More than five months after Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Tucson, Arizona home, a retired FBI agent is pointing to a decades-old case for a possible roadmap - and a warning about how long answers can take.
On July 17, former FBI special agent Jennifer Coffindaffer shared a side-by-side post on X comparing Guthrie's disappearance to that of Thelma Gaston, an 80-year-old millionaire who went missing 40 years ago. Gaston's remains were only recently identified near Sugarloaf Mountain through advanced DNA testing - decades after she was murdered by someone close to her.
"This is exactly why searches need to be conducted for Nancy," Coffindaffer wrote, urging investigators to expand ground searches into remote desert terrain, update billboards with suspect imagery, and increase the reward.
Guthrie, 84, mother of NBC "Today" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was last seen at her Catalina Foothills home on January 31 and reported missing the next morning after she failed to appear for a Sunday church livestream - a ritual her family says she never missed. The case remains an active investigation, now classified as a homicide probe, with no suspect publicly named.
Through it all, the Guthrie family's faith has stayed the visible constant. Savannah has repeatedly thanked viewers on-air for their prayers, and in an earlier statement reflected on the possibility that her mother "may have already gone home to the Lord that she loves" - a hope she said the family would accept if that's what it comes to, while still praying for her return.
A combined reward of more than $1.2 million remains active. Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or Tucson's 88-CRIME tip line at 520-351-4900.
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