Retired FBI supervisory special agent and profiler Jim Clemente told NewsNation that if the person or people who took Nancy Guthrie are not seeking ransom, there may be "other motives that are 'dark'" and the situation could be dangerous or fatal.
Several experts have questioned whether Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie, was kidnapped. The Pima County Sheriff's Department believes 84-year-old Nancy was taken "possibly in the middle of the night, and that includes possible kidnapping or abduction," NBC News reported.
Nancy has been missing for over a week, and her disappearance continues to receive national attention. She was last seen at her home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood of Tucson, Arizona, on January 31. An alleged ransom note was sent to local news stations and TMZ after her disappearance. Investigators in the abduction case are consulting AI experts to examine the ransom notes and determine their validity and possible origins, sources told The LA Times on Monday.
Nanos has said Nancy needs daily medication, and it could be fatal if she did not have the medication every 24 hours.
The FBI said on Monday that it is unaware of ongoing communication between Savannah Guthrie's family and the suspected kidnappers. The agency has not identified any suspects or people of interest. There was a purported ransom deadline set for Thursday and then again on Monday evening, both of which appear to have passed.
Clemente, who spent over two decades with the FBI, told Chris Cuomo on NewsNation Tuesday that he hasn't seen a case "specifically" like this one. He noted that "this one is a little strange because there's a lot of back and forth and inconsistences."
He noted that the statements originally were directed towards a kidnapper, and now the statement is directed to the public.
"Typically, the people who do it have some tangential even connection to the victim, they either worked at their property, interacted with them at some work or volunteer situation, but knew that they lived alone and took advantage of it."
He continued, "If it wasn't a kidnapping for ransom, then there are other motives that are 'dark' and unfortunately very dangerous for such an elderly woman."
Jennifer Coffindaffer told News Nation it is "very likely" that the notes are not from actual abductors. "It just seems so targeted, personal, and that whoever did this knew about her and her particular habits," she added.
Savannah posted a new video on Instagram on Monday, asking for the public's help.
"We believe our mom is still out there," Savannah said in the clip, shared on her Instagram. "We need your help. Law enforcement is working tirelessly around the clock trying to bring her home, trying to find her. She was taken, and we don't know where."
She said, “No matter where you are, even if you’re far from Tucson, if you see anything, you hear anything, if there’s anything at all that seems strange to you, that you report to law enforcement. We are at an hour of desperation, and we need your help.”
Jennifer Coffindaffer, retired FBI agent, told NewsNation on Tuesday: “From the very beginning those notes never made sense in terms of somebody who truly was trying to obtain a ransom, specifically the lateness, the fact that they went to the media, the fact that the FBI and local law enforcement was crawling all over the case and now you’re going to come with a ransom demand. It made no sense; it seems more like they were trying to torture the Guthrie family.”
Gregory Vecchi, retired FBI special agent/criminal investigator, in comments to Newsweek last week: “There’s evidence to suggest that there is some sort of an abduction that happened, and I think that them going down the road on doing the video and following those leads, I think that’s really good police work on that.”
Paul Ciolino, veteran homicide investigator, in comments to the New York Post: “If she was taken, we’d pretty much know for sure at this point she was really taken. There’d be some forensic evidence to help indicate that happened. Because the feds aren’t talking about it, I’m pretty sure there’s no forensic evidence indicating she was kidnapped at all.”
President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday: “We have some clues I think that are very strong and I think we could have some answers coming up fairly soon.”
The Pima County Sheriff's Department said in a statement to Newsweek and other outlets on Monday: "Many of you observed an active law enforcement presence at the Guthrie residences over the weekend. That activity will continue tonight and into tomorrow as part of the ongoing investigative process, including the expansion of the search and follow-up on new leads. This is all part of the investigative process as the search for Nancy expands and new leads come in. To preserve the integrity of this criminal investigation, details of that process are not being released at this time."
The FBI said in a statement provided to Newsweek for a different article: "The FBI is not aware of any continued communication between the Guthrie family and suspected kidnappers, nor have we identified a suspect or person of interest in this case. Additional personnel from FBI field offices across the nation continue to deploy to Tucson. We are currently operating a 24-hour command post that includes crisis management experts, analytic support, and investigative teams. But we still need the public's help. Someone has that one piece of information that can help us bring Nancy home. We need that person to share what they know."
Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). Individuals can also contact their local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate. Tips can be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.