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Nancy Guthrie update: Is Porch Guy a hired ‘street level thug’? Expert shares ‘overseas mastermind’ theory

Amid the search for Nancy Guthrie, the missing 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie, a former law enforcement executive at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and a graduate of the FBI National Academy has suggested that the Porch Guy may be a hired thug recruited by an overseas cybercriminal mastermind. Lisa J Miller told Fox News Digital that the kidnapping bears hallmarks of a wrench attack.

TUCSON, ARIZONA – MARCH 03: Candles and flowers are placed at a Nanthy Guthrie memorial in front of the KVOA news station on March 03, 2026 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by JUSTIN SULLIVAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP) (Getty Images via AFP)

A “wrench attack” (also known as a $5 wrench attack or rubber-hose cryptanalysis) is a physical assault or kidnapping where the suspects use violence or coercion to force cryptocurrency holders to disclose their private keys, passwords, or seed phrases.

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Miller also noted, however, that Nancy’s case is not a “typical wrench attack.”

“In the beginning of this Nancy Guthrie case, we’re all taking a look at it, and we’re seeing things that just didn’t seem to fit,” she said. “What we’re seeing with Nancy Guthrie is not a typical wrench attack.”

‘The street level thug theory fits with what we’re seeing’

Miller went on to say that the man who was caught on surveillance camera, now widely known as the Porch Guy, exhibited the behavior of a street-level operative rather than a sophisticated planner.

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“The street level thug theory fits with what we’re seeing in the Guthrie case, because when the FBI released the pictures of this Porch Guy, and I’ve referred to him from the beginning as ‘porch monster,’ I mean, the guy comes across as a bit of a doofus,” Miller said. “Look at his getup, look at how he carries his firearm… yet there’s some very sophisticated elements to this case that again falls in line with what we see in a traditional wrench attack.”

Miller believes that the Porch Guy’s visible clumsiness on camera is consistent with a hired local thug. She said it appears as though someone far more technically capable orchestrated the crime, and may be operating from a country with no extradition treaty with the US.

No suspects have been identified even months after Nancy’s disappearance. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has reportedly said while providing a DNA analysis on the case that information on whose blood was found on the missing woman’s property could soon be revealed. Nanos told People that the Forensics Department, particularly those working on the DNA analysis, are getting closer to identifying whose blood was found.