Former FBI special agent says it appears ‘less and less’ likely that the motive for her apparent abduction was ransom
The investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s abduction is now in its seventh week and there are no significant developments in the search for Nancy Guthrie’s mother. Today co-host Savannah Guthrie.
The Pima County Sheriff and the FBI have not publicly identified a suspect or motive, Sheriff Chris Nanos said. NBC Nightly News Investigators believe they know why Nancy Guthrie’s home was targeted.
Former FBI special agent Harry Trombitas told Yahoo that the motive may have been ransom, but that was “less and less likely to come to light.”
“There are so many things,” Trombitas said. “There are so many ways people can get caught.”
Despite Hollywood movies depicting high-risk kidnappings for ransom, they are fairly rare in the U.S. and have “really diminished over the years,” Trombitas said.
while FBI traces While there are cases of kidnapping and abduction in general in the United States, there is no publicly available data on ransom-specific cases.
“[The motive] “This could be some form of revenge, anger, or it could be for a third purpose that we are not even aware of,” Trombitas explained.
Latest situation in the investigation
Police said Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen around 9:45 p.m. Jan. 31, when family members dropped her off at her home in the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson, Ariz., after dinner. He was reported missing around noon the next day after he failed to show up at a friend’s house to watch an online church service.
Investigators are working to process “mixed” DNA found at Nancy Guthrie’s home and are also looking into a damaged electrical box they believe may be linked to an internet outage that reportedly occurred around the time she disappeared. Authorities are also reviewing doorbell camera footage of a masked man who the FBI said was “armed” outside Nancy Guthrie’s home, video of a speeding car at the time of her abduction, and video of a backpack possibly purchased online.
“The FBI and law enforcement will continue to investigate this case as if he were still alive,” Trombitas said. “Given his age at 84 and some of the health issues he has, I know the odds of him being found alive are not as high as they were at first.”
“We are still hopeful that we can identify who is responsible,” Trombitas said.
As for how long the FBI will continue investigating Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, Trombitas said, “As long as there is an investigation to be conducted, they will continue.”
The former FBI special agent recalled a case he was working on that received 5,700 tips, and it was tip 5,444 that led to the resolution of the case.
“I can assure you that the FBI and the sheriff’s office are still extremely busy following up on the thousands of leads and tips that are coming in, and my understanding grows with each passing day,” he said.
Trombitas said researchers will likely return to interview the same people more than once, hoping that will jog their memories of some of the details over time. “Sometimes people forget little things and it turns out to be important information,” he said.
Why are more billboards going up now?
In an effort to keep the case in the public eye, the FBI also expanded its “missing person” billboards, with Nancy Guthrie’s photo and description displayed in high-traffic areas in several states, including Texas, New Mexico and California.
“I’m sure there are people out there who have never heard of this case, as hard as it is for us to believe it,” Trombitas said, adding that it was possible that someone with new information about Guthrie’s disappearance had information they weren’t aware of that could be useful to investigators.
The former FBI special agent also noted that relationships between people can change over time, and a person close to potential kidnappers may share important information with authorities in exchange for a significant reward. “Maybe they’re not as friendly with that person as they were before, and now they’re willing to come forward and pass on that information,” Trombitas said.
The Guthrie family is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s recovery, while the FBI is offering a $100,000 reward.
“That money is still out there,” Trombitas said. “The first one to get on the bus gets the prize.”
The former FBI special agent also said the silence surrounding the case isn’t necessarily a sign that the case has stalled, but it could be just the opposite.
In risky investigations like this, investigators do not want to inform anyone, including potential kidnappers, about the progress of the investigation, which could cause them to panic or overreact.
“If Nancy is still alive, this might cause them to decide we’re too close and kill her and dump her body somewhere,” Trombitas explained.
Trombitas remains hopeful that Nancy Guthrie will be recovered alive, pointing to a number of kidnapping cases in which victims returned alive that took months, sometimes years, to solve.
“I don’t think people should make the assumption that we’ll never make it. [Nancy Guthrie] “It’s completely back,” he said. “I think we’ve proven time and time again that we can heal people after a long period of time. “So it’s still considered a missing person case at this point.”
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Pima County Sheriff’s Department tip line at 520-351-4900 or the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
