Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie has been missing since February 1. Police say she was likely taken from her home in Tucson, early that morning. Investigators have released doorbell camera footage showing a masked person, along with a description but no one has been arrested and no suspects have been officially named.
Now, a retired FBI agent is sharing his thoughts on what may have happened that night.
What the former FBI agent said
Jim Clemente, a former FBI agent and criminal profiler spoke with NewsNation reporter Brian Entin on Brian Entin Investigates about the case. After watching video from the scene, he focused on the blood spots found outside Nancy’s front porch, some of which looked smeared.
His conclusion was that Nancy tried to fight back.
“I believe that Nancy fought him, either inside the door or just outside, depending on where the first appearance of this blood splatter evidence is,” Clemente said.
“And at that point, she was likely either blitzed with overwhelming force, punched in the face or the nose, and she began bleeding. She went down, either on her knees or just hunched over. And then coughed up this blood, which is why we see this pattern.”
He thinks the kidnapper first controlled Nancy with a gun inside the house. But when the person tried to take her outside, she resisted, and that is when things became violent.
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What does the blood evidence show?
Clemente explained what the blood pattern might mean. From the way the droplets were placed and spread out, he believes Nancy’s face was very close to the ground at some point.
“At this point, Nancy’s face was very close to the ground, within a foot of the ground. This could be she was either on her knees, hunched over, or actually lying on the ground,” he said.
He also explained why the blood trail suddenly stops: “Where that blood pattern disappears, I believe she was likely picked up and carried the rest of the way, perhaps with her face up so that there was no more blood deposited on that walkway.”
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Was there one kidnapper or more?
Clemente also talked about whether one person or multiple people were involved. Based on what he saw, he believes there was only one kidnapper.
He said that if there had been more than one person, Nancy likely wouldn’t have been able to fight back at all.
“If there were two people, you would think one of them would have control of her, complete control of her inside the house and brought her outside and would not have lost that control,” he explained. “But here, she’s clearly on the ground coughing this blood up.”
He also mentioned that there were no signs of multiple shoe prints in the blood, which supports his view: “There’s no evidence to me that there are more than one offender here. If there was three different shoe print patterns in the blood stains… that would tell me something. I don’t see it. I’m not aware of that evidence.”
What has been found in the case so far?
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has faced criticism over how the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance has been handled. As the 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie has been missing since February 1.
Police believe she was kidnapped. In February, the FBI released surveillance footage showing a masked man outside her home on the night she disappeared. Since then, no suspect has been identified and there have been no major updates.
Some DNA evidence has been tested but it has not helped investigators find a suspect. Blood found on the front porch was confirmed to be Nancy’s. A glove discovered about two miles from her home which was similar to one seen on the masked person in the doorbell video also did not match any known criminals in the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System or any other DNA from the house.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said the DNA so far has not led to any suspect in the kidnapping.
For now, there have been no new developments and the investigation is still ongoing.
