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Retired FBI agent Frank Storey has proposed a new theory regarding the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie. Storey suggests that Nancy may have suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after being abducted from her home.
Nancy vanished from her Catalina Foothills residence in Tucson, Arizona, during the early hours of February 1. She was last seen on the evening of January 31 after being dropped off by family members. Despite seven months passing since her disappearance, authorities have yet to identify a suspect or determine what happened to her.
Speaking on retired FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer’s True Crime With Jen Coffindaffer FBI podcast on September 2, Storey expressed confidence the case will eventually be solved. He noted that, typically, someone connected to such cases eventually comes forward, especially if involved parties face unrelated criminal charges. “Somewhere along the line, somebody always talks,” he said.
Storey also suggested the abduction might have started as a ransom kidnapping but later took a tragic turn, with Nancy possibly suffering a fatal heart attack within days of being taken. He emphasized that this remains his personal theory and not an official conclusion.
Authorities previously released footage showing an armed, masked individual tampering with a camera at Nancy’s front door. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has stated investigators have not determined whether this person acted alone. A communication from the sheriff’s department in late July claimed Nancy died shortly after her abduction, though officials have not confirmed this.
Investigations continue, with evidence from Nancy’s home still under examination. Testing on a hair sample has not yielded suspect leads, and a mixed DNA sample involving material from up to four individuals is undergoing analysis at multiple labs, including the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia.
Sheriff Nanos has firmly maintained that the case remains active and dismissed any notion that the investigation has gone cold, stating plainly, “This case is not cold.”