Nancy Guthrie Update: Retired FBI Agent Shares 4 Most Likely Scenarios Behind Abduction

Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie‘s mother, Nancy Guthrie, is still missing after she was abducted from her Tucson, Arizona, home on February 1 — and a retired FBI agent recently weighed in on the four most likely scenarios behind the 84-year-old’s disappearance.

On Saturday, May 23, Jennifer Coffindaffer, a former FBI special agent, took to X to weigh in on Nancy’s case. Although Coffindaffer isn’t directly involved in the investigation, she has closely followed the case for nearly four months.

To kick off her list, she pointed to a “wrench attack” as a potential scenario.

“A sophisticated crime group researched Nancy and the wealth of her daughter, Savannah,” Coffindaffer explained. “With a plethora of photos of Nancy, her home, even her bedroom, Nancy was a ripe target for an easy abduction. And the closeness of Savannah & [Nancy’s other daughter] Annie [Guthrie] to Nancy made the prospect of getting paid a likely prospect in the group’s mind.”

In the theoretical wrench attack, she predicted that Nancy died at the hands of one of her abductors, and then they sent ransom demands for Bitcoin without proof of life. She pointed to the Augustin B. pseudonym case as an example of this type of crime.

The second likely scenario, according to Coffindaffer, was a family member plotting Nancy’s murder either for money or because they didn’t want her around. She pointed to the Hazel Abel case as an example of this.

“Her immediate family has been cleared, but could some other relative have planned this?” the ex-FBI agent wondered. “I am not barking up this tree, but [at] present, many people believe this.”

Nancy Guthrie

The evidence shows a kidnapping for ransom plot gone south.

But who is behind the plot that likely resulted in 84 YO Nancy’s death?

If we examine similar historical cases, here are the likely propositions (no special order):

*Wrench Attack – A sophisticated… pic.twitter.com/FyZ4oVF0wq

— Jennifer Coffindaffer (@CoffindafferFBI) May 23, 2026

Thirdly, Coffindaffer speculated that Nancy’s abduction could have been carried out by a handyman or a family friend.

“Remember the case of Heddy Braun. A ransom demand was not even made in that case until 2 days later (Nancy’s case, 1 day). $3 million demanded. (Nancy’s case $6 million),” she pointed out. “Braun miraculously survived the abduction & was rescued about 4 days later. She was found shackled in subzero temperatures in a trailer.”

Finally, Coffindaffer proposed that Nancy’s abduction might have been a revenge plot.

“Someone angry at Nancy/a Guthrie family member perpetrated this crime to cause absolute misery to this family,” she explained. “That means, the torture of abducting Nancy with 0 regard for her life. They wanted to strip of the family of money (thus ransom demand), cause severe emotional distress, and inflict damage on their reputations by publicly going forth with the demands, knowing the ransom demand would not be paid, causing much public scrutiny (which has happened).”

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Coffindaffer continued, “They also set up the kidnap to frame, in a sense, [Nancy’s son-in-law] Tommaso [Cioni] & Annie’s [Guthrie, Nancy’s daughter] by choosing to kidnap her after a family dinner and with Tommaso last to see her, hoping the public would make the leap to blame them. This would be someone completely obsessed with torturing the Guthrie family. Someone who would risk it all to murder their matriarch — like the Annie Hearin case.”

Nancy was last seen at her Catalina foothills residence on the evening of January 31. As of writing, investigators have not named a suspect, despite the more than $1 million in reward money up for grabs. Meanwhile, experts are processing DNA evidence (a hair sample found at Nancy’s home), while detectives pore through tips and seek information from area residents.

Which theory behind Nancy’s disappearance makes the most sense to you?

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