Additional Coverage:
- Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper was local handyman who buried body in desert, crime expert believes (irishstar.com)
Four months after Nancy Guthrie’s mysterious disappearance, the 84-year-old mother of NBC’s Savannah Guthrie remains missing, with no sign or word of her since early February. Now, a forensic expert has weighed in on a growing theory about who might be behind the abduction.
Nancy was last seen on the evening of January 31 in Tucson, Arizona, after her son-in-law dropped her off at her home following a dinner and game night at her daughter Annie’s house. She was reported missing the next day when she failed to attend a church service.
While many initial theories ruled out financial motives, one crime expert now suggests that a local handyman or service worker who knew of Nancy’s identity-and assumed she was wealthy-could be responsible. Barbara Butcher, a forensic specialist, told Fox News, “I find it flabbergasting that anyone would take a woman her age, but I think someone in the area, perhaps a handyman, heard that Mrs. Guthrie is Savannah Guthrie’s mother and thought, ‘Oh, she must be rich.’”
Butcher added that the kidnapper was likely mentally unstable and that tragedy may have struck soon after the abduction. “My second thought was that when no ransom demands or information came forward, it’s probable that Mrs.
Guthrie died shortly after being taken-maybe from shock, fright, or a medical condition,” she said. This could explain why, despite significant rewards being offered, no credible leads have surfaced.
Authorities believe the crime was opportunistic, carried out by someone familiar with Nancy’s routines and neighborhood. Experts speculate the suspect may have disposed of her body in the nearby desert, about 60 miles from her home, after her presumed early death.
Supporting this theory is the fact that Nancy’s essential medications were reportedly left behind, though she needed them daily to survive.
While the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has confirmed Nancy was “targeted,” they have not publicly endorsed any specific theories about the kidnapper’s identity.
Savannah Guthrie has openly grappled with the heartbreaking possibility that her own fame might have put her mother at risk. In a tearful interview in March, she recalled asking her brother whether her mother’s disappearance could be linked to Savannah’s public profile.
“He said, ‘I’m sorry sweetie, but yeah, maybe,’” she shared. “It’s too much to bear to think that I brought this to her bedside…
I’m so sorry, Mommy.”
The Guthrie family continues to offer a $1 million reward for any information leading to Nancy’s whereabouts, hoping for answers to this painful and unresolved case.