Ex-FBI behavioral expert says Nancy Guthrie disappearance could be an act of retribution

TUCSON, ARIZONA: Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of ‘Today’ co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, has been missing for more than two months after disappearing from her Tucson home.

Now, a veteran mind who worked closely with the FBI is weighing in.

Expert says abduction could be retribution

Dr Ann Burgess, a researcher and psychiatric clinical nurse specialist who worked closely with the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, believes the motive behind the disappearance could be rooted in retribution.

Speaking on Brian Entin Investigates, Burgess suggested the situation likely spiraled out of control inside the home.

“I think something went very wrong inside the house … because you know, there was blood,” Burgess said.

That detail alone, she implied, points to a scenario that wasn’t meant to escalate.

Burgess insisted the crime appeared to be targeted rather than random.

“Who in her orbit, let’s call it family, could be friends, would be hurt the most (by the kidnapping?) And I think you can answer… It’s a very, it’s a very mean, angry, horrible thing to do. And then if it goes wrong, which obviously it did, I think it doesn’t make sense that she would be a target to do more than abduct her,” she added.

Thin leads and lingering questions

Nancy Guthrie was last seen on the evening of January 31 at her home in Catalina Foothills, an upscale pocket of Tucson. On February 1, she failed to show up for church, prompting family members to check in. But she was gone.

Investigators believe she was taken in the early hours of the morning. They noted that her pacemaker disconnected from her phone around 2:30 am, suggesting she was suddenly out of range.

In February, the FBI released doorbell camera footage showing a masked man lingering outside her front door the night she disappeared.

But more than two months later, no suspects have been named. The trail has gone cold, at least publicly.

Burgess thinks authorities could loosen their grip on information.

“I think there are other small bits of evidence that could be released that people could then have more to be able to, again, hypothesize on or speculate. I think they could let more out,” she said.

Bitcoin ransom and a risky 'breadcrumb'

On April 6, TMZ received notes from an individual claiming to have seen Nancy alive in Sonora, Mexico, before stating the 84-year-old “is dead” now. The letter was reportedly from the same person who had sent ransom notes back in February. 

This time, the demand was one Bitcoin. Half upfront, half after a public arrest. In return, the sender promised information about the location of Nancy’s body.

Jennifer Coffindaffer, a retired FBI special agent, suggested making the initial payment, but strategically.

“Tickling the wire in this case would be putting half a Bitcoin and seeing what happens to it,” she told Newsweek in an article published on April 10. “Do they take it? Do they convert it to pesos? It’s internationally tracked. How does it come out into currency? Do they just leave it there?”

Of course, it’s a gamble. “Once it’s gone, it’s going to be gone,” Coffindaffer acknowledged. “But I would want that last bread crumb. I think it would be worth it to me.”

That said, Savannah Guthrie has already put up a $1 million reward, on top of the FBI’s $100,000 and other contributions, hoping for a tip that finally brings answers.