Five months into the search for Nancy Guthrie, a former FBI agent is raising a difficult new theory about the timeline of her disappearance - one that comes as another figure in the case faces new court-ordered conditions.
In a July 9 interview with NewsNation's Brian Entin, former FBI agent Steve Moore pointed to blood found on Nancy's porch as reason to consider a grim possibility: that the 84-year-old mother of Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie may not have survived long enough for a ransom demand to ever be carried out as intended.
Moore said kidnappers sometimes abandon ransom plans altogether if a victim dies during the abduction itself.
The theory adds weight to what investigators have said for weeks - that ransom notes sent to the Guthrie family in the aftermath of Nancy's February 1 disappearance were fake, sent by opportunists rather than her actual abductor.
One of those men, Derrick Anthony Callella, pleaded guilty to sending spoofed extortion messages to Nancy's daughter Annie Guthrie and son-in-law Tommaso Cioni.
A federal judge has now ordered Callella into inpatient substance-abuse treatment ahead of his September 10 sentencing.
No suspect has been publicly named in Nancy's disappearance, and the case remains classified as a kidnapping investigation.
Through five months without answers, the Guthrie family's faith has remained the one visible constant - Savannah has repeatedly thanked viewers on-air for their prayers, a quiet thread of hope that hasn't wavered even as the theories grow darker. A reward exceeding $1.2 million remains active for information leading to Nancy's whereabouts.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or Tucson's 88-Crime tip line at 520-882-7463.
Related Article: Derrick Callella, the Man Behind Fake Ransom Messages, Ordered Into Treatment Ahead of September Sentencing
