Sheriff Finally Identifies Motive in Nancy Guthrie’s Abduction After Reports Savannah Is ‘Questioning’ How Much Her ‘Spotlight’ Put Her ‘Family’s Safety’ at Risk
There’s very little in the way of concrete information, even over a month after Savannah Guthrie’s mom, Nancy, was kidnapped. Police have released surveillance footage and photos, and DNA has been recovered, but that hasn’t led to narrowing down a suspect, and law enforcement has still not revealed what exactly happened the night of February 1, when Guthrie went missing. But what about a motive?
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos thinks they have narrowed down one, but refused to give details at this point in the investigation. “We believe we know why he did this, and we believe that it was targeted, but we, we can’t, we’re not 100% sure of that,” Nanos told NBC News on Thursday, March 12.
Related: Who are Savannah Guthrie’s siblings?
“So it’d be silly to tell people, ‘Yeah, don’t worry about it. You’re, you’re not his target.’ Don’t think for a minute that because it happened to the Guthrie family, you’re safe. No, keep your wits about you,” Nanos also said.
This comes as the sheriff department has faced a great deal of scrutiny for the investigation that, six weeks later, still feels like it has produced very few actionable leads.
Former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer had speculated on X about the possibility that the subject could strike again. “There is a kidnapper (at least 1) and a potential murderer (maybe more) on the streets. Who will be their next target?” Coffindaffer wrote. “Yes, this seems to be very targeted abduction (like the Idaho murders), but you still have an individual(s) capable of extreme violence on the loose.”
“Finding Nancy alive was objective 1,” Coffindaffer added. “Objective 2 was getting an abductor (and likely murderer) off the streets. Will this person(s) strike again? This is a big issue.”
This comes after a source told Radar Online that Savannah Guthrie is reevaluating what to do next and considering whether showing her mother and her family in public has been a mistake. “Savannah is devastated – and fearing the worst. She’s trying to be strong, but this has shattered her,” the insider said.
“She’s questioning everything – her career, her public life and whether staying in the spotlight is worth the risk to her family’s safety.” The source added, “Her only focus is protecting her family. Returning to Today is absolutely the last thing on her mind.”
Guthrie is now back in New York after spending some time in Tucson with her family. She visited the set of the Today show a few days ago, and though there’s no date set for her return, according to The Hollywood Reporter Guthrie told the staff, “I wanted you to know that I’m still standing, and I still have hope and I’m still me. I don’t know what version of me that will be, but it will be.” She also reportedly said, “I have every intention of coming back. I don’t know how to come back, but I don’t know how not to. You’re my family and I would like to try.”
The reward for information about Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance is up to $1 million.
