It was 54 days ago that Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her home in Arizona. As the investigation continues, a number of major questions about the case remain on the minds of many.
Nancy Guthrie, mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing on Feb. 1 after she failed to attend a church service in Tucson, Arizona. She was last seen on Jan. 31, when she was dropped off around 9:45 p.m. after eating dinner at the home of her daughter Annie Guthrie.
As the investigation stretches on, investigators are still looking for tips and information from the public that could help break the case. Authorities believe the 84-year-old was abducted from her home.
This week, “Today” aired a lengthy interview that Savannah Guthrie did with Hoda Kotb talking about her mother’s disappearance. It was her first interview since her mother went missing.
During the interview, Savannah Guthrie described the chaos her family experienced after discovering their mother was missing. She also shared that the back doors to Nancy Guthrie’s home were propped open.
During that initial panic, she said, “we thought that she must have had, like, some kind of medical episode in the night and that somehow, you know, the paramedics had come, because the back doors were propped open, you know, and that didn’t make any sense.”
Here’s a breakdown of some of the major unanswered questions in the search for Nancy Guthrie.
Are investigators holding back information?
Some have expressed frustration since the beginning of the investigation about the lack of information.
Throughout the investigation, authorities have spoken about different aspects of the case, such as motive, DNA found and suspects caught on video. But investigators have not always confirmed their findings or shared specific details.
As is customary, because it is an ongoing investigation, many parts of the case can’t be or aren’t shared with the public, because doing so could jeopardize the investigation.
What is the motive for kidnapping Nancy Guthrie?
Earlier this month, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said authorities believe they have a motive for Nancy Guthrie’s abduction but have yet to identify a suspect, per BBC.
In a conversation with NBC News, Nanos said, “We believe we know why he did this” and added that authorities “believe it was targeted.”
Nanos did not elaborate on the suspected motive, explaining that doing so could compromise the integrity of the ongoing investigation. Even though authorities have not confirmed a motive, some believe that the kidnapping could be tied to Savannah Guthrie’s fame as a TV personality.
Savannah Guthrie has co-anchored “Today” since 2012, making her one of the most recognizable faces in American morning television. In her interview with Kotb, Guthrie shared that shortly after her family realized that her mother was missing, she feared her fame played a role in the disappearance, according to NBC News.
“I don’t know that it’s because she’s my mom and somebody thought, ‘Oh, that girl — that lady has money. We can … make a quick buck.’ I mean, that would make sense,” Savannah Guthrie said. “But we don’t know. Which is too much to bear, to think that I brought this to her bedside. That it’s because of me.”
It is possible that the kidnappers are motivated by financial gain. Earlier in the case, the FBI reviewed multiple alleged ransom notes asking for payment.
What about the ransom notes?
Soon after Nancy Guthrie went missing, a few news outlets received ransom notes with specific payment deadlines. The family also received ransom demands. These demands were reviewed by the FBI for authenticity.
During the interview with Kotb, Savannah Guthrie was asked if she thought the various ransom demands sent to her family and media outlets were real.
“There are a lot of different notes, I think, that came,” she said. “And I think most of them, it’s my understanding, are not real. And I didn’t see them. But a person that would send a fake ransom note really has to look deeply at themselves. To a family in pain. But I believe the two notes that we received that we responded to, I tend to believe those are real.”
In February, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI shared that they were investigating multiple ransom notes but never confirmed whether any of them were believed to be from the people behind Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, per Today.
What about the DNA collected from Nancy Guthrie’s home?
Early on, authorities shared that both mixed and partial DNA had been found in Nancy Guthrie’s home. This DNA did not match Nancy Guthrie, her family or anyone who worked in her home.
In February, Nanos said: “We believe that we may have some DNA there that may be our suspect, but we won’t know that until that DNA is separated, sorted out, maybe admitted to CODIS, maybe through genetic genealogy.”
According to NBC News, authorities planned to use investigative genetic genealogy, or IGG, to help identify a suspect in the kidnapping. IGG is a process that turns unidentified DNA evidence into a digitized DNA profile. That profile is entered into ancestry databases to find relatives, build family trees and narrow down who the DNA belongs to. The process has been used to solve old cold cases, identifying killers and unknown victims.
Authorities shared that the lab looking at the DNA reported “challenges” with the sample, though it was never shared what those challenges were.
According to ABC News, the FBI also looked at DNA from a glove found 2 miles away from Nancy Guthrie’s home during a roadside search. The sample was run through the national criminal database know as CODIS, but there wasn’t a match. The DNA from the glove also did not match DNA found at Nancy Guthrie’s property.
What about the masked intruder seen on video?
On Feb. 10, authorities released video that shows an individual walking up to Guthrie’s front porch. The video was captured on a Ring doorbell camera and showed someone approaching her doorstep, slumped over and wearing a backpack, gloves and a balaclava and carrying what appears to be a gun, per The Times. This person is believed to be a suspect in the case.
A second video showed the person trying to block the camera with a glove before walking to the garden and grabbing some foliage to place in front of the camera.
The FBI also shared still images of the individual. One image seemed to a show a flashlight being held in the person’s mouth. Forensic analysis says that the person is male and about 5 feet, 10 inches tall. He is shown wearing a 25-liter, black “hiker pack” backpack from the brand Ozark Trail.
The person in the video has not yet been identified. Investigators have also tried to identify the suspect’s pants, jacket and shoes.
Are there any suspects in the Nancy Guthrie case?
Authorities have not yet identified a suspect or person of interest in the Nancy Guthrie case.
In February, Nanos said: “We’re actively looking at everybody we’re coming across in this case,” per The Times.
Authorities have spoken to people who worked at Nancy Guthrie’s home, as well as the Uber driver who drove Nancy Guthrie to her daughter’s house on Jan. 31. They’ve spoken to a number of other people, including the owner of a gun shop in Tucson.
On Feb. 10, authorities detained an individual during a traffic stop in Tucson. He was taken in for questioning in connection to the case, but was released after several hours.