A former FBI agent has challenged those calling Nancy Guthrie's disappearance a cold case, saying it is "red hot" in terms of leads.
"This case is the polar opposite of a cold case," Jennifer Coffindaffer, a retired FBI special agent, told Newsweek. "It is a red-hot case with agents, up to 100, and analysts and Pima County Sheriff's officers and other law enforcement working on all the actionable leads."
Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, has been missing for over a month. Her disappearance prompted a multiagency search involving local law enforcement and the FBI. Nancy was last seen at her home in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood of Tucson, Arizona, on January 31.
Alleged ransom notes were sent to multiple news outlets after her disappearance.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said at a news conference last month there were clues at the crime scene indicating she "did not leave on her own." The sheriff has also said Guthrie needs daily medication, and it could be fatal if she does not take it every 24 hours.
Nanos said in comments to the BBC that he believes Guthrie was a victim of a targeted kidnapping.
Coffindaffer said it is important to understand what a cold case is to assess whether Nancy's case has gone cold.
"What a cold case is, is a case that has absolutely no actionable leads, in fact, no leads at all coming in; a case that every lead that has come in has been run to the ground and has been proven not to be involved in the case," Coffindaffer said. "It's a case that there is nothing further to do on the case because it is ice cold in terms of any nexus of any information that exists leading to who's responsible for the crime."
Coffindaffer said that investigators in Guthrie's case are likely still looking at various leads, including footage from road cameras, a white van reported in the neighborhood, interviews with neighbors and video footage from a Circle K.
"There are so many leads, they're actually drinking from a fire hose," Coffindaffer said.
The lack of an arrest or a recovery in this case could be why some have interpreted it as cold, she said.
"They're confusing the fact that Nancy isn't found and that there's been no arrest made, that that means it's cold," Coffindaffer said. "It just means they haven't gone down the track that has led them to that yet, and they may be down that track right now, but there's a big difference between having suspects and believing the case is going in a particular direction, and having the amount of facts that would be necessary to bring charges."
If Nancy's case were to go cold, the public may not know, Coffindaffer said.
"I think aside from Sheriff Nanos not giving any more interviews, or perhaps actually coming out and saying that the situation has changed, because he has given a lot of interviews and updates, I think that it would be the only way the public would for sure know," she said. "But because what's being done is so behind the scenes of what the public eye ever sees, I'm not sure there would be any huge indication."
One promising lead in the case is a potential subject seen on Nancy's porch in surveillance footage released by law enforcement, Coffindaffer said.
"Somebody coming forward with who that actually is, that is the biggest lead right now in the case because he's very identifiable: the eyebrows, the mustache, the way he attires himself, the pinky ring he wears. When you add that all together, I firmly believe that one, if not many, know who that is," she said. "And that's the number one actionable lead that they are likely getting all sorts of clues as to who that is."
Coffindaffer said DNA found inside Guthrie's house is another important lead.
"I think that could really break the case if that DNA ends up being usable enough to have an IGG profile hit," Coffindaffer said.
Timothy Courchaine, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona, in a statement: "The United States Attorney's Office, together with the FBI and every other law enforcement agency involved in finding Nancy, will go anywhere, do anything, and [persevere] always to find her."
Savannah Guthrie said in part in an Instagram video: "We also know that she may be lost, she may already be gone. She may have already gone home to the Lord that she loves and is dancing in heaven with her mom and her dad, and with her beloved brother Pierce, and with our daddy. And if this is what is to be, then we will accept it. But we need to know where she is, we need her to come home."
Anyone with information is asked to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI, 520-351-4900, 88-CRIME or visit tips.fbi.gov.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.
"To help keep the tip line available for actionable investigative law enforcement leads, please submit only serious and detailed fact-based information, no well-wishes or case theories. The tip line is not for personal messages to the Guthrie family," FBI Phoenix said.
A reward of $102,500 is being offered by 88-CRIME for the arrest of the person or persons involved in the disappearance.
Savannah Guthrie announced on Instagram the family is also offering a reward of up to $1 million, payable only for her mother's recovery.