Nancy Guthrie: Ex-FBI agent pinpoints “number one” way case will be solved

A former FBI agent has revealed the “number one” way she believes the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie will be solved.

Last month, the FBI released surveillance images of a masked man on Nancy Guthrie’s porch on the night she disappeared. They later said the man is a suspect and have appealed for information from the public in a bid to identify him.

Jennifer Coffindaffer, a retired FBI agent, said the case will be solved when someone who knows the suspect eventually provides law enforcement with the necessary information.

“I think the number one way this case is going to be solved, in my opinion, is somebody coming forward that knows him,” Coffindaffer told Newsweek.

“You know, a girlfriend that gets angry at him or a family member that finds some sort of moral compass or wants that $1.2 million and finds that is worth it to go ahead and betray their loved one.”

Nancy Guthrie’s family is offering a $1 million reward for information that leads to her recovery, and a separate reward of more than $200,000 is being offered for information about her whereabouts or that could lead to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.

The Context

Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie, has been missing for more than a month. She was last seen at her home on January 31 and was reported missing the following day. Authorities believe she was kidnapped and said drops of her blood were found on the front porch.

Since the first days of her disappearance, authorities have expressed concern about her health because she needs vital daily medication.

The surveillance video from a doorbell camera released by the FBI on February 10 showed a man wearing a ski mask, long pants, jacket, gloves and a handgun holster on Nancy Guthrie’s porch, and represented a significant break for investigators. Authorities have not publicly identified the suspect, but the FBI described the individual as a male about 5 feet, 9 or 10 inches tall with an average build and said he was carrying a 25-liter Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack.

What To Know

Coffindaffer said there is a likelihood of someone with information about the suspect could come forward sooner than investigators get a breakthrough with DNA evidence in the case.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department confirmed last week that DNA from black gloves that were recovered about 2 miles from Nancy Guthrie’s home had been traced to a local restaurant employee who was “not part of this investigation.”

The FBI had earlier said the gloves appeared to match those worn by the masked person seen in the surveillance footage. Authorities said last month that DNA from the gloves did not match any entries in CODIS, the FBI’s national database.

The sheriff’s department did not disclose how the gloves were traced to the restaurant employee but previously said investigators would seek to use investigative genetic genealogy, or IGG, in the investigation.

For investigators to get a breakthrough through IGG, it would mean multiple people connected to the suspect would have had to upload their information to a genealogy database, Coffindaffer said.

That “could take such a long time to cross-reference,” she said. “So I think that that is a lesser possibility than somebody coming forward and recognizing him.”

She said the suspect in the surveillance footage is identifiable from the video.

“You have the ring, you had the tattoo, you have the clothing, you have the eyebrows, you have the mustache, somebody knows who he is,” she said. “That’s their best lead, it really is. Somebody is going to come forward. It’s just how long is that going to take.”

Authorities have released little information about the case in recent days, but Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told NBC News a week ago that investigators were “definitely closer” to tracking down the suspect.

In that interview, Nanos said investigators had not identified any of the clothing the suspect seen in the surveillance video was wearing but that they were looking into the possibility the suspect’s backpack, which is sold exclusively at Walmart, may have been purchased online.

Nanos also said that investigators were still facing challenges processing mixed DNA found at Nancy Guthrie’s home that did not belong to her or those in close contact with her. The sheriff suggested the mixture could contain DNA from several people.

Nanos said earlier that members of Nancy Guthrie’s family, including siblings and spouses, are not suspects.

What People Are Saying

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement on February 27: “This remains an active investigation and will continue until Nancy Guthrie is located or all leads have been exhausted. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department is refocusing resources to detectives specifically assigned to this case. As leads are developed and resolved, resource allocation may fluctuate. PCSD will maintain a patrol presence in the Guthrie neighborhood.”

Savannah Guthrie wrote on Instagram on March 2: “We feel the love and prayers from our neighbors, from the Tucson community and from around the country. … Please don’t stop praying and hoping with us. bring her home.”