TRUE CRIME NEWSNancy Guthrie Update: JonBenét Ramsey's Dad Implores Savannah's Family to 'Scrutinize' What Police Are Doing
Murder victim JonBenét Ramsey's father weighed in on Nancy Guthrie's unsolved disappearance.
May 22 2026, Published 2:04 p.m. ET
John Ramsey has implored the family of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie to "really scrutinize what [the police] are doing" during an interview regarding her missing 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie.
Speaking with journalist Brian Entin on NewsNation, Ramsey — whose 6-year-old daughter JonBenét Ramsey was murdered in 1996 in a case that remains unsolved — drew distinct parallels between the current investigation and his own experiences.
He offered specific advice and explicit warnings to the Guthrie family about how local law enforcement handles high-profile missing-persons cases.
Embattled Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos recently admitted he has had no recent contact with Savannah.
'Don't Assume They Know What They're Doing'
'Don’t assume the police are doing everything they can do,' John Ramsey warned.
Ramsey explicitly warned the family, stating, "Don’t assume the police are doing everything they can do ... Don’t assume they know what they’re doing.”
He added that small or multi-purpose local departments cannot be expected to be experts at everything.
He urged Savannah's family to press investigators with pointed questions regarding forensics, such as: "What’s the status of the DNA? Do you have DNA that doesn’t match anybody in the family? What are you doing with it?" He also recommended pushing for investigative genetic genealogy.
Nancy Guthrie was last seen on January 31.
“It’s imperative [authorities] bring in all the resources they can bring in to help,” he said, adding, “You can’t assume your local police department is good at everything.”
Ramsey noted that early in his daughter's case, qualified outside help was refused by local authorities. He told the Guthries to pressure local police into accepting help from agencies such as the FBI or the Cold Case Foundation.
He noted that families navigating these crises must treat the scenario like a medical emergency, stating that they need to appoint an aggressive advocate to constantly "hammer" the police for updates.
- Savannah Guthrie Reportedly Rips Local Sheriff Investigating Mom Nancy Guthrie’s Abduction, Says She 'Doesn't Need Him'
- Nancy Guthrie's Abduction Case 'Isn't Cold' Almost 2 Months After Disappearance, Pima County Sheriff Insists: 'Somebody Out There Knows Something'
- Sheriff Under Scrutiny in Savannah Guthrie's Mom Disappearance Says He Was Hit by Personal Tragedy 1 Day After Nancy's Abduction
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
JonBenét Ramsey was 6 years old when she was murdered. Her cold case remains unsolved.
Regarding the JonBenét case, the Boulder Police Department confirmed that it has collected and tested new evidence as part of the ongoing cold case review.
Authorities have not disclosed the specific nature of the evidence but are analyzing it alongside new interviews and re-interviews conducted in recent months to generate fresh leads.
Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Tucson, Ariz., home on January 31 in what authorities are treating as an active abduction and kidnapping investigation.
Police believe Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her home on February 1.
Despite blood evidence found at the scene, disabled security footage showing a masked figure, and alleged ransom demands, her case has stretched past 100 days with no named suspects or arrests.
Much like the Ramseys, the Guthrie family has faced heavy online speculation, though the Pima County Sheriff’s Department officially cleared all siblings and spouses of suspicion.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department transferred a critical strand of recovered DNA from a private Florida lab to the state-of-the-art FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia. Forensics teams are analyzing the sample to establish a profile of the abductor.
