioni when he gave the family a clean chit in the matter.