Seven months after Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Tucson, Arizona home, a retired FBI agent has offered a new theory about what may have happened to her - one that authorities have not confirmed.
Retired FBI agent Frank Storey discussed the case on the September 2 episode of fellow retired agent Jennifer Coffindaffer's "True Crime With Jen Coffindaffer FBI" podcast. Storey said he believes Guthrie, 84, was taken in a kidnapping-for-ransom plot that went wrong, and theorized she may have suffered a fatal heart attack a day or two after being abducted from her Catalina Foothills home on February 1.
Storey was careful to stress that this remains speculation, not an official finding. The Pima County Sheriff's Department has not announced that Guthrie has been located and has not confirmed whether she is alive or dead.
Storey also said he believes the case will eventually be solved, suggesting someone with knowledge of the disappearance could ultimately come forward - echoing an earlier theory floated in the investigation that a plea deal could be the key to a breakthrough.
Other investigators say the case is far from cold despite the lack of new public developments. Retired FBI agent Scott Augenbaum told a Tucson news outlet this week that "this case is not closed at all," even as the sheriff's department confirmed there's nothing new to report on the investigation's progress.
Guthrie is the mother of "Today" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. A reward exceeding $1.2 million remains active for information leading to her safe return, and the Guthrie family and their supporters continue to lean on their faith community for strength as the search stretches into its eighth month.
Related Article: Nancy Guthrie: The 11-Week Delay Investigators Are Still Trying to Explain
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